The distillation process for HM Woodcutter gin starts with the still being loaded up with a mix of water, alcohol, a healthy dose of juniper and a sprinkling of coriander seeds. The hatch of the still is closed and we turn the stirrer on. For the next 16-18 hours the juniper and coriander seeds macerate in the base of alcohol and water. The maceration process is important as it draws the maximum flavour from the juniper and coriander seeds creating a much deeper flavour.
When maceration is complete, and before we begin heating the still, coconut sugar and finely cut lemon myrtle is added to the pot of the still. We do this to allows these two ingredients time to permeate through the solution.
Whilst the still is heating up we prepare fresh Australian lemons and limes for the botanical basket. Our head distiller Gav cuts each lemon and lime into 16 pieces – fiddly and time consuming but worth the effort. The cut citrus is then added to the botanical basket.
Fun fact, in case you didn’t know, pure ethanol (alcohol) boils at approximately 78 degrees Celsius. So, because of this we heat the still to around 80 degrees and once it reaches this temperature, we back things off to keep the solution gently boiling throughout the distillation process. And this is when the gin magic happens.
Now with the contents of the still at boiling point, the vapour travels through the column to the botanical basket picking up all the delicious freshness of the lemons and limes. Once through the botanical basket the vapour then makes its’ way through the condenser column where the vapour is cooled to revert to liquid and collected in a storage tank.
To the concentrated Woodcutter distillate being held in a stainless steel tank, we immerse medium toasted French oak spirals (or staves). We leave these for 14 days before removing them from the tank. The oak balances the flavour of the distillate resulting is a citrus forward gin with a caramel oak finish.
The final step of all our gin manufacturing is to adjust the ABV of the distillate by adding water followed by quality control. Once the gin has been approved we commence bottling.
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