When we taste a spirit, our first instinct is often to jump to its dominant flavour or grade its intensity. However, a single note cannot make a symphony nor are any good spirits entirely singular in their nature.
That’s especially true for gin. Despite the focus on juniper pre-dominance, gin’s profile has always been so much more than a single flavour or singular moment of intensity.
One of the secrets to producing a beautifully complex gin therefore, lies in the concept of ‘flavour sequencing’. It’s an under-appreciated but essential element of the art of distilling gin.
This article explores some of the big talking points involved, and suggests a few ideas for how to achieve it when creating a new recipe.
Setting the stage for flavour sequencing
Flavour sequence isn’t just possible, it’s imperative to understand if you want to be an elite gin maker.
In the world of music, great songs involve a sequence of notes that have time to shine, contributing to a harmonious melody. The same philosophy applies to gin distillation. The flavours we perceive in gin don’t merely coexist, they follow a certain sequence which is both predictable to design and possible to control for a distiller.
Just like it is possible to imagine a new melody, then write the music for it and play it, it is possible to picture a flavour sequence, dose it and distil it.
You’ll need a lot of botanical knowledge and distilling prowesses – but for those aiming to make a juniper centred gin it’s almost always possible, irrespective of the novelty of what you want to surround the key ingredient.
Sequencing starts by understanding volatility
The order in which people perceive flavours is heavily influenced by the volatility of their key compounds. Some are light and fleeting (high volatile compounds), giving us the first impression, while others are deep and anchored to water (low volatile compounds), providing the final punctuation.
Just like an orchestra conductor, the distiller’s job is to dose the botanicals so that there’s a flavour sequence, a distinct journey to the gin’s profile.
For instance, citrus flavours, with their fickle compounds, hit the senses first, followed by aromatic florals and herbs. Only after that do the deeper, less volatile tones, such as earthy roots and spicy seeds, make their presence known.
Of course, these imaginary layers are all trapped in liquid form together. It’s just that when it comes to us discerning them as humans, their respective intensity peaks flow one after the next. They reach your senses in a sequence that more or less goes from high volatile to low, and the intensity of the first needs to subside before you can notice the next and so on.
Perfumers have used this understanding for years to create their scents. They refer to them as top notes, middle notes and base notes. Each stage is distinct.
For those who understand that a flavour perception follows the logic of volatility, it’s easy to then pick botanicals and dose them appropriately to create a sequence.
The tough part is figuring out not just what will create each peak in intensity, but how much of it you require (in exact grams) to deliver it while also being small enough to subside and allow for the next botanical. It is a calculated series of waves.
The maestro at work: The art of the distiller
Picture this: your still is gently humming, the air is scented with a mix of botanicals, and the first precious spirit begins to flow. You taste it, and it’s bright, filled with citrus and fresh florals. You wait, the distillation progresses and the flavour evolves minute by minute, becoming herbal, spiced and then earthy.
The same sequence the drinker experiences in a flash (literally 4 or 5 seconds), is a journey that, for the distiller, is played out over hours when they craft the gin.
This protracted time difference is critical. It allows the distiller to make their ‘hearts cut’.
Flavour sequences (and volatility) unfurl when collecting the hearts cut
The start of the hearts cut are almost always filled with bright flavours that flow upfront. They lend that first zing of freshness that sparks curiosity in a flavour profile.
For those who distil regularly, the citrus serenade that fills the air is a relentlessly uplifting moment in the morning shift. Florals and fruits tend to come next, then into the heart of the action – herbs and the glorious juniper. Earthy roots and spice are a nice sensory reminder that you’re into the final leg.
If you stop too soon, you risk losing the full depth and complexity of your recipe. A good hearts cut needs width.
Just as you need shadows for brightness to shine, you need depth for a truly great gin. Many low volatile compounds (base notes, or flavours that are likely to appear on the finish) take a while to coax over the still. Too much and you are in trouble. Too little and the cut is too narrow and you’ll have lost both flavour, finish and yield.
Hence, it’s essential to navigate making the cut thoughtfully, understanding what will add depth and what is now a flat note spoiling the sequence.
Using dual-profile botanicals to refine flavour sequencing
Flavour sequencing in gin is not simply about the progression from lighter to heavier notes. Just like telling a good story, it’s also about weaving complex threads of flavour throughout the sequence.
Juniper does this masterfully as it has limonene, pinene and other terpene compounds. It means that even if you distilled it on its own, you would experience a layered profile over time. If it were a character in a book, it would be one that you discover new facets to at different times of the story.
Other botanicals will have this to one degree or another too. This allows distillers to follow similar concepts that story tellers do when they create narrative arcs.
Cubeb as an example of weaving sequence
For example, ingredients like cubeb and coriander seed are blessed with two (or more) distinctly different flavour spikes however. These can be game-changers, allowing distillers to enhance and bridge flavour notes for a harmonious effect.
Take cubeb for example – it’s unlike most spices. It is as floral as it is spicy. Cubeb’s overtly floral spiced character comes to the fore on the aroma, offering a pleasant surprise to the olfactory senses. The other half of its profile – the cracked black pepper note- comes through far stronger once tasted. It leaves a warm, tingling sensation at the end of the sip. It carries a floral tinge, but nowhere near what it was on the nose.
Because of this, when used thoughtfully, cubeb can allow a distiller to extend the perception of a flavour note.
For example, the violet like floral aroma it gives could enhance the likes of rose or lavender on the aroma, and make them seem like they are reappearing on the finish alongside peppery spice. The distiller knows what’s happening, but the drinker is momentarily tricked into thinking it’s the same note they experienced earlier. A clever bridge and nice flavour echo that completes a coherent flavour journey.
Coriander seed is also a star performer that shines in multiple roles. With spikes of citrus, floral and spiced notes, coriander seed can emerge at different points of a gin’s profile.
The variety of coriander seed used and the distillation method can significantly influence where these notes appear in the sequence. A distiller can extract the citrusy spike to enrich the bright top notes and add a floral backdrop to it, or emphasise the spiced profile to bridge the transition to earthier flavours.
Botanicals can be manipulated to fit sequences. They can act as vehicles to weave aromas with a lingering finish, and they can create echoes that remind drinkers of other flavours that have now subsided.
The possibilities are endless
Strategic use of botanicals and finding the optimum dose for each can elevate a gin from a simple melody to an intricate symphony. The skill lies in understanding a botanicals’ nature. Once you understand which compounds a botanical possess’ and its volatility you can make good predictions for where they are likely to appear in a flavour sequence. Through the distillation and the hearts cut, you can further manipulate this.
It’s why gin one of the most creative and challenging categories for a distiller to master.
You don’t just distil gin. You conduct an orchestra of flavours, ebbing and flowing through a journey, guiding the sequence to perfection.
Gin isn’t about singular flavours or solely about juniper intensity – it’s a narrative filled with individual timelines and denouements.
The art of distilling therefore, is to find a way to tell a compelling story, one sip at a time.
