Moonshiners are discussing this topical issue with all their might. different countries. At the same time, the Internet is teeming with recipes and offers to make this or that tincture in a short time. Despite this, moonshiners continue to look for an answer to an almost rhetorical question. The thing is that the distillate is infused with berries, fruits, spices, herbs, etc. And a skillful combination of certain substances helps to create drinks at home that are not inferior in characteristics to elite alcohol.
At home, you can turn it into cognac, absinthe, liqueur, tincture, etc. The list goes on and on. But before you start refining alcohol, it’s worth understanding what kind of product you plan to get in the end.
Why do they insist on moonshine?
The question of what to insist on often worries distillers. But before you start experimenting, it’s worth figuring out whether these experiments will bring benefit or harm.
Positive points:
- Infusing alcohol with anything will help change its taste and smell. The distillate will absorb essential oils, flavors and acquire pleasant aroma. For this to happen, it is necessary to add components not to the mash, but to the finished moonshine, otherwise the effect of refining will be weak.
- Some herbs and plants can increase the strength of alcohol, but such tinctures are prepared over a long period of time.
- Adding various berries and herbs to the distillate will help rid it of turbidity and remove bitterness and aftertaste.
- A variety of tinctures are used instead of medicines. They are used in the treatment various diseases. The tincture can act as one of the components of complex therapy.
Among the disadvantages of this method of refining alcohol is the possibility of spoiling the alcohol. This only happens if the manufacturer does not follow the recipe.
What you can infuse moonshine with:
- On herbs and plants. They are rich in essential oils, for this reason they can impart various properties to the distillate, improve its taste and mask the unpleasant odor.
- On spices. You can use anything you can find in the store or in the kitchen; even pepper and bay leaves will add a peculiar piquancy to the drink.
- On berries and fruits. This method of preparing drinks is suitable for those who like liqueurs with fruity notes or prefer weak alcohol, as well as for inveterate summer residents who have their own garden or vegetable garden.
- Even tea and coffee are used to create certain alcoholic drinks, examples include cognac and liqueur.
- On nuts and dried fruits. Such tinctures are incredibly popular; they have a lot of useful properties And at the same time, the recipe for their manufacture is simple to execute.
It is not difficult to infuse moonshine with certain components; the process will require endurance and patience. But ultimately, it will be possible to obtain a drink that will meet the requirements of even the most demanding consumers.
How alcohol is better, the higher its cost - many lovers of high-quality strong drinks know this. But this rule does not always work 100%. Sometimes, in order to create alcohol that will have excellent taste and quality, it is enough to put in a minimum of effort.
The influence of flavorings on alcohol
You can infuse alcohol or moonshine with the following components, which will change the characteristics of the distillate and give it certain properties:
- Bitterness will appear if you add orange or lemon zest to alcohol. Vanilla, cinnamon and bay leaves will also make the drink taste bitter.
- Sage, rosemary and cloves will add spice to the alcohol.
- Nutmeg and cardamom will decorate the moonshine with unique notes and make it more piquant in taste.
- Red and black pepper will help make the tincture more pungent; this effect can also be achieved by adding cloves and ginger to the distillate.
- Spices can be combined with herbs or other ingredients; such a tandem will change not only the taste of the drink, but will also affect its color.
If you want to surprise your guests with the color of the alcohol, you can add the following components to the moonshine:
- Saffron and partitions will give the distillate a hint of gold. walnut and orange peel.
- Various herbs: lemon balm, mint, celery, etc. will make the drink yellow, the color will be bright but natural.
- If you want to make red alcohol, you can use various berries for this purpose; the most dyes are found in blueberries, cranberries and lingonberries.
- Sunflower seeds will color the drink blue; if you add blueberry decoction to it, the shade will be deeper.
- Cornflower will make the distillate bluish in appearance, the color will be pleasant and soft.
