Comments on: Tasty crops for a gin garden?

Question: Tasty crops for a gin garden?

potch — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:11:19 -0800

Seeking appropriate and flavorful crop suggestions for my gin garden.

I want to infuse my own gin with herbs and other things grown in a garden. What are some suggestions of exciting and tasty things I can plant in the herbs and vegetation department? Bonus points for being able to grow them in a pot (not much bed next to my patio), and for being relatively easy to maintain. Cheers!

By: anniek

anniek — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:29:42 -0800

It depends on where you live, as in your zone, which should give you a better of idea what and when to plant. Also, since you don't have a lot of space and want less maintenance, I would also recommend using the Square Foot Gardening method.

Besides that, I'm at a loss. The only thing that sounded good to infuse into gin was lemons and other citrus, so perhaps someone else has some better ideas on that.

By: Inspector.Gadget

Inspector.Gadget — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:32:30 -0800

If you can grow them: lemongrass, Meyer lemons, Satsuma oranges, spearmint...

By: desuetude

desuetude — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:35:23 -0800

You're in luck...herbs do very very well in pots. The best book I've found for container gardening is Bountiful Container. I found it ridiculously inspiring.

As for gin-specific, the first thing I thought of is lemon thyme -- super-easy to grow and it creeps like ground cover.

By: AnnaRat

AnnaRat — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:45:24 -0800

I had a very good gin not long back with cucumber in it, but I suppose it depends whether you can grow those where you live.

By: waterlily

waterlily — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:10:17 -0800

My husband enjoyed stealing the mint from my garden to infuse his gin and make a gin julep type drink.

By: zachlipton

zachlipton — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:10:46 -0800

I have no idea how it would taste (it's all in the proportions I would imagine), but my mind finds the idea of a Scarborough Fair gin (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme) oddly exciting.

By: ersatzkat

ersatzkat — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:25:41 -0800

The first thing I thought of was pineapple sage. It's much more delicate than what I would consider "proper" sage, and it has a lovely pineapple scent and flavor - we use it in a sweet dressing for fruit salads. It grows very small-shrubby and does nicely in pots, and will have pretty scarlet flowers if you let it. I have also tasted a very nice gin cocktail with cucumber and thyme, and thyme is bad ass in pots.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:41:45 -0800

Dwarf citrus! Bergamot, Meyer Lemon, Kaffir Lime!

By: answergrape

answergrape — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:10:39 -0800

There are "chocolate mint" and "apple mint" varieties that are forgiving. The lemon varigated thyme is nice. Think about the older culinary herbs; hoarhound, pennyroyal, sweet woodruff all work. In your area, bergamot perhaps (my favorite).

By: answergrape

answergrape — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:13:05 -0800

Many of the older varieties are perennial; you could plan a big wood planter and they'll come back year after year for your enjoyment.

By: munchingzombie

munchingzombie — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:22:12 -0800

Experimenting is super fun, but who wants to waste perfectly good gin seeing if loganberry and sage infused gin is even palatable?

Making flavored simple syrups is super easy and they store almost indefinitely. Just last night I made kumquat flavored simple syrup and it is delicious.

By: piedmont

piedmont — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:37:16 -0800

Lemon Basil would be choice.

By: potch

potch — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:47:31 -0800

Well, I'm going to be committing a bit of a crime, in that I'm not technically infusing gin, but making a mock-gin by infusing vodka. I'll leave my Hendricks pure.

By: ragtimepiano

ragtimepiano — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:24:48 -0800

Damson plums would be wonderful. We make Damson gin liqueur every year and people tell us it's the best liqueur they've ever experienced! (In this case, you do need to use gin and not vodka, as the juniper berries of the gin combine magically well with the tart Damson plums.

Damson gin

By: IAmBroom

IAmBroom — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:38:18 -0800

First, thanks for poking me into researching this topic, potch!

Obviously, a juniper bush is a strong first, although they're common enough ornamentals that you might be able to find fresh berries elsewhere (since bushes may not fruit the first year). They are also available in well-stocked spice stores.

From this link:
Other herbs typically used in making gin include anise, coriander seeds, orange or lemon peels, nutmeg, fennel, cardamom, cinnamon, etc.

Of these, only anise, coriander, fennel, and cardamom are herbs (and good luck finding viable cardamom seeds).

I'd also consider experimenting with traditional gruit flavorings: mugwort, yarrow, sweet gale, and sage. Mugwort is also hard to find, but can be ordered from brewing supply houses. Yarrow freaking grows in your yard, or you can order the seeds.

By: IAmBroom

IAmBroom — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:39:46 -0800

Oops, sorry: didn't read it right. You're starting with gin, not making gin.

By: calico

calico — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:39:55 -0800

We make (a version of) Centerbe using a recipe we have from a book, but I've found a very similar recipe here (Google-translated page)

All the herbs - sage, mint, lemon balm, thyme and so on come from our garden. In the picture I've linked to there's another liqueur made from just lemon balm and vodka - this is great too but needs ages - months - to settle down. As it's spring I think I'm also going to try a beech leaf noyau - thought I'd mention it in case you happen to have a beech tree.

By: potch

potch — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:57:32 -0800

IAmBroom: "Oops, sorry: didn't read it right. You're starting with gin, not making gin."

Nope, you had it right- I want to make gin (from vodka or another neutral spirit)

By: junesix

junesix — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:35:07 -0800

Mixologist Jeremy Morgenthaler blogged about his attempt at making gin from vodka. At the end of the post, he provides a list of potential herbs and spices for infusing into vodka.

Thai basil
Cherry bark
Whole nutmeg
Cilantro leaf
Arbol chile
Star anise
Whole cloves
Indian sarsaparilla bark

And there's more in the blog comments.

By: potch

potch — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:49:07 -0800

There are some totally kickass suggestions in here, and I look forward to trying them out. Thanks!

By: annsunny

annsunny — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:16:02 -0800

I know you are looking to make a gin, but as some others have mentioned, some old-fashioned herbs are great when making infusions. Hyssop is an interesting one, and makes a nice ornamental plant.