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Old 13-07-2015, 11:30   #391
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Re: Gin Tankage?

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Originally Posted by carstenb View Post
Dockhead

On our summer sail, we ran across this bar that had solved the Vodka tankage issue. Now I need to talk to him about how much gin he keeps on hand
Cool, and where have you gotten to? We are in Estonia already moving West.
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Old 14-02-2016, 10:40   #392
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Re: Gin Tankage?

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Gin is now chraper than gasoline

Drink - don't drive
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Old 12-06-2016, 07:55   #393
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Re: Gin Tankage?

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Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass View Post
The next batch of tonic was made yesterday. It is improving each time, so in the interests of elevating the drinking pleasure of cruisers worldwide, I though it worth reporting back .

Feedback on changes made last time:
The coriander seeds were a very good addition (the lemon verbena did not have a noticeable effect).
Using lemon/lime extract instead of freshly grated rind was brilliant. In addition, big quantities of extract can be made when fresh citrus is readily available and its shelf life is at least a year or two.

Two changes this time:
1. Following Dockhead's comment about the excess citric acid in the last batch, I paid more attention to its effect and reduced the quantity, adding small amounts and tasting after each addition. Two flat soupspoons seemed about right (less than half the original quantity).
2. I eliminated making sugar syrup and instead added an extra cup of water when boiling the cinchona, and then simply added a bit over ¾ cup of sugar to the hot mix after being strained. Saves time and fuss and it is also safer having all the water boiled.

This mix requires little effort if you have citrus extract on hand and tastes fantastic! As an added bonus all ingredients can be happily stored unrefrigerated long term on a boat, so the tonic can be made anytime, anywhere.

TONIC SYRUP
= Trial # 5 since I very first started experimenting, the first two batches were not usable for G&Ts. The last batch was made on the 23rd April.

6 cups water
¼ cup cut cinchona bark
3 whole cardamom pods, split open and seeds scraped out
4 whole allspice berries, bashed with a hammer
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
1 heaped teaspoon dried lemongrass (I think it would be even better with lemongrass extract, but I have no access to freshly picked stalks)
½ teaspoon dried lavender flowers
1 teaspoon dried lemon verbena, crushed
2 flat soupspoons citric acid levelled off with a knife (a bit less than ⅛ cup)
¼ teaspoon salt
¾-1 cup sugar (to taste)
¼ cup homemade lemon/lime essence (= finely grated zest of 1 lime and 1 lemon per ¼ cup gin or vodka, soaked 5-7 days then strained)
1 cup gin (to improve the keeping quality)

- Bring the water and cinchona to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes
- Add cardamon, allspice and coriander seeds, cover and simmer another 1 min
- Turn off heat and leave covered for 5 minutes
- Add lemongrass, lavender & lemon verbena and leave 10-15 minutes (no more, as it will become bitter)
- Strain using a tea strainer (if you are careful, most of it stays in the bottom of the pot)
- Add the citric acid, salt & sugar and stir until dissolved
- Using a coffee filter, funnel and two clean dry 750 ml bottles, filter the liquid twice (speeds up if using two funnels)
- Add half of gin and lemon extract to each bottle (makes almost 1.5 litres)

With the last two batches, a dusting of sediment accumulated after about 2-3 weeks. It is most likely simply what the paper filter did not catch, settling out of the mix (I get the same thing occurring when lemon or ginger extract is made and that uses straight gin). If the liquid is carefully filtered again without incorporating this sediment and the last little murky bit then filtered into a different container (no point wasting it ), then the sediment does not reoccur.

I have been keeping the tonic unrefrigerated until starting to drink it. Two to three months seems to be no problem so far - crystal clear, tastes wonderful. The last batch was made on the 23rd April and there is still a couple of cups left. The third batch was made over 3 months ago and I held half a cup back to check for longevity. No problems so far.

I put the long life down to eliminating the need to stew plant matter in cold water for 3 days, particularly fresh stuff (I shudder to think what is growing in the resulting murky mix, no wonder two weeks refrigerated is the life expectancy then), coupled with ¾ - 1¼ cups of gin being added. As well, the citric acid acts as a slight preservative.

Cheers
SWL

Warning: Make and drink at your own risk - read the earlier posts about possible reactions with the use of quinine.

My nice crewmen have made a present to the boat of a Sodastream machine, and they made a batch using SWL's last recipe.

It's delicious!! The best yet!! We are at anchor behind one beautiful island within sight of Russian territory and tasting the first fruits of this batch.

They used the least amount of sugar in the range indicated. The flavors are so lovely and complex -- so unlike store-bought tonic. Distinct bitterness of the quinine, lemongrass, cardomom -- all singing in harmony.

The Sodastream is maybe actually essential for this, because you get at least enough carbonation to feel it. Just using cans of soda water, it's too diluted and weak.

Success!! And great thanks to SWL for the excellent recipe.


By the way, one comment I wanted to make last year and forgot to make -- the inevitable sediment is really not a problem. I would not really struggle so much to reduce it. It adds character to the brew and maybe even flavor.
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Old 13-06-2016, 08:05   #394
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Re: Gin Tankage?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dockhead View Post
My nice crewmen have made a present to the boat of a Sodastream machine, and they made a batch using SWL's last recipe.

It's delicious!! The best yet!! We are at anchor behind one beautiful island within sight of Russian territory and tasting the first fruits of this batch.

