Second courses 

Correct Calvados without sugar and yeast. Cognac distillate: home-made Distillate preparation

On cold evenings, there is nothing more pleasant than to sit in a comfortable armchair and sip a fragrant tincture. The taste of berries or fragrant herbs will return summer warmth for a few minutes even on the harshest icy midnight. Today, at the School of Craft, we prepare delicious and healthy liqueurs. As always, I only share personally verified recipes.

The bell rings - let's start the lesson!

Warming Taste Tinctures

I'll start the lesson with recipes for drinks that will quickly warm you up in the cold season.

Nut-sea buckthorn tincture

What is required?

  • Walnut partitions - 1.5 tbsp. l.
  • Frozen sea buckthorn berries - 0.5 l.
  • Distillate - 1 l.
  • Acacia honey or maple syrup - 2 tbsp l.

How to cook?

  • Put walnut partitions in a 0.5 liter jar and fill with distillate.
  • Put sea buckthorn in another jar and pour the remaining distillate.
  • Place both containers in a dark place for 1 week.
  • Then drain the sea buckthorn infusion. You won't need it anymore, but you can use it as a rub or for other medicinal purposes.
  • Filter the infusion on walnut partitions.
  • Pour the walnut infusion over the alcoholized sea buckthorn berries.
  • Place in a dark place for 3 weeks at room temperature.
  • Filter.
  • Add honey. Better to take honey with a delicate taste, such as acacia. Can be substituted with maple syrup.
  • Leave in the refrigerator for 3 days.

After this time, the tincture is ready for use. Try it with candied fruits, candied fruits, meringues, or soft lemon cookies.

Honey-ginger tincture

It has a good intoxicating effect and is indicated even for colds.

What is required?

  • Fresh ginger root - 50 g.
  • Honey - 100 g.
  • Distillate with a strength of 40 degrees - 800 ml.

How to cook?

  • Peel fresh ginger, cut into thin slices.
  • Put ginger in a jar, pour over distillate.
  • Put the jar in a dark place.
  • Shake the jar every three days.
  • After 3 weeks, filter the tincture.
  • Add honey and stir.
  • Put the tincture in the refrigerator for another 3-5 days.

The tincture is ready to use. It goes well with hot baked goods such as cinnamon rolls, apple strudel, ginger and caraway muffins. For those who like experimenting, I advise you to try this tincture with hard and spicy cheeses and dried meats.

Spicy krambambula

The spicy taste of this liqueur is reminiscent of Becherovka.

What is required?

  • Black pepper - 3 peas.
  • Allspice - 4 + 2 peas.
  • Carnation - 4 buds (without legs).
  • Grated nutmeg - 0.5 tsp
  • Cinnamon - 1 small stick.
  • Distillate with a strength of 40 degrees - 0.5 liters.
  • Water - 0.2 ml.
  • Honey - 2 tbsp. l.

How to cook?

  • Grind spices in a mortar, except for cinnamon sticks.
  • Heat the water to a boil.
  • Add spices and cinnamon, simmer for 10 minutes on the lowest heat, covered.
  • Remove from heat.
  • Cool to 45 degrees.
  • Pour in distillate.
  • Add honey.
  • Leave on for 15 minutes.
  • Strain the liquid.
  • Pour into a bottle and place in a dark place for 12 days. You can put 1 allspice pea in bottles for every 0.5 liter.
  • Remove from sediment and bottle into small bottles.
  • Chill well in refrigerator.

The tincture is ready, you can serve. Be sure to try it with hot potato pancakes with sour cream. Great for pot roasts and other hot meats in traditional Russian cuisine.

Sweet berry liqueurs

Late fruit and berry infusions have a bright and expressive bouquet. They will perfectly complement a festive meal or a family meal.

Slivyanka

Absolutely a win-win option, it always works for everyone, although it takes time.

What is necessary?

  • Plums - 2 kg.
  • Granulated sugar - 0.6-0.8 kg (if the plums are sweet, then 0.6 kg will be enough, if the variety is sour, then it is better to take 0.8 kg of sugar).
  • Distillate with a strength of 38-40 degrees - 1 liter.

How to cook?

  • Wash the plums, pitted and cut into pieces.
  • Place in a large jar and top with distillate.
  • Leave in a warm and dark place to infuse for 30 days.
  • Once a week, gently stir the infusion with a spoon with a long handle.
  • After a month, drain the distillate, filter, pour into a container, cover and refrigerate.
  • Cover the plums in a jar with sugar.
  • Leave for 7 days in a warm place.
  • Gently mix the plums and sugar every day; it is better to take a wooden spoon with a long handle for this.
  • Drain the prepared syrup, squeeze the plums through a sieve into a glass container.
  • Pour the resulting syrup with infusion from the plums, which was stored in the refrigerator.
  • Place in a dark place at room temperature for another 30 days.
  • Remove from the sediment and filter the resulting infusion.

The cream is ready. It goes well with moderately sweet desserts made from milk, sour cream and cottage cheese. Ideal for savory pastries with cheese and cottage cheese, it is in perfect harmony with all dishes that contain dark chocolate and prunes.

You need a well-purified distillate to make the infusions, so make sure you get a good cleaning and filtration beforehand. For spicy and aromatic infusions, use grain or sugar distillates; for fruit and berry infusions, use grape or fruit distillates.

Pomegranate tincture

Bright and aromatic pomegranate liqueur will be the perfect end to a romantic evening. It can be used as a standalone drink or as an ingredient in cocktails.

What is required?

