compounding is the process of adding flavorings and aromatics to a spirit or otherwise modifying the spirit (not including dilution) without the use of distillation. Gin, for example, may be produced through distillation (by utilizing juniper berries and other ingredients in the distillation process) or through compounding, by adding the ingredients (either whole or in the form of extracts, essences, or oils) to a neutral spirit prior to bottling and sale. Compound spirits are typically defined by regulatory bodies and are taxed similarly to distilled spirits. Since distillation equipment, expertise, and licenses aren’t needed to produce a compound spirit (but other licenses are typically required), these spirits are usually cheaper to produce than distilled spirits, often with a corresponding compromise in quality. The simplicity of manufacture has made compounding attractive to some startup producers, as well as to makers of illicit spirits. Compounding was widely used in making adulterate spirits in the nineteenth century, when manuals listing a vast variety of compound imitations of distilled spirits were widely available for those without a still or the knowledge necessary to operate one. After such things were curtailed by pure food and drug laws in the early twentieth century, they reappeared in America during Prohibition, when compound “bathtub gin,” made by adding (legal) juniper extract to an (illegal) alcohol base was widely popular.
See also adulteration and rectification.
“Guidance: Spirits Duty.” GOV.UK, November 9, 2009. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/spirits-duty(accessed February 26, 2021).
By: Paul Clarke