I was reading an article about gin tonight and they mentioned gin isn't aged, and didn't give an explaintion.
That seems strange? Does gin really come from the still ready to drink?
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I was reading an article about gin tonight and they mentioned gin isn't aged, and didn't give an explaintion.
That seems strange? Does gin really come from the still ready to drink?
I suppose "ready to drink" is subjective but, yes, gin is not aged, nor are other clear spirits such as vodka, white rum and white tequila. Gin is essentially flavored vodka, flavored with various herbs and spices--"botanicals" is the term they use--primarily essence of juniper berry. One popular brand, Seagram's Gin, is "aged" in used bourbon barrels for about 90 days, which gives it a tiny bit of color, barely perceptible. They are allowed to do it but they can't, by law, call it "aging" so they call it something else, "tempering" perhaps.
Gin & vodka are distilled with the intent of removing most (if not all) flavor. Then for gin, the flavors are put back in. This is quite different from "whiskies", which are distilled inefficiently, leaving character from their grains of origin. Grain neutral spirits don't really have harsh edges to smooth via barrel aging.
Anybody checked this Kensington Gin out? Supposedly "aged" in Kentucky bourbon barrels?
It looks like the same deal. "Cured" is the term they use instead of "aged." Worth a visit for the pompous opening animation.
Wow
So, the whole bit on M*A*S*H about their gin being an hour old, which caused it to be extremely harsh, is not reality?
I guess they should have focused the humor more on the rough gin coming from a homebrew still.
They referred to it as gin I believe in reference to the "bathtub gin" that was so popular during prohibition (which during the Korean War was not so distant in the past).
That opening animation exemplifies everything that is WRONG with the internet. http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...emlins/hot.gifQuote:
Worth a visit for the pompous opening animation.
Welcome to computer animation, circa 1986.Quote:
That opening animation exemplifies everything that is WRONG with the internet
Cue the Strauss!
But many rums are aged, as are tequilas, cachacas. But I haven't seen any aged vodkas ( Basil Hayden excluded ).Quote:
gin is not aged, nor are other clear spirits such as vodka, white rum and white tequila.
Why can these be aged without losing their ability to be called rum, tequila, cachaca, etc. ?