More info later this week, I’ll post it.

Yes, I got the Brita idea from the gin making post . . . but it’s a damn good idea!

I think that a Tanqueray 10 would work well too. Granted I’ve only had the 10 with tonic so I’m not too certain how forward the lime is. Yes, I realized you said “subtly” so that leads me to believe the that lime wouldn’t overpower any of the other flavors.

Peppadew could work, but I wonder how the sweetness differs from the habanero . . .

The heat in the reference sent to me was just idle speculation, I believe – more in a “if you’re doing this like tea”. She didn’t mention heat anywhere else.

And you got the Brita idea from the “how to make gin from vodka” eh?

What about starting with a gin that’s subtly flavored with lime as well, such as Tanqueray 10?

Or maybe using Peppadew instead of habanero…

One thing I want to touch on from our emails was the fruity/flowery aspect of habaneros. If you take away the heat, they are a fairly sweet pepper and have a smell and light flower taste. It is one of the reasons I love to cook with them. I usually use them twice. Once cooking into the dish for flavor and a second time by adding them in a the end for heat.

With that flavor profile in the pepper, that’s why I think Hendrick’s is a proper substitute. The rose part of the gin will match the orange flavors and the cucumber will pull together the heat (think Indian/Middle Eastern foods) and the cilantro.

As far as flavoring gin: I would add the spices, fruits, peppers, etc. for however long and then use a brand new Brita Filter pitcher to strain and filter the final concoction. You would probably want to filter it 3 or 4 times but you would get a clear spirit.

Question though. Where does the “heat” come in from the quote above? You certainly would not want to heat gin (or any other spirit) on the stove. Regardless of the temp control it would create a cloud of flamable gas above the stove as the alcohol burns . . . which would probably be kin to a meth explosion. That would be very bad mojo.

I went over the VA ABC web site and they don’t seem to carry Sarticious, even on special order.

Given that it’s cilantro…perhaps Hendricks would work.

I asked for some other thoughts – if, perhaps, you wanted to flavor a more neutral gin with some complimentary tastes before making it – and my idea of doing it almost tea bag style had some possible merit:
“use whole spices and cheesecloth for the bag… or put whole spices directly into gin, steep and then strain through cheesecloth. control the heat and shorten time to decrease burnt-out (dirty) taste.”

However, she’s not an alcohol expert, but it might be interesting to try that.

I wonder what size slice of habanero they’re thinking…