The Potting Shed

Guides, gift ideas and honest answers from the people who hand-pack every kit.

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A stirred gin cocktail in a coupe glass beside a bottle of homemade gin and a twist of orange peel on a wooden bar top.

Gin cocktails for homemade gin: negroni, martini and five more

Which cocktails suit a homemade compound gin, why colour and strength behave the way they do, and seven drinks worth making with a bottle you infused yourself.

Three bottles of home-infused spirits in different colours on a shelf beside a jar of botanicals and a demijohn.

They already have a gin kit: what to give a maker for the second Christmas

The follow-up present depends on what they enjoyed: blending, the party trick, a different spirit, or making alcohol from fruit rather than infusing it.

A glass of gin and tonic beside juniper berries, dried citrus peel and coriander seeds on a wooden table.

What is London Dry gin? The style, the rules and what it means for home gin

London Dry is a production method, not a place. The rules explained, how other gin styles differ, and how close a home infusion can get to the classic profile.

A bottle and glass of pale pink homemade gin beside fresh raspberries and dried flowers on a rustic wooden table.

Pink gin at home: natural colour from berries and botanicals

Make pink gin with no artificial colouring: which berries and botanicals give real colour, how to infuse them, and the gin that turns pink in the glass.

Three gift-wrapped boxes on a table with juniper berries, dried spices and a gold-seamed ceramic bowl around them.

Christmas gifts under 25 pounds that feel like more

Three making kits under 25 pounds that buy someone several evenings rather than a small object, with what each one includes and what to add.

Four small tasting glasses of homemade gin lined up on a wooden table with juniper berries and citrus peel.

Gin tasting at home: how to host a flight of your own gins

How to run a gin tasting at home: building a flight of three to five gins, what to put on the table, how to taste properly and how to score it.

A gin and tonic in a heavy glass filled with ice, a long twist of orange peel and juniper berries resting on top.

Gin garnish guide: which garnish suits which gin

How to match a garnish to what is actually in the bottle, from citrus-forward to spiced and floral gins, plus how to prepare peel, herbs and berries properly.

A small pile of dusty blue black juniper berries beside a measuring spoon and a jar of clear spirit on a wooden table.

Juniper berries: the one botanical every gin must have

What juniper berries actually are, why gin legally and practically depends on them, what they taste like and how much to use in a 700ml home batch.

A jar of gin infusing with juniper berries and citrus peel beside a strainer and a bottle of finished gin on a wooden table.

Gin tastes bitter or harsh? How to fix an over-infused batch

Why homemade gin turns bitter, four ways to rescue an over-infused batch, how to tell harshness from strength, and the habit that prevents both.

A jar of vodka infusing with juniper berries, citrus peel and spices beside a tasting pipette.

How long to infuse gin: a timing guide for botanicals

How long each gin infusion takes, the four things that change the timing, how to taste your way to the right moment, and how to fix a batch you overshot.

A gin and tonic in a copa glass filled with ice, lemon peel and juniper berries on a wooden table.

The perfect gin and tonic: ratios, ice, glass and garnish

The right gin to tonic ratio, why ice is the part everyone gets wrong, highball versus copa, how to match a garnish to the botanicals, and serving homemade gin.

Jar of sloes, sugar and gin steeping to show how to make sloe gin at home

How to Make Sloe Gin: The Classic Hedgerow Recipe

How to make sloe gin the traditional way: when to pick sloes, the classic hedgerow method, the three month wait and what else your autumn haul can become.

Gin making experience at home with a gin making kit, juniper berries and botanicals on a kitchen table

Gin Making Experience: Book a Gin School or Make It at Home?

Gin schools are a brilliant day out, but a kit brings the same craft home. An honest comparison to help you choose the right gin making experience or gift.

How is gin made: juniper berries and botanicals infusing a bottle of vodka into homemade gin with a gin making kit

How Is Gin Made? From Juniper to Bottle, Explained

How commercial gin is made, what gin is made from, why it starts as vodka, and the centuries-old compound method that lets you make real gin at home.

Gin botanicals including juniper berries and citrus peel laid out beside a make your own gin kit

Gin Botanicals Explained: What Each One Brings to Your Glass

What gin botanicals actually are, why juniper leads every blend, what citrus, spice and floral botanicals add, and how to balance a gin of your own.

Colour changing gin kit with blue pea flowers turning a gin and tonic from blue to pink

Colour Changing Gin: How the Magic Works and How to Make Your Own

What colour changing gin is, the natural science behind the blue to pink change, how to make five bottles with our kit, and the mixers that trigger the magic.

Gin infusion kit with juniper berries and botanicals steeping in a jar of spirit

Gin Infusion Kits: How Infusing Your Own Gin at Home Actually Works

How gin infusion really works: compound gin vs distilled, what each botanical does, steeping times, taste-as-you-go control and the mistakes to avoid.