The original timeline for this project saw us eating Thanksgiving dinner in the new house. It’s safe to say that’s not gonna happen now. Several days of rain kept the city workers from digging this week. Fingers crossed they can get back to work next week.

Back in the days of innocence, before we knew of heat loss/heat gain studies and before we fully understood the profound effect of a sewer pipe just a few feet off its mark, we ordered a kitchen (base cabinets, fridge, oven, etc.) while the items were on sale. In honor of the full kitchen that sits in our current living room, I made “kitchen gin” this week.

Don’t confuse this with bathtub gin, which is generally known as homemade alcohol made by people who have no business making alcohol. Kitchen gin is a thing of beauty, a work of art and – added bonus – completely legal!

I started with a recipe from Ian Knauer (here) and I’m happy with the results, but I can’t leave well enough alone so made a few tweaks with my next batch.

This particular combination of herbs and spices tastes similar to Ransom’s Old Tom Gin, so this recipe is a keeper for me, but I’ll think I’ll continue to play around with ingredients until I either master the flavor of The Botanist or this house is built, whichever comes first.

Kitchen Gin

1 750ml bottle of vodka (I used Tito’s because it was on-hand)
2 TBSP juniper berries (heaping tablespoons, people – you’re making gin!)
¾ tsp coriander seed
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp fennel seed
4 green cardamom pods
3 Tellicherry peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 fresh lemon peel (2-3 inches long)

Infuse juniper berries in vodka overnight. Add remaining ingredients the next morning and allow them to infuse all day. In the evening, strain the botanicals through a filter (I used coffee filters and strained it three times). Now you’re ready to make your favorite gin cocktails!

Note: this is infused liquor so the berries and herbs will transfer color to the alcohol. If you want a crystal-clear martini, this isn’t for you – but it would make a damn fine Ramos Gin Fizz.