00:00 Hi I'm James and I'm here at Nelson's Gin Distillery and School here on the
00:06 outskirts of Stafford. I'm here today to do an experience of actually learning
00:09 about gin, how to make it and actually make a bottle of gin. I'm here with my
00:13 mum Diane who you'll see in certain parts of this story and certain parts of
00:17 the video and we're here like I said to learn about the art of gin making. She
00:21 loves a bottle of gin so she's really going to enjoy this experience. I'm here
00:24 to sort of learn and find out a bit more about it so let's go in and have a look.
00:29 Hi David. Hi. Nice to see you.
00:33 This is Jackie. This is David. Hello David. How you doing?
00:38 This is David, he is the gentleman behind the school. Tell me a bit about what we can expect from this morning.
00:48 So today we're going to go through an experience where we choose from 70 different botanicals, each offering a different flavour profile.
00:55 We're going to blend those botanicals together, put them in a little micro still and we're going to run through and distill our own bottle of gin, rum or vodka.
01:04 And you'll take your own bottle, 70 centilitre bottle of gin, rum or vodka home with you.
01:10 And that's the part of the experience today. It's the full sensory experience basically. It is a full sensory experience.
01:15 It's brilliant for radio by the way.
01:18 [inaudible]
01:38 Well this is my mum Diane, she's obviously come here with me today to work on this.
01:42 So you've had a chance to walk around the different spices and that. What have you thought about for your bottle of gin?
01:48 Some of those I've never heard of. Really interesting, I mean there's a grains of paradise which is supposedly woody soft, soft walnuts.
01:59 I might go to Diane's in July because that's her gin I'm using. And then I've got to think of something, I think, sweeter to go in it.
02:11 [inaudible]
02:23 You're putting a lot of thought into it basically.
02:25 [inaudible]
02:54 Tell me something, when you're distilling this, do you change the scent?
03:02 96.
03:04 Alright, 96.
03:06 [laughter]
03:11 [inaudible]
03:25 Right, here's the next bit of gin school. I've had to pick the botanicals for this.
03:30 I don't actually know anything about gin, I don't drink this stuff.
03:33 This is going to be interesting for me.
03:35 I've been looking at what they've got and I've thought something citrusy with a bit of a chilli kick to it. So I'm going to go and have a look around and see what it is.
03:42 [inaudible]
03:50 [inaudible]
04:04 Brilliant.
04:06 [inaudible]
04:26 Okay, slight change of plan. I've got my botanicals all set now. So I've picked out Bitter Orange, Chillies, Green Cardamom, Dandelion, Lemon Peel, Coconut, Lime Peel.
04:37 Don't really know anything about gin myself, so what I'm going to do is make a vodka.
04:41 This will of course also include the Angelica Root, Orris Root and Coriander Seed and the Cubebe Pepper.
04:48 So I'm going to weigh these out now and I'm going to start working on that in just a moment.
04:51 So I'm going to be walking away with a bottle of vodka today.
04:54 [inaudible]
05:00 [inaudible]
05:14 [inaudible]
05:33 [inaudible]
05:41 So you ready?
05:44 You want to get pictures or have you got your picture?
05:46 As we pour the water in you're going to see the oil swirling around, breaking free.
05:51 That's this process of dilution. That's the oils we've extracted out of the botanicals.
05:56 The bit that makes the taste, flavour, aroma, texture.
06:01 I can see it all moving in there.
06:03 Yeah, it is. It's hot, isn't it?
06:05 The reason I like drinking the drink then, those oils hang around in the cheeks.
06:09 Prolongs the life of the drink.
06:11 Give it a nice big smile and shake if you will please.
06:15 Lovely, that's all we need. That's fantastic. Thank you.
06:21 I made that.
06:24 Also, these little micro...
06:25 I'm not regressing my life decisions at all at this point.
06:28 These little micro bubbles are going to start settling out from the bottom of the bottle.
06:32 Some people use the micro bubbles just to measure the alcoholic content.
06:35 They're very, very fine if you've got high alcoholic content.
06:38 It's not a great way of doing it.
06:41 But, you get to sample your own drink.
06:48 Remember, as you're sampling it, it's neat.
06:51 And also, it will mature down to this.
06:54 Just a sip, James.
06:56 I do love this.
06:58 Well, I can't because I'm a mother.
07:02 Mother people.
07:16 Yes, you can.
07:31 Nine of you...
07:32 You know, that's the drink you look at in the morning.
07:36 That's Ginsel, actually.
07:37 Yes, it is.
07:40 Yeah, this is also from like the World Quest cocktail.
07:43 So, nine of you up at the top.
07:44 You are the creator and the distiller.
07:46 Location, you've got to be today's date, you're still number 14.
07:50 Diane, nine of you, or Gin, please.
07:52 You're still number 13.
07:57 Go into the wax at 45 degrees.
07:59 Once the cork is submerged, straighten the bottle up, lower it down, lift it clear, tip it back to 45.
08:05 Oh, that's lovely.
08:07 Let the excess wax drain.
08:08 Don't twist the bottle.
08:09 Let the wax drain.
08:11 Once the wax has drained a little bit, then you can twist the bottle, catch the drip, and then just one, two, three, four, one, wax in the bottle.
08:19 Perfect.
08:20 And that's all there is to it.
08:27 James has got bronze, Mark.
08:29 Bronze or purple, okay?
08:32 Twist the bottle, catch the drip as you twist it.
08:37 Keep twisting, keep twisting, keep twisting.
08:39 Lovely, fix it in the water to the count of four.
08:41 One, two, three, four, bingo.
08:44 There we go.
08:46 There we go, lovely.
08:48 Thank you.
08:50 And it's fixed in the water.
08:51 Oh, that's awesome.
08:52 Yeah.
08:53 Come on.
08:54 This is awesome.
08:57 Excellent.
08:58 Nice job.
09:00 Well, that's the end of the day.
09:01 We've been in, we've made a gin and a vodka.
09:04 This is mine, it's the Iron Serb Spirit.
09:07 I just want to say a big thank you to David at Nelson's Gin School.
09:11 What a fantastic day.
09:12 Great immersive experience, really worth having a look.
09:15 Everyone's enjoyed themselves and everyone's walked away with something to remember the day by.
09:19 Probably not for very long, though.
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