Capture your favourite flavours in your very own infused gin. Use our easy infusing method and step-by-step instructions to create summery berry tipples, delicate floral drinks and stunning seasonal sippers. Use your gin to create showstopping cocktails or give your bottles away as thoughtful homemade gifts for special occasions.
Need even more juniper-infused drinks in your life? Get inspiration for cocktails, recipes and reviews of the best bottles on offer in our ultimate gin hub. Looking to bulk up your drinks offerings? Check out our guide to the best flavoured gins of 2018.
How to infuse gin
- Choose your gin: The best quality ingredients are likely to give the best results in terms of flavour, but don’t go too spend happy. Try to pick a clean-tasting, uncomplicated gin. A product with strong botanical flavours might not mix well with extra additions, whereas a classic London Dry-style gin with more neutral notes would take on flavours better.
- Choose your flavours: Gin traditionally contains juniper, coriander and cardamom among its spices, so choose a flavour to complement the natural elements of mother’s ruin.Seasonal flavours should be your first port of call for flavour inspiration. Keep your eyes on the hedgerows for berries, elderflowers and herbs that you could use. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
Fruit: strawberries, blackcurrants, blueberries
Vegetables: rhubarb, chilli, celery
Herbs & plants: rosemary, thyme, lavender, mint, elderflowerRemember, the more you use the stronger the flavour. Use around 200-400g of fruit per litre of spirit.
- The bottling technique: Add your spirit to a Kilner jar or another sealable container. Make sure your kit is clean and sterile to avoid the spirit going bad. Then add your infusing ingredient and leave it to leach into the spirit. Here’s a rough time guide:Leave strong chilli, vanilla, cardamom or citrus for less than a day.
Hardy spices and strong-flavoured veg will need five to seven days.
Berries and strong fruit can take around three to four weeks to impart as much flavour as possible.
Milder ingredients like apple or florals will take up to a month.
When you’re happy with the flavour, sieve to remove any solids, then pass through a very fine piece of muslin or a coffee filter to get rid of any sediment.
- How to store: If your bottles or jars are well sealed, strained correctly and kept in a cool, dark place, your spirits can keep for up to a year.
Once you’ve mastered the basic recipes why not try our other imaginative infusions?
The best flavoured gin recipes
Raspberry gin
Strawberry gin
Try more cakes, ice creams, cocktails and dreamy desserts with our ultimate strawberry collection.
Sloe gin
Once you’ve made your infusion try our easy sloe gin cocktail recipes.
Damson gin
Elderflower gin
Pair up your cocktail with our fabulous elderflower recipes. Bake up a cake, mix up a cordial and much more.
Rhubarb gin
Celebrate spring with more vibrant vegetable recipes in our rhubarb collection.
Want to expand your infusing skills? Learn how to make flavoured spirits like rum and vodka with our simple guide.
Enjoyed these suggestions? Check out our other drinks recipes…
Top 5 elderflower drinks
6 mojitos you can make in minutes
5 ways with gin & tonic
What’s your favourite flavour infusion? Leave a comment below…
