Home-brewing is an excellent alternative to purchased alcohol, especially since it is a fairly anti-crisis production. But today we will talk about the period when the actual production of moonshine has already been worked out, and in several versions). The drink is obtained, judging by the reviews of neighbors and friends, treated to the holidays, quality and delicious. But still I would like some kind of diversity and movement forward in this process. Here the recipe for tinctures on moonshine comes to the rescue as an option to improve the expelled drink.
Tinctures, liquors, liquors
It’s good to do such a refinement of the foundation, especially since many ingredients and technologies are quite accessible to the average layman. There are both modern and ancient recipes for such drinks. Traditionally, tinctures on juice or juice-containing raw materials are called liquors. And if there is also a lot of sugar, then liqueurs. And any recipe for tinctures on moonshine is quite simple to implement: we put the listed ingredients in a prepared base, put in a dark and warm place for a long time, filter and, if necessary, filter additionally. So let's get started.
Homemade cognac
Anyone who made this drink at home, which is close in taste to good aged brandy, will never buy a store. Indeed, most of the cognac sold today has little in common with its French counterpart. First, let's start with the fact that it is produced from rectified alcohol. In addition to the necessary ingredients, the composition includes burnt sugar (mainly to give the appropriate color). And genuine - it is actually made from grape moonshine.
Production technology
We will also produce our homemade cognac based on grapes. You can, of course, use ordinary moonshine from jam or sugar, but on a grape-based basis, the taste of the resulting drink almost comes close to the original.
- First of all, it is necessary to make the production of moonshine from grape cake. After distilling the chacha or brandy, cleaning and filtering, we carry out the following procedures.
- Cognac is aged in oak, fire-scorched barrels. Based on this principle, we harvest the oak branch thicker (the source material is in the nearest forest or planting), cut it into chocks, and dry in natural conditions for a couple of weeks. Then you need to cut wood chips, which would creep in size into the neck of a dish prepared for infusion (preferably, smaller).
- Next, we produce chips. The thing is that during heat treatment with fire, the structure of the wood changes: glucose turns into caramel, which gives the cognac an original taste and color. Just do not completely burn the wood! It will be enough only to lightly burn on a gas burner or on a stove.
- Carefully place the burnt wood chips in a container and fill with grape moonshine. Twist or plug tightly. We put for exposure in a dark and warm place. During this process, oils, enzymes and resins, tannins will be extracted from the burnt oak.
Readiness
Regarding the readiness of homemade cognac. In principle, it acquires its basic properties within two weeks (especially if it is in a suitable place). But after six months, it will be completely impossible to distinguish the drink from the brandy! So endure as much as you can. But I really want to try something: what happened? Tip: you can make the main capacity and "lay" it for six months or a year for insisting. And in addition - to make a few pears with the same ingredients and try in a couple of weeks, for the next holiday.
More about the subtleties of production
Emulation is necessary - the evaporation of alcohol from raw materials upon aging and its saturation with air. In oak barrels, this process occurs by itself. At home, this phenomenon can be simulated as follows. We pour (not more than once a week) the preparing brandy from one container to another in the open air (it is possible in the kitchen with open windows). Repeat the procedure several times. Then again we cork the bottles and lay them for insisting. Some specialists simply prefer to open their wide-necked bottles regularly for a while to simulate evaporation and saturation. But then it’s necessary to cover the containers with gauze on top to prevent various insects and dust from getting into the drink.
Homemade brandy is the most popular recipe for tinctures on moonshine. Or at least one of. After a six-month period, we filter cognac with a cotton swab and pour it for further storage and use.
Walnuts
Another popular drink, where moonshine is used as the basis, is tincture on walnuts. Moreover, they take both the edible pulp itself and the walnut partitions. The membranes contain many useful substances: trace elements, vitamins, amino acids. To prepare such a tincture, it is necessary to use dry membranes in the amount of one glass per liter of base. We put them in a bottle and fill them with a measured amount of moonshine (fortress - 40-55 degrees, whoever loves). We clean in a dark, warm place.