- But coffee and tea will help make the drink resemble cognac or whiskey. If you add oak bark to moonshine, you can get a wonderful drink.
Moonshine, as a high-strength drink, is distinguished by its ability to absorb esters and oils contained in plants, seasonings and flowers. The distillate not only changes color and taste, it acquires certain properties, for this reason some tinctures are used as medicines.
What can you do yourself?
How to infuse moonshine so that it turns into cognac? The answer to this question is simple: you need to choose the right spices and herbs so that the result is a noble drink that would resemble the product of French winemakers.
So, the cognac recipe:
- 3 liters of moonshine;
- peels of 2 lemons or oranges;
- spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, black peppercorns and bay leaves, several sprigs of cloves;
- Oak bark;
- tea or instant coffee;
- burnt sugar.
The recipe is not particularly complicated: you just need to add moonshine to a glass jar, then prepare caramel, pour it into the container and then add all the spices and herbs. Oak bark should be washed and soaked a little in water or crushed in a coffee grinder.
Tea or coffee will improve the color of the drink and make it look like real French cognac. The product will be ready for use in approximately 2 weeks. But if you have the opportunity to let the cognac sit a little longer, then you should take advantage of it, as this will only improve the quality of the drink.
How to quickly turn moonshine into cognac:
- You will need coffee or tea.
- And also burnt sugar or caramel.
If we take coffee, we dilute it in a small amount of warm water so that it does not form lumps. Then pour the coffee into a glass jar, add moonshine and caramel. Infuse the drink for 3 days, strain and drink. It is worth noting that such alcohol will taste little like cognac. But it will be softer than classic moonshine.
The next drink worth paying attention to is absinthe. It has a unique taste and characteristic bitterness. Absinthe was the favorite drink of Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's novel of the same name.
Making absinthe at home is not easy, but the effort is worth it.
So, the recipe for making absinthe:
- You should start by collecting the ingredients. You will need: wormwood - 25–30 grams, only the tops can be used; the stems and roots are not suitable for preparing such a noble drink. You will also need fennel and anise; you can use plant seeds if you can’t find anything else. Pour the herbs into a glass jar and fill them with one liter of strong moonshine. Absinthe will have to be infused for at least 7 days.
- After a week, you will need to distill the distillate again. Distillation is carried out directly with herbs. It is worth ensuring that the herbs do not burn to the surface during processing. alembic. If this happens, then you can pour out the base and start all over again, since even repeated distillation and cleaning will not help get rid of the smell of burning and bitterness. To prevent the herbs from burning, it is advisable to use a device with a steam generator. The herbs are not removed for the reason that during the heating process they impart essential oils to the distillate, which they could not “give away” during the infusion process. This distillation will help make the drink softer despite the degrees.
- The next step is to give the distillate a characteristic shade. Absinthe is distinguished not only by its high strength of 70–85 degrees, but also by its pleasant green tint. To give this color to alcohol, you need to chop or mash the following herbs in a container: lemon balm, mint, hyssop flowers, dry wormwood (we take 10 grams of all herbs, except lemon balm, you will need a little less of it - only 5 grams). When the herbs are ready, add 40 milliliters of distillate to them and heat the mixture to 50 degrees. During the heating process, the herbs will give up all their esters to the alcohol and fill it with aroma. When the liquid has cooled, it is poured into a container with the rest of the absinthe. Now the drink has a pleasant hue.
- The last stage can be considered infusion; distillers call it aging. If absinthe sits for a long time, it changes color, becomes yellow, this indicates its quality, such a drink can be drunk without fear. It will be of high quality and mild taste.
If you manage to make absinthe, then when making other drinks special difficulties should not arise, since absinthe has a complex recipe and capricious character.
Herbal tincture recipes
How to properly prepare herbal tinctures? There are several recipes that can be used without having special knowledge of moonshine. But there are so many people, so many opinions, for this reason we suggest you familiarize yourself with various recipes and choose the one you like best.
