Still Magic: A gin distiller’s guide for beginners Paperback – Illustrated, 22 April 2019

This book covers in detail a structured approach to making great tasting gins. The book is strong in suggestions for getting your botanical combinations balanced and a good base to build from which is advice we really wanted. As a new distillery we are always being asked for a new gin and this has been a very helpful in suggesting the right approach.

This a great paperback on the art of distilling written by an expert in a very easy to read and understand way. It is full of explanations, tips and guidance that is essential to understand what makes a good gin and how to progress your botanical balance. Brilliant book

Author has a great deal of knowledge and puts it over in a well written way. Great read and rewarding if you are planning to make some Gin.

Lots of great information

This book is more about design of experiment process than distilling, but using the subject of gin botanicals. The experiment advice is sensible, such as plan, record, make notes, assess, make only single changes in each experiment. However, has almost no info on still equipment or making cuts, etc. For example the only mention of a still is "You will also need a copper still. Run a google search for the search term 'copper alembic stills'." Has some info on botanicals, Juniper is covered in some detail (twice) but others have a tantalising lack of specifics, such as "Angelica root is the dark lord.... its role in gin is very important." But no more information is given as to why!?! Compares botanicals to band members (less is more) but the analogy quickly breaks down as almost all gins have more botanicals than bands have band members? Has some basic recipes for infusion with vodka, but these again lack specifics such as quantities, (some are given in grams, but some are missing units). Additionally in the recipes citrus also appears as 6 different forms with no explanation as to what the differences are (bitter orange, grapefruit pieces, lemon rind, lemon pieces, limes, orange strips). I.e. how big is a lemon piece and what would that weigh - does that include rind, pith, etc? Bitter orange vs. orange strips? It is also very repetitive. Has a glossary but no index. Lastly my copy of the book wasn't bound (no glue) and fell apart, so sent it back.

Bought this as a present for someone wanting to make their own gin. This book dors not provide info or guidance on the actual ‘making’ of the bade alcohol or developing flavourings. I wouldn’t recommend.

This book reads like a talk that an ex-drinks sales person might give for free. It's all tease and little substance. The advice for beginners is to buy a gin making kit and measure the amount of ingredients the kit supplies. Why not include some recipes rather than encourage the copying of others? How does that help the beginner whose money you have taken? The author then goes on to state that the same recipe used for a macerated gin can be used for a distilled gin - this isn't correct. He describes a pot still but the output abv he achieves suggests he's actually using a column still of some kind. The book is confused, badly in need of an editor and I would guess that the author rarely if ever got his hands dirty operating a real still.Overall I was really disappointed - given the title this is someone trying to cash in on (someone else's) hobby without actually delivering on their promise. Lots of words, very little content.

The author gives great background on the different gins and how they are made and then gives a step by step guide on how to create your own recipies. His focus on the basics, the key principles, how to establish and record your recipe creation and how to evaluate your creations is not only applicable to gin but to any other alcohol, baking, fermenting, well just about anything creative!

It's ok, nothing I didn't already know, some good perspectives from the author. All the info is available online with some research but it is a good one to have in the distillers library nonetheless

I have started distilling gin and other spirits at home and wanted to find out some good recipes, tips and tricks and actual guidance of the PROCESS of making gin. Instead this book takes you on a lovely, if at times irreverent, journey through gin and its relationship with people, history and the author.Its systematic approach to improving and creating gins is nothing dissimilar to a PDSA cycle most people are already well aware of. Whilst its talk of botanicals is informative, it falls short of actually being helpful.Maybe one day I will use this book to help launch my distillery and make millions (!) but for now I am contented to youtube videos.

Want a flowery, bloviating tome about the creative process that reads like a low rent marketing textbook? This book is for you. Want concrete information about making gin at a commercial distillery? Look elsewhere. I’m sure some will find value here, but this was not what I was looking for at all based on the description and title.