Name: For a Fine Gin
Ingredients: 90 gallons of spirit, hydrometer proof; 96 lbs. German juniper berries; 6 lbs. coriander seeds; 4 lbs. grains of paradise; 4 lbs. angelica root; 2 lbs. orris root; 2 lbs. calamus root; 2 lbs. orange peel; 80-90 lbs. liquorice powder (optional)

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

Combine 90 gallons of spirit with juniper berries, coriander seeds, grains of paradise, angelica root, orris root, calamus root, and orange peel.
If desired, add liquorice powder for color and sweetness.
Distill the mixture to create gin.

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.

Coriander + angelicatop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together44 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Angelica + calamustop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together11 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Coriander + orangetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together674 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Angelica + orangetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together159 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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 characteristic pine-like flavor that defines gin.
Coriander seeds: Adds citrusy, slightly spicy aroma that rounds out the botanical blend.
Orris root: Helps bind and preserve aroma, adding a subtle floral note.
Liquorice powder: Adds color and a touch of sweetness to the finished spirit.

Swap the calamus

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

Cinnamonfits better
Rosemaryfits better
Gingerfits better
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.