Moonshine tinctures, recipes:
- You can make a tincture using just a few ingredients: for 5 liters of distillate you should take 200 grams of mint and sage and 50 grams of ginger and galangal. Grind all components in a coffee grinder and place them in alcohol. Mix the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula. Close the container tightly with a lid and place it in a dark and cool place. The tincture will be ready in 14 days, it will have to be strained; you can use thick cloth or gauze as a filter. After filtration, re-distill in the still.
- To make a pistachio tincture, you will need a little more ingredients. The list of ingredients is as follows: half a glass or 125 grams of pistachios, the skins of one grapefruit, 1 tablespoon each of cinnamon and cardamom, several sprigs of cloves and nutmeg on the tip of a knife, as well as 200 grams rye bread. All components are immersed in a container with alcohol and sent to a dark place for at least 10 days. It’s difficult to say exactly how long the drink will take to prepare. It is recommended to shake and taste it periodically, based on personal preferences.
- Mint tincture is used in the treatment of various diseases. The recipe is simple: pour 200 grams of fresh mint with moonshine in a 1 to 1 ratio. The balm will be ready in about 7–10 days. They say it will help cure hangovers and relieve stomach problems.
- Clover tincture is also easy to prepare. It will take a little time to create it. To obtain quality product, just pour 50 grams of dried raw material into 0.5 liters of moonshine and place the container in a dark place, after 2-3 weeks the drink will be ready for use.
Horseradish recipe
It’s hard to say how many recipes for horseradish there are. This drink is popular among moonshiners. It's not just a matter of comparative simple recipe, but also in the good taste characteristics of the drink.
What ingredients can be used:
- 1 liter of moonshine.
- 300 grams of horseradish.
- 3 tbsp. spoons of honey.
- Spices: cloves, peppercorns.
We take a glass container, pour moonshine into it, grind the horseradish using a blender and immerse it in the distillate. Then we dilute the honey with a small amount of water, if it is thick, and add it to the rest of the horseradish components. Next, add spices and close the container with a tight lid. After about 2–3 months, horseradish will be ready for consumption. But before drinking it, it is recommended to pass the distillate through a filter (thick fabric, gauze).
There are quite a few options that can be used to infuse moonshine. It should be based on your own preferences and taste preferences.
You love fruits not only in their original form, but also to feel the excellent aroma and subtle notes of taste in strong drinks? Are you tired of the monotonous taste of sugar vodka and want to try something new? Then fruit distillate is something that you will certainly like and will be applauded by your friends.
Almost any fruit is suitable for the production of fruit and berry distillates. Depending on the raw materials used to prepare the mash, the name of the final product you will receive will also change. For example, cognac, grappa, and chacha can be made from grapes, Calvados from apples, pears from pears, and so on.
Below we will describe the main stages of preparing mash from fruits and berries.
Thoroughly clean your raw materials from seeds, twigs, dirt and rotting areas. This is important point to prevent contamination of the mash and its subsequent souring. Even if a culture of pure yeast can overcome bacteria that can get into the mash along with putrefactive places or impurities, the bacteria will still “eat up” some of the sugar and thus you will get a mash with a lower sugar content.
There are several ways to prepare mash from fruits, and they are divided into “red” and “white” schemes.
For the "red scheme"(the pulp is fermented along with the juice):
Grind the raw materials using a blender for small volumes up to 30 liters, or using a construction mixer attachment for large volumes.
For "white" scheme:
Use a juicer to squeeze juice out of your berries or fruits.
From some fruits, for example plums, the amount of juice obtained will be very small. In this regard, mash for slivovitz is made according to the “red” scheme with the addition of water and some sugar.
Then place the juice or fruit slurry into the fermentation container. The container should remain 30% empty, as the mash level may rise.
Measure the amount of sugar in your future wort using a saccharometer (for juice) or a refractometer. For optimal distillate yield from your wort, we recommend adding sugar to the wort to a level of 16-18% Brix.