  • Pips made from 4 medium pomegranates.
  • Zest of 1 small lemon.
  • Cinnamon stick.
  • Cane sugar - 50 g.
  • Water - 50 ml.
  • Distillate with a strength of 35-40 degrees - 0.5 liters.

How to cook?

  • Squeeze the juice from the pomegranate seeds.
  • Remove the zest from the lemon.
  • Pomegranate juice, lemon zest, cinnamon pour distillate and leave for 30 days in a dark place at room temperature.
  • After a month, filter the tincture.
  • Boil cane sugar syrup and water, cool to room temperature, mix with tincture.
  • Pour into small bottles, close and refrigerate.

Pomegranate tincture has a shelf life of no more than 4-6 months. Therefore, it is poured into small containers and used in portions. Pomegranate tincture is an excellent accompaniment to red meat dishes, as well as cottage cheese and cheese snacks, fried cheese.

Chokeberry tincture

Aromatic chokeberry tincture heals the sadness of the past summer and gives hope for the best. Be sure to keep it close at hand in case someone gets mocked!

  • Chokeberry berries - 1.5 kg.
  • Sugar - 0.5 kg.
  • Carnation - 3 buds.
  • Cinnamon - 0.5 sticks.
  • Distillate with a strength of 40–45 degrees (it is better to take grape) - 1 liter.

How to cook?

  • Rinse and dry the berries.
  • Mash the berries with sugar, but not until puree, but until the juice is released.
  • Put mountain ash with sugar in a glass jar, add cloves.
  • Leave at room temperature for 48 hours.
  • Stir the berries in a jar and pour over the distillate.
  • Leave for 2 months in a dark place.
  • We filter the finished tincture and bottle it.
  • We put in the refrigerator for 3 days.

The tincture is ready. It goes well with ice cream, creamy and mousse desserts. It is also pleasant to drink it as a dessert drink after a feast.

Tinctures on aromatic herbs

Fragrant herbal liqueurs are a real salvation for those who are tired of the monotony of the autumn-winter menu. These drinks will whet your appetite, cheer you up and add color to your everyday life.

Vermouth tincture

What is required?

  • Dried yarrow - 8 g.
  • Wormwood, ground cinnamon, dried mint - 6 g each.
  • Cardamom - 4 g.
  • Grated nutmeg and saffron - 2 g each.
  • Distillate with a strength of 40–45 degrees - 0.5 liters.

How to cook?

  • Place the chopped herbs in a dark glass bottle.
  • Fill with high purity distillate.
  • Insist at room temperature for 10 days in a dark place.
  • Shake the bottle daily.
  • Then strain and refrigerate for another 3 days.

After that, the tincture can be consumed. It is also perfect for vermouth cocktails. The tincture perfectly tones and is ideal as an aperitif before meals.

Tincture "Kremlin"

Spicy, fragrant, aromatic tincture will be an excellent gift for friends and family.

What is required?

  • Fresh ginger - 50 g.
  • Dried mint - 50 g.
  • Dried sage - 50 g.
  • Distillate with a strength of 40-50 degrees - 1 liter.

How to cook?

  • Chop the herbs, cut the ginger into thin slices.
  • Place in a dark glass bottle.
  • Fill with distillate.
  • Insist at room temperature for a month in a dark place.
  • Shake daily.
  • After a month, filter, bottle and refrigerate for another week.
  • After 7 days, the tincture is ready.

"Kremlin" is used with dense meat dishes, it is suitable for almost all items of the hot menu.

If you have not managed to collect a stock of summer herbs, you can buy ready-made preparations for the most popular tinctures, from the European "Kummel" to the now cult "Count Razumovsky's Tincture".

Homework

Send me photos and video recipes of your favorite tinctures and liqueurs.

Today we have prepared spicy, aromatic and sweet infusions according to proven recipes.

The bell rings - the lesson is over!

Thank you for the attention.

For a long time, Calvados was considered the alcohol of commoners, since the drink is made from ordinary apples. But after this alcohol began to appear in the works of the writer Remarque, the situation changed. The elite became interested in the apple moonshine infused in barrels and it quickly became fashionable. We will look at how to make Calvados at home according to the classic recipe and in the form of an imitation tincture.

On a note. Calvados can only be called a drink produced in Normandy (a region in northwestern France), in all other cases, apple distillate should be called brandy.

Simulated Calvados (Apple Tincture)

Cooking takes a minimum of time and money. The smell of the tincture is slightly similar to the original. For those wishing to cook a real homemade Calvados, I advise you to go straight to the second recipe.

Ingredients:

  • apples - 2 kg;
  • vodka - 1 liter;
  • sugar - 200 grams;
  • water - 150 ml;
  • vanilla sugar - 10 grams.

Technology

1. Wash the apples, remove the core and pits, cut into cubes.

2. Put the cubes in a jar, sprinkle with vanilla sugar.

3. Add vodka, close the lid and put the jar in a dark place at room temperature for 2 weeks to infuse.

4. Remove the apples by filtering the drink through cheesecloth. Squeeze the pulp.

5. Mix water and sugar in a saucepan, bring to a boil, simmer for about 5 minutes (until foam is released), removing foam from the surface. Cool the finished sugar syrup to 25-30 ° C, then pour into the apple tincture and stir.

6. Pour the finished tincture into glass bottles and seal tightly.

Store in a cool, dark place. Shelf life - up to 3 years. The taste is sweetish apple vodka with a strength of 32-35 degrees.

Apple Calvados Recipe (Real)

The proposed technology is as close as possible to the original. Of the ingredients for homemade Calvados