They used the least amount of sugar in the range indicated. The flavors are so lovely and complex -- so unlike store-bought tonic. Distinct bitterness of the quinine, lemongrass, cardomom -- all singing in harmony.

The Sodastream is maybe actually essential for this, because you get at least enough carbonation to feel it. Just using cans of soda water, it's too diluted and weak.

Success!! And great thanks to SWL for the excellent recipe.


By the way, one comment I wanted to make last year and forgot to make -- the inevitable sediment is really not a problem. I would not really struggle so much to reduce it. It adds character to the brew and maybe even flavor.
Oh, that made me smile with pleasure . So glad you are enjoying it. Thanks for the feedback.

That batch made on the 21.6.15 was the fifth and last one I made. That and the remnants of batches three and four lasted the summer.

Out of curiosity I held back the last little bit of batch #5. It is now a year old. We splashed only a week ago and it has been subjected to high temperatures while the boat sat on the hardstand. Very interestingly, it is still clear. There is only a faint smudge of fine sediment (the circular pattern in the photo below. It also still smells good. I was not game to taste it .

This photo was taken ten minutes ago. The black mark on the glass is just an artifact:



This is only a one sample that has been left that long, but the technique for preserving the tonic seems reasonably sound.

Did you dilute the tonic with water and carbonate the mixture?

SWL
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Old 13-06-2016, 08:31   #395
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Re: Gin Tankage?

I am getting ready to make my first batch of tonic for this year.
The lemon/lime extract was so good, that I have made this today and will wait a week before boiling up the cinchona. No limes on board, so lemons will have to suffice.

For the lemon extract I finely grated the rind of 10 medium lemons, added 2.5 cups of gin and tipped this into a 750ml glass jar. I will give it a shake daily and after a week strain and filter it with paper coffee filters. Only a quarter of a cup is needed for each batch of tonic, but I also use this wonderful extract in cakes and puddings, so I made up a full jar.

Nothing goes to waste . I strain the juice from the lemons (it makes just over 2 cups) and add a cup of gin and 4 flat teaspoons of sugar. This beautifully tart, low alcohol "gin sour" is good poured over ice and sipped as a sundowner.

Below is the prepared rind and juice. The gin in the jar has almost instantly taken on a strong colour from the rind:

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Old 19-06-2016, 04:59   #396
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Re: Gin Tankage?

Batch #6 of tonic was made today.

Utter perfection . I could happily sip this on its own.

The only alteration to Batch #5 was doubling the amount of citrus extract and the extract was made using lemons only, as limes were unavailable.

This mix is so well balanced that I am not tampering with the recipe further.

1.5 litres of crystal clear tonic is on the left. Check out the intense sapphire yellow colour of the lemon extract on the far right .
No prizes for guessing what my sundowner will be this evening .

SWL


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Old 19-06-2016, 06:02   #397
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Re: Gin Tankage?

Oh my! You all crack me up! So serious about your drinking, even the "modest" drinkers.
I think we drink 6 drink each per YEAR. One bottle is "tankage".
The good thing is that we can buy cheap and the goods are suffciently aged by the time we get around to drinking it to appear a higher quality. Na...Im kidding, cheap is cheap, but cheap alcohol keeps us from wanting more.
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Old 19-06-2016, 06:30   #398
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Re: Gin Tankage?

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Originally Posted by Sea Dreaming View Post
Oh my! You all crack me up! So serious about your drinking, even the "modest" drinkers.
LOL you have hit the nail on the head .

Eating and drinking is SERIOUS business. One of the great pleasures in life in fact. It instantly stimulates all five of senses. Even hearing . Doesn't the sizzle of an egg hitting a hot buttered pan make your mouth water?

It needn't be complicated. Sipping on freshly brewed coffee, smelling bread straight out of the oven, licking a rich creamy icecream or simply biting into a perfectly ripe mango just make my day that much better.

Better yet when this pleasure can be shared, even in cyberspace .

SWL
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Old 22-06-2016, 08:24   #399
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Re: Gin Tankage?

So ............................. how much gin tankage was determined to be the right amount?

And what's the gin tankage to beer capacity ratio multiplier?
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Old 22-06-2016, 08:53   #400
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Re: Gin Tankage?

I am surprised not to see a hydrometer in the photos. Not for testing batteries, they can take care of themselves, but the hooch / moonshine / Poitin you lot are distilling and then hiding it with cloudy tonics. Prohibition must still be still alive
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Old 22-06-2016, 14:31   #401
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Re: Gin Tankage?

on his rtw, chichester had kegs of beer in the bilge with a tap at the nav station

lasted from oz into the mid atlantic

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Old 30-07-2016, 02:01   #402
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Re: Gin Tankage?

Picked this still up in NZ last season.....solved any issues about 'tankage'.

On a nice sunny day it runs completely off the solar panels via the inverter while still charging the batteries!
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Old 01-08-2016, 06:42   #403
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Re: Gin Tankage?

That's good - but what do you do if there are more than one of you drinking? That only holds enough for a before dinner drink for one
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Old 01-08-2016, 08:12   #404
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Re: Gin Tankage?

I was thinking that was a water distillation unit?
You would need a way to monitor temp if you were going to distill alcohol? I did it in school, and what you get is pure grain alcohol, and the taste is horrible.
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Old 01-08-2016, 11:39   #405
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Re: Gin Tankage?

http://stillspirits.com/products/turbo-air-stil
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