To liquefy the mash (to break the pectin bonds that make the fruit hard), we also recommend using an enzyme preparation from Schliessman, which reduces the need to add water. If the wort is excessively thick, this will prevent complete fermentation, and the formation of a large “cap” can lead to acetic acid, which can lead to sour mash.
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Add yeast according to the indicated dosage, depending on the fermentation temperature. Yeast should be dehydrated first. Pour 10 times the amount of water at a temperature of 35° into a container with the required amount of water. After 15 minutes, stir and leave for another 15 minutes. After this, the yeast can be poured into the mash and mixed thoroughly. The temperature difference between the wort and dehydrated yeast should not exceed 8°. Otherwise the yeast may die.
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For optimal formation of aromatic compounds and fermentation without the risk of souring the mash, you should check the acidity of the mash using a pH meter or litmus papers. If necessary, the mash should be acidified to pH 3.0 with (dosage 100-200 ml / 10 l of wort) or sulfuric acid (5-9 ml / 10 l of wort. For preliminary preparation, it is necessary to dilute sulfuric acid in a tenfold amount of running water, NOT add water to the acid!). Stir the acid thoroughly.
Allowable acidity range - 2.5-4.5 pH;
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The use of salts () also improves the nutrition of the yeast, which leads to more thorough fermentation of the wort and a higher yield of alcohol. Recommended dosage is 4 g per 10 liters of wort. The alcohol that appears in the wort as it ferments is an aggressive environment for yeast. The addition of salts helps resist this environment.
Close the fermentation container hermetically and install a water seal. Stir the mash 2 – 3 times a week.
Braga from pome fruits should be distilled immediately after fermentation is complete. In the case of stone fruits, distillation is carried out after a short period of storage.
If the wort will be stored for more than a few weeks, glucose must be added to protect against souring (dose: 0.5-1.5 g/hl). To prevent the mash from burning in the cube, you should squeeze out the cake before distillation if you made the mash according to the red scheme.
Notes:
Fermentation temperature should not exceed 18-20°C, so that volatile aromatic components are not driven out by carbon dioxide during fermentation. The amount of yeast to be used must be calculated depending on the temperature of the mash and the room in which the fermentation takes place. Please note that lower temperatures require more yeast than higher temperatures.
Fermentation temperature 12-15 ° C 1 - 2 g of yeast per 10 l of wort
Fermentation temperature 16-20 ° C 0.5 - 1 g of yeast per 10 l of wort
All auxiliary products should be mixed evenly and thoroughly in the mash. It is necessary to ensure that the mash is acidified to pH 3.0. If the acid is unevenly distributed in areas with a high pH level, bacterial infections may appear that can spoil the mash.
Enjoy making quality drinks at home and enjoy their unique taste!
Master class on fruit distillates
Hi all!
Today I want to tell you about another useful feature steamer, which I haven’t mentioned before. Using this device, you can give moonshine the smell and taste of some product, such as orange or mint. I’ll tell you now how to do this and what to put in the steamer for flavor.
What to do and how it works
Everything is very simple. A product is placed at the bottom of the jug, the aromatic and taste qualities of which we want to convey to our moonshine. When hot alcohol vapor passes through the steamer, it interacts with this product and is aromatized by it. Of course, because alcohol is an excellent solvent, and here it is also hot.
Scientifically, this process is called steam maceration. The same thing happens when preparing some delicious liqueurs– under the influence of a solvent (moonshine, alcohol, vodka, etc.) cells in the flavoring tissues separate and the beneficial qualities of the latter are transferred into the tincture. And this is also maceration.
The resulting drink by steam aromatization differs in taste from the drink obtained by infusion. But more on that below.
What products can be used
In fact, there is a vast field for creativity here. You can use anything that has a strong and, of course, pleasant smell. You can stuff anything you have enough imagination into into a jar. I will list the products that I have tried myself, as well as those that my friends have used.
