glass of ice cubes on counter with ingredients

DECEMBER 11: Getting ready for Christmas with some homemade flavoured vodka, or gin as I like to call it.

by Bruce McMichael

THE LEMON GROVE CHRISTMAS ADVENT CALENDAR: December 11

All gins must be distilled or steeped with juniper berries and then with any botanicals you fancy. 

Home made gin using vodka and botanicals, only takes 48 hours to create the flavours

Here I’ve got three bottles of The Lemon Grove Flavoured Gin ™ 😉, each of 500ml. 

First in the lineup is Vanilla and Lemon; then Chilli and Lemon, and finally Lemon and Lime, each with a teaspoon of juniper berries, and some whole peppercorns, slightly bruised in a pestle and mortar, for extra bite with the chilli flavoured gin.

Traditionally this type of drink is called bathtube, or compound gin referencing the way American bootleggers made it during Prohibition times of the 1920s. 

Compound or bathtube gin

Do have a go at steeping your own gin for Christmas and do let me know what you create 🍸🍸🍸 Try Angelica root, cassia bark, cinnamon, lavender, fennel seeds, lemongrass or perhaps bay leaves. Coriander seeds are popular while a liquorice flavoured gin may divide the room.

Great for cocktails and with tonics!

glass of ice cubes on counter with ingredients

Do have a go at steeping your own gin for Christmas and do let me know what you create 🍸🍸🍸

 Try Angelica root, cassia bark, cinnamon, lavender, fennel seeds, lemongrass or perhaps bay leaves.

Coriander seeds are popular while a liquorice flavoured gin may divide the room.

Great for cocktails and with tonics!

  1. Sterilise bottles, Mason or Kilner jars. 
  2. Add juniper berries and other botanicals, minus fresh peel, and top up with decent quality vodka ( after all, you’ll be drinking it).
  3. Leave in cool dark place for 24 hours.
  4. Taste … does it need any more botanicals? Add the fresh peel.
  5. Again, place in a cool dark place, for another 24 hours, shaking gently at least once.
  6. Then filter through muslin or a coffee filter paper. Serve and enjoy 😊.

Now to design the label 🏷 🍋

photo of woman pouring liquid from drink mixer

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Bruce McMichael

Food writing, discovering food stories, meeting producers, chefs and food enthusiasts are all part of desire to inspire, inform my readers and fellow food lovers. I am a freelance writer, journalist and published author focusing on the international world of food and drink, culture and travel. In 2019 I graduated from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy with a Masters in Food Culture, Communication and Marketing. I am now a visiting Professor at the university teaching Food & Drink Writing. Based in London I travel widely, particularly across western Europe. I have chaired many conferences and meetings, spoken at conferences and events and often appear on radio and TV talking most about food, the business of food and being an entrepreneur. In 2017 I won an episode of the ITV (the UK-based national television channel) cooking competition show, 'Gordon Ramsay's Culinary Genius'. I took my children on holiday to Sicily with the prize money. As an experienced farmers' market manager and operator of a small marmalade/ preserves company, I am very familiar with the issues surrounding local food, farming, enterprise and the environment.