Bathtub gin refers to any style of homemade spirit made in amateur conditions. The term first appeared in 1920, in theprohibition in the United States, in reference to the poor-quality alcohol that was being made.[1]
Asgin was the predominant drink in the 1920s, many variations were created by mixing cheap grainalcohol with water and flavorings and other agents, such as juniper berry juice and glycerin. In addition, mixing grain alcohol, water, and flavorings in vessels large enough to supply commercial users had to be small enough for the operation to go undetected by the police.
Many gin cocktails such asBee's Knees owe their existence to bathtub gin, as they were also created in order to mask the unpleasant taste.[2]
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A plastic still is a device fordistillation specially adapted for separatingethanol andwater.[citation needed] Plastic stills are common because they are cheap and easy to manufacture. The principle is that a smaller amount of liquid is placed in an open smaller vessel inside a larger one that is closed. A cheap 100 Wimmersion heater is typically used as heat source, but athermal immersion circulator, like asous vide stick is ideal because it comes with a temperature controller. The liquid is kept heated at about 50 °C (122 °F) which slowly evaporates the ethanol to 40% ABV that condense on the inner walls of the outer vessel. The condensation that accumulates in the bottom of the vessel can then be diverted directly down through a filter containingactivated carbon. The final product has approximately twice as much alcohol content as the starting liquid and can be distilled several times if stronger distillate is desired. The method is slow, and is not suitable for large-scale production.
The common metalbathtub in use at the time would have been ideal as would have been a ceramic bathtub, as a fermentation vessel, hence the name, 'bathtub gin'. However, sincedistillation is boiling and condensation in a closed apparatus, and cannot be accomplished in an open vessel such as a bathtub, stories of distilled alcoholic products produced in an open bathtub are likely untrue.
Another proposed etymology is from the use of the bathtub faucet for diluting moonshine. The larger bottles used for moonshine "wouldn't always fit beneath the kitchen sink, so they turned to the larger basin area provided by a bathtub to add water to their wares."[3][4]