- Raisin. Also good for these purposes. True, I prefer not to put it in the jug, but to infuse the raw alcohol before the second distillation.
- Leaves of plants, such as currants.
- Bread! It makes a very interesting drink. I have an article with a recipe on this topic - Bread tear.
Well, this is what I tried or heard from my fellow hobbyists. If you have your own ideas, leave them in the comments.
What do we get as a result?
As I already said, a drink obtained by steam maceration differs from a drink obtained by infusion of the same product.
- The aroma is not as strong, but at least more developed. And you can feel it well in the aftertaste.
- The taste is also not so bright, but it is present and distinguishable. Also a big plus is that citrus zest does not impart bitterness to the drink. But for the tincture, it must be cleaned properly, and even then it is not always possible to do this well.
- A very important feature in my opinion is that the color of the product is never transferred to moonshine obtained in this way. The drink remains clean and transparent. Unlike tincture.
In general, it is wrong to talk about which moonshine is better - infused with something or flavored through a steamer. These are just different drinks and each is good in its own way.
Bye everyone, Pavel Dorofeev.
- puree + syrup
- juice + syrup
- compote + syrup
- juice + compote + syrup, etc.
It is important that the wort is sufficiently sugary (at least 20 g/dm3) and aromatic initially. I often prefer to use compote (a highly concentrated decoction) of fruits and berries with low humidity (dense apples, rose hips, sloe, quince, rowan, honeysuckle, some types of pears, etc.), in combination with other fractions to make work easier with mash during its preparation for distillation. Of course, there will be losses in aroma, but in any case it is advisable to make up for them aromatization. To do this, it is advisable to immediately set aside some of the raw materials for secondary flavoring of moonshine (possibly freeze). Making compote is very simple. Place portions of fruit into boiling water for 10-15 minutes, then discard them in a colander (drain the drained liquid back into the concentrate). With this method, almost all the sugar (glucose and fructose) will end up in the compote, and therefore in the wort.
So, in accordance with our ideas and wishes, we composed a wort, which consists of a fruit component and invert sugar syrup. Be sure to measure its sugar content and acidity, and again think carefully about it. We decide to bring our complex solution to the correct levels: sugar - 18-24 g/dm3, acidity 4-5 units. RN. Prepare invert sugar syrup in the required volume. But its concentration can be different, depending on the sugar content of the wort itself. If the sugars in the wort are 6-12 g/dm3, prepare a solution at the rate of 1/3; 12-15 g/dm3 - 1/4; 15-23 g/dm3 - 1/5. Finally, we mixed the wort and we are satisfied with its sugar content (16-24 g/dm3). HOORAY!!!
Let's start alkalizing again. Let's bring the pH of the solution to 4-4.5 units. using the above method. The wort is waiting to be added. Let’s not test its strength, we’ll add wine yeast in full accordance with the instructions for it and put the mash container with our single-celled mushrooms to work.
The question arises: is there a need to feed the yeast? Our experience tells us that it is not worth it. Proper modern alcoholic yeast contains a full range of vitamins and microelements for the normal functioning of yeast. In addition, excessive protein feeding can release ammonia compounds into the mash, formed as a result of putrefactive fermentation of amino acids. This problem can be solved by removing (draining) the layer of dead fungi, for which correct fermentation tanks There are bottom taps for draining sediment at the final stages of fermentation.
So, sooner or later, the mash is ripe for distillation. If everything was done correctly, it should taste like dry fruit wine. The tastier the mash, the correspondingly tastier the moonshine will be. We prepare the mash for the chase. We collect the remaining fruit floating on the surface and carefully decant the remaining liquid. READY!!!
We are preparing the moonshine still for work. In this situation, we must use a 3-fold distillation.
Assembling the configuration "straight-runner" and simply distill all the alcohol into the primary distillate without fractional selection to 15-20% alcohol content in the stream. Let's try the distillate. We draw conclusions and again think for a long time about what to do next.
