Attempting grape gin...

[Simpo Two]

My vine has been very fruitful this year so I have a surprising amount of Brandt grapes. Small but an intense flavour, sharp and sweet.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/80403/vitis-brant-(o...

I made a very good damson gin a few years ago, so in the same theme I half-filled a large bottle with grapes and covered them over with gin. That was £15-worth of gin, and only used about 10% of the grapes, and I'm not willing to invest too much for an idea that may not work. Somehow I'd like to get the flavour from the other 90% in there too, bit not sure how to approach it. Could I just mash them up and let the juice mix with the gin? It's a great crop and it would be a shame just to throw them away (I can't eat them fast enough and not all are ripe).


Looking at the first bottle starting to gain colour after 2-3 days, how about letting them continue to steep for 2-3 weeks, then draining off the liquor, binning the spent grapes and then adding more grapes for more flavour and colour? I'd have to freeze the 90% to stop them going off of course.

Edited by Simpo Two on Saturday 30th September 09:42

[Bill]

I think freezing them first is a good thing anyway because it splits them so more juice gets out. I'd also use vodka as a base because if the botanicals in gin not necessarily working with the grape. And I'd use the cheapest that wasn't meths because it's a base.

So maybe try a batch with cheap gin and one with cheap vodka, and then you can do a taste test for next time.

[Simpo Two]

Thanks; I hadn't thought about the botanicals. I'll need to add more liquid eventually; do you think I could use vodka on top of the gin?

[Bill]

I wouldn't think you'd need to top it up, certainly I've never had to with other fruit spirits. But if you did then vodka should be fine I'd have thought.