Holiday Spirit
A home-infused gin is the perfect way to spice up Aperitivo hour, it’s fun to make and it’s the perfect DIY gift to give this Christmas. Urban Growth’s Orsetta Hosquet shares her recipe for success.
INGREDIENTS AND MATERIALS
1.5 litre bottle or jar An assortment of small, sterilised bottles or jars (Sterilise bottles or jars by washing them and placing them on a baking tray in a warm oven, about 140˚C, for 15-20 minutes to dry) Labels, coloured pens and ribbons 1 bottle of vodka 100-150g of juniper berries An assortment of fruit, herbs and spices: coriander seeds, black peppercorns, sloe berries, allspice, bay leaves, rosemary, cinnamon stick, lemon or orange zest, fennel seeds, chillies, edible blossoms like lavender, rose and chamomile
METHOD
Gin is essentially a neutral alcoholic base flavoured with juniper berries and other botanicals, so you can either head to your nearest supermarket for a bottle of gin to flavour, or start from scratch by adding the juniper berries to a bottle of vodka and leaving to infuse for at least 24 hours.
Use a funnel to decant the gin into a large jar or bottle and add your choice of fruit, herbs and spices. For ease, remember that you’ll want anything you add to be big enough to easily sieve out. For example, peppercorns should go in whole, chillies can be chopped. Experiment with different combinations of seasonal flavours: in winter, orange peel, peppercorns, cinnamon and rosemary all work really well.
After a few days, sample your gin and check that you like it. Once you’re satisfied with the strength of flavour, sieve out the fruit, herbs and spices.
Decant the sieved gin into your sterilised bottles or jars (the size will depend on how much you like the friends you plan to give them to). Depending on the flavour you’ve made, add some fruit or herbs for decoration – a few sloes, a sprig of rosemary or a sprinkle of chamomile flowers. Add hand-drawn labels and ribbons to make them look suitably pretty.