In our noble cause, nothing is ever unambiguous, as in any other matter using the human mind and hands. Again we bow our heads, only this time over the receiving container, sniff for a long time, lick the drops and think. Sometimes you have to pour everything into a canal, for example melon distillate. And sometimes you get some kind of masterpiece during the first run (usually with wild yeast, with long fermentation (up to 4 weeks) of the wort). In any case, with the use of the Favorit-Exclusive distiller, there is no need to use charcoalization, purification with milk, or potassium permanganate. Although I would like to talk about potassium permanganate separately.
In a very weak dilution (8-10 crystals per 1 liter of water), a solution of potassium permanganate, when added to the distillate from above, can solve the problem of foreign odors. In this case, the released atomic oxygen neutralizes (oxidizes) esters of foreign compounds and tail alcohols. At the same time, we must not forget that potassium permanganate reacts with ethyl alcohol, forming a compound that falls to the bottom in the form of white flakes. Having filtered this precipitate, you can add potassium permanganate again and get this precipitate again. The process can be repeated until all the alcohol has settled in the form of flakes, and a weak acetone solution remains in the container.
More often, and most likely, we will have to distill the resulting fruit distillate again, but this time dividing it into fractions. In this situation we cannot do without magic . We assemble it in the configuration “complete without MFP” in the version with a drawer of 50 cm, or with a drawer of 30 cm. We fill the drawers with nozzles. The options are as follows: the lower nozzle is always .
From above, at your discretion, any combination of copper on-load tap-changers, steel and copper SPN Selivanenko(3-3.5mm). Copper nozzles should be used in case of a questionable odor of the distillate, or one layer as a preventive measure.
Dilute the distillate with prepared water to a strength of 30%.
We warm up the cube, wait for the first drops, immediately after they appear, we significantly reduce the heating of the system and increase the water pressure. Let the system think for 15 minutes about how to behave next (just kidding). Everything is ready for selection "head faction".
We increase the heating along with increasing the cooling of both refrigerators. We begin to select very slowly . It is not difficult to achieve this selection rate (1-1.5 drops per second), just adjust the heating by reducing it; and cooling the reflux condenser by slightly opening the cold water supply tap.
We will select heads in a volume that will be 6-10% of the volume .
For example: a cube contains 20 liters of distillate with a strength of 40%. This means there are 8 liters of pure (absolute) alcohol in the distillate. We will select 480-800 ml of heads. at the same time, sniff the drops from time to time, rubbing them in dry and clean palms. As soon as the smell of acetone in the drops disappears, you need to change the receiving container and start collecting the “body”. Let's increase the heat and adjust the water supply. The alcohol will flow in a thin stream. We select it until its strength in the stream drops to 60%. Again we change the container and select the so-called “pre-tails” to a strength in the stream of 40%. You can stop the chase at this point, or you can change the container again and select all the remaining alcohols for unknown purposes. In this case, selection is carried out until the temperature in the cube reaches 99 degrees. We disassemble and wash the device.
So we got 4 containers. The first fraction goes into the toilet, or left for lighting fires. The second faction is the most valuable. It needs to be assessed for strength, taste and smell. If everything was done correctly, you will get delicious moonshine of 65-85%. It can be consumed, although the smell of the original raw material may be partially or completely absent. Take the third jar. We try and smell again. The usual strength of this fraction is 45-50%. It may turn out tastier and more aromatic than the second one, or it may not work out. In general, think again and make a decision. If the aroma has disappeared altogether, mix the 2nd and 3rd fractions, dilute with water and distill using a gin basket. We will put the necessary fruits in it for flavoring. We distill without connecting a reflux condenser and without nozzles, to a temperature in the cube of 98 degrees. All is ready.
In any case, no additional cleaning (coal, oil, milk, potassium permanganate) is required.
