How is Gin Made?
Gin is one of the most complex spirits on the shelf, which makes it all the more surprising that most people have only a vague idea of how it's actually made. Ask someone how gin is produced and you'll likely get something about juniper berries and perhaps a mention of botanicals - but the full process, from raw ingredients to finished bottle, is genuinely fascinating and worth understanding.
At Salford Distillery we distil Salford Gin in small batches at The Dirty Old Town Distillery in the railway arches of Viaduct Street, Salford. This is how gin is made - and what makes ours different.
What is Gin?
Gin is legally defined as a spirit flavoured with juniper berries. That's the baseline requirement - without juniper as the dominant flavour, it cannot legally be called gin. Beyond that, the rules allow for considerable latitude, which is why the gin category is so diverse: from the bone-dry London Drys to the fruity, sweet contemporary gins that have proliferated over the past decade.
The minimum ABV for gin is 37.5%, though most quality producers bottle at 40% or above to preserve the integrity of the botanical flavours.
Step One: The Base Spirit
Every gin starts with a neutral base spirit - a high-strength, flavourless alcohol typically distilled from grain (wheat or barley), although some producers use grape, potato or even sugarcane. The base spirit needs to be as neutral as possible because its job is to carry the botanical flavours rather than contribute any character of its own.
Most distilleries - including ours - use a bought-in grain neutral spirit that has already been distilled to near purity. A small number of craft producers distil their own base spirit from scratch, which gives them more control over the final character but adds considerable time and cost to the process.
Step Two: Choosing the Botanicals
This is where gin-making becomes an art form. Botanicals are the herbs, spices, roots, peels and other plant materials that give each gin its distinctive flavour. Every distillery has its own botanical recipe - a carefully considered blend that is usually closely guarded.
Juniper berries are always the starting point and must be the dominant flavour in any gin. Beyond juniper, common botanicals include coriander seed, angelica root, orris root, citrus peel, cardamom, cinnamon and liquorice. But the best gins tend to have at least one distinctive botanical that sets them apart from the crowd.
For Salford Gin, that botanical is willow bark. The willow trees lining the River Irwell gave Salford its name - the word "Salford" derives from the Old English for "willow ford" - and using willow bark as our lead botanical alongside juniper is a direct reference to the city's origins. Willow bark adds a dry, woody, slightly bitter quality that gives Salford Gin its distinctive structure and sets it apart from more floral or citrus-led gins.
Step Three: Distillation
Once the botanicals have been selected, they need to be combined with the base spirit and distilled. There are three main methods:
Pot still distillation (steeping) - the botanicals are steeped directly in the base spirit, typically for 12 to 24 hours, before the mixture is distilled in a traditional copper pot still. This is the method used for most London Dry gins and tends to produce a fuller, more integrated botanical character.
Vapour infusion - instead of steeping the botanicals in the spirit, they are held in a basket above the liquid inside the still. As the spirit vapour rises during distillation it passes through the botanical basket, picking up flavour on the way. This method tends to produce lighter, more delicate botanical notes - particularly good for floral or citrus botanicals that can become harsh if over-extracted.
Cold compounding - botanical extracts or essences are added directly to the base spirit without redistillation. This is the least labour-intensive method and is generally used for lower-cost products. It doesn't produce the same level of botanical integration as pot still distillation.
At Salford Distillery we use pot still distillation, steeping the botanicals directly in the spirit before redistilling in our copper still. This gives us the depth and integration of flavour that we want from a gin designed to be sipped as well as mixed.
Step Four: Cutting the Distillate
During distillation, the liquid that comes off the still isn't uniform. The first portion - the "heads" - contains volatile compounds that are too harsh and pungent. The last portion - the "tails" - contains heavier, oilier compounds that can muddy the flavour. The skill of the distiller lies in knowing exactly when to make the "cuts" - when to start and stop collecting the middle portion, or "heart", of the distillate.
The hearts are the good stuff: clean, smooth, fragrant with botanical character. Getting the cuts right is one of the most important judgement calls in the whole process, and it's something that improves with experience.
Step Five: Dilution and Bottling
The spirit that comes off the still is far too strong to bottle directly - typically around 70-80% ABV. It's diluted with pure water to the desired bottling strength, usually 40-43% for a quality gin. The water used for dilution matters more than people realise - hard water with high mineral content can affect the flavour, which is why most distilleries use demineralised or specially sourced soft water.
After dilution, the gin is filtered and bottled. Unlike whisky or aged rum, gin doesn't typically spend time in oak casks - it goes from still to bottle relatively quickly, which is one reason why craft distilleries can bring a new gin to market much faster than a new whisky.
What Makes a Good Gin?
The difference between a good gin and a great one comes down to a few things: the quality and balance of the botanical recipe, the skill of the cuts during distillation, and the integrity of the base spirit. A great gin should be complex enough to reward drinking neat or over ice, and versatile enough to work beautifully in a well-made G&T or cocktail.
Salford Gin was designed with both in mind. The willow bark gives it a dry, structural quality that makes it interesting to drink neat; the juniper and citrus peel give it the classic backbone that makes it an excellent mixer. It's a gin built to reflect the character of the city it comes from - direct, dry, and with more depth than its appearance might suggest.
See It Made in Person
The best way to understand how gin is made is to see it happen. Our Distillery Tour and Tasting at The Dirty Old Town Distillery covers the full production process from botanical selection through to bottling, with guided tastings of both our gin and rum range. Located in Arch 33, Viaduct Street, Salford - five minutes from Manchester city centre.
Rather shop from home? Order Salford Gin online with free UK delivery on orders over £100.
