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For a Fine Gin

A gin flavored with juniper berries, coriander, grains of paradise, angelica, orris, calamus, orange peel, and optional liquorice.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Coriander and angelica share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 44 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓

For a Fine Gin

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine 960 gallons of spirit with 96 lbs. of juniper berries, 6 lbs. of coriander seeds, 4 lbs. of grains of paradise, 4 lbs. of angelica root, 2 lbs. of orris root, 2 lbs. of calamus root, and 2 lbs. of orange peel.

  2. If desired, add 80-90 lbs. of liquorice powder for color and sweetness.

  3. Mix thoroughly and allow to infuse.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Coriander + angelicatop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together44 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  2. Angelica + calamustop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together11 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  3. Coriander + orangetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together674 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  4. Angelica + orangetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together159 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  5. Spirit + orangetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together171 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Juniper berries
Provides the defining piney, resinous flavour that makes the spirit taste of gin.
Coriander seeds
Adds citrusy, slightly spicy aroma that rounds out the juniper.
Grains of paradise
Contributes peppery, warm aroma and a bit of heat to the botanical blend.
Angelica root
Adds earthy, musky notes and helps bind the aromatics together in the flavour.
Orris root
Adds a violet-like floral aroma and helps the flavour hold over time.
Liquorice powder
Adds sweetness and a darker colour to the finished spirit.

The step that matters

Mix thoroughly and allow to infuse. Botanicals must be fully distributed and given enough contact time with the spirit for flavour compounds to dissolve. Uneven mixing leaves some batches weak and others harsh, so the spirit should be evenly blended before it sits.

Swap the calamus

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (spirit, coriander, angelica, orange):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Rosemaryfits better
  3. Gingerfits better
  4. Calamusthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against spirit, coriander, angelica, orange. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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