Cooking time
The very next day, the tincture acquires a characteristic brownish color, reminiscent of cognac (by the way, they sometimes call it home-made cognac among the people). But you need to insist at least one month. Then the tincture will get a pleasant reddish tint and a good, slightly bitter aftertaste. After it, you need to filter it out (we do the procedure with a cotton-gauze swab). Some add a pinch of cinnamon at the end of the drink. Then we get a peculiar spicy aftertaste, an excellent aftertaste, but not for everybody. So it’s better not to experiment yet, but to strictly observe this recipe for tinctures on moonshine.
Lemon
As the basis we use any moonshine (but carefully cleaned first of all, of course). In general, this supplement was probably invented to hide the unpleasant aftertaste of a not quite high-quality drink. Because citrus fruits beat them clean, coping well with this task. Lemon tincture is very simple. For a liter of moonshine (40-55%) we use three medium lemons. We peel them and cut them so that the juice flows. We put it in the prepared bottle, fill it with moonshine, seal it and remove it for infusion in a dark and warm place. Three days later, the tincture is ready. It remains to filter and pour it into half-liter bottles for storage. You can store in the refrigerator, then it can stand for several years (if you do not use it earlier for its intended purpose). If desired, sugar syrup can be introduced into the product, then a wonderful lemon liquor will turn out - a good addition to dessert and a cup of coffee or tea.
For reference
All these procedures can be performed with any other citrus fruits: tangerines, oranges, limes, grapefruits. And it always turns out tasty and aromatic, tinctures have a pronounced bouquet.
About the peel
The peel, by the way, can also be used. Some users prefer, for example, to create a tincture of lemon peel, which has a slightly bitter, interesting taste, especially if you add a little lemon juice and sugar syrup to it. It turns out a stunningly delicious liquor: sour-bitter-sweet, not very strong (due to the added syrup, the degree drops to 30).
For these purposes, we take half a glass of grated lemon peel per liter of moonshine. You can use any base, even with an unpleasant aftertaste - anyway, it will go into the shade when applying skins and juice. You can also do with a tangerine peel, which in bulk especially during the Christmas and New Year holidays (it needs a glass per liter). Do not throw it away, use it.
Cedar
Homemade moonshine tinctures can be from many products. Everything is used as a filler: berries, fruits, herbs, nuts. With the latter, for example, cedar tincture for moonshine is made, which has a peculiar “Siberian” taste of needles and nuts. It can be prepared in several ways. It is suitable for drinking and for treatment, well, very useful for the body! So, cooking options.
- Therapeutic (from the series "old recipes": we do not drink, but are treated). You need to take: a kilo of pine nuts, a liter of moonshine (fortress 40-55%), honey - 1 kilogram, water - 1 liter. Nuts crush along with the shell. Pour boiled water. We close the dishes and set aside to insist in a dark place for several days. Then open, add moonshine and insist for another month, periodically stirring the mass. At the last stage, we introduce honey and dissolve it in a drink. We filter out using a filter. Pour into bottles. We use for the prevention of colds (especially good in winter). The usual dose of consumption (recommended) is not more than 50 grams before meals. But, we warn you, the tincture is very tasty. Therefore, resisting the next portion is quite difficult!
- For the second version of "cedar" you will need: a glass of pine nuts with shells, a liter of moonshine, a pinch of vanillin, half a glass of sugar, a spoonful of orange zest, a few leaves of currant. Pour boiling water over nuts three times (and drain). So get rid of the tar base of the nut. But whoever likes the spruce aftertaste of the drink may not perform this procedure. Then crush the nuts together with the peel, transfer to a container, add sugar, vanilla, zest, currant leaves. Pour moonshine and insist in a dark place for ten days. Then - we filter, pour into bottles and taste!