Distilling Terminology

One weekend, a while ago now, Matt and I were doing what we do best and were out and about finding fun new food and drink places. That particular afternoon we decided to do a spirits tasting at a local distillery. We had drank this distilleries gin before and really liked it, so we were rather excited to try a range of their spirits.

Then as we were listening to the bartender talk through all the options, something he said struck us both as quite odd. He mentioned this particularly distillery - which, granted, was very small - didn’t actually make their own base spirits; they bought a neutral base spirit from some other, larger distillery, then did their own infusion, barreling, and small second distillations.

When we left we both asked each other the same question: does it count as “distilling” if you use some one else’s base spirt and infuse it yourself? And then, what’s the difference between distilling and infusing?

Flavor town

Let’s start with the most basic question: is there even a difference between infusion and distillation?

Short answer: yes, there’s a difference between infusion and distillation; it’s all about when and how the flavors are added to the spirit. And to make matters worse, I’m going to throw THREE more terms at you that are additional methods of adding flavor to spirits: maceration, compounding, and percolation.

To explain the difference between all of these, let’s review what each one means at a basic level and then use gin as an example of how they might all be used differently to flavor a spirit.

Distillation

Let’s start with distillation, since that’s perhaps what most people are familiar with. The most basic definition is: a process involving the conversion of liquid into vapor that is subsequently condensed back into liquid form.

In the example of gin (and vodka) first a fermentable base is made from a grain, water, and yeast. That trio makes  something called “mash” (if you’re a beer fan, this smells really good)! This mash is fermented, then strained, and only then is it ready to distill.

The distillation process separates and purifies the liquid by heating it, and vaporizing it. That vapor is then condensed to a liquid again, with a higher alcohol.

In terms of gin distillation, the botanicals used are actually put in a special section of the still, so the vapor combine with the botanicals to add flavor during the distillation process. Gin can go through multiple distillations before it moves on to the final steps of filtering, diluting, and bottling.

Infusion & Maceration

So, how is that different than infusion or maceration? Well, first, we’re covering both infusion and maceration together because they’re essentially the same process, with just the slight deviation.

Both refer to the work of osmosis to extract flavor from a fruit, flower, or botanical. Osmosis is the passage or diffusion of water or other solvents through a semipermeable membrane.

Boring.

But in the context of gin, exciting.

Essentially, maceration and infusion work by soaking fruit in a liquid with low water concentration (ahem, alcohol, i.e. our gin example). The water inside the fruit will flow through tiny gaps in the fruit's skin and bring the molecules with all the flavor out with it, thus bringing all the delicious flavor out into the liquid.

The slight difference between infusion and maceration is what state the fruit is in when added to the alcohol. Infusion is the simplest method: just stick some whole fruit in some alcohol and you are infusing. Maceration refers to muddling or crushing the fruit before adding it to the alcohol.

Compounding

Three down, two to go!

Compounding is perhaps the easiest to explain, because really it’s just a category name above the process of infusion/maceration.

Compounding is simply adding one thing to another; for spirits, it’s adding either artificial or natural flavors after distillation is complete.

In terms of our example spirit, gin, “cold compounded gin” identifies a bathtub gin (a neutral gin) that has been made without distillation. The flavor that makes gin, gin has been added after through methods of… wait for it… infusion or maceration! Full circle moment.

Percolation

And last but not least, percolation. For spirits, percolation usually refers to the cooking of spirits to incorporate flavors. Note: this is different than what percolation refers to when used in a coffee context!

Why? Well because we can’t really cook or heat spirits that much due to the low evaporation point. The alcohol will burn off before the flavor is added to it!

So how do we percolate spirits to imbue flavor? We sous vide it.

Sous vide (literally, “under water”) is the cooking technique of adding your meat/fish/vegetables/etc. to an airtight bag, then placing it in a warm bath kept at a specific temperature which very, very slowly cooks and caramelizes the natural sugars in your food.

You can use this same technique to flavor gin by adding the base spirit and any wanted botanicals to an airtight bag, stick it in some water, and keep it as a low and stable temperature. The ethanol can’t cook off and flavors are unlocked.

Lastly, there is actually a fun kitchen implement called the “Sous Vide” which can be used instead of your stove burner to keep water in a large pot at one EXACT temperature. We own one and - let me tell you - meat (steaks, chicken, fish, whatever) made with this method are some of the best I’ve ever had!

The OG question

So, back to younger Matt & Molly’s original questions of “is there a difference” and “does it count as distilling”?

Yes, there absolutely is a difference! It’s all in the methodology you use to flavor your spirits. And no, technically it’s not “distilling” unless you actually use that methodology. Does it matter though? Not to me, as long as it’s delicious!

Weekly Adventure

This is a fun one! This week I dare you to go out and purchase a base bathtub gin or plain vodka (can be a lower shelf one, given the task), then go pick up your favorite fruit, and stick both in an airtight container together. Consider adding a little sugar if your favorite fruit is tangy or citrusy. Let it infuse in a dry, dark, room temperature place for a minimum of two weeks.

And bam: you’ve compounded and infused your own gin.

Cheers,

Molly

Resources:

https://www.britannica.com/science/osmosis

https://www.britannica.com/science/distillation

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-vodka-made-from

https://www.crossipdrinks.com/blogs/news/what-is-maceration

https://mymixologist.com/infusion-confusion/

https://www.diffordsguide.com/g/1108/gin/cold-compounded-gin

https://www.stilldragon.org/discussion/2615/infusion-maceration-vs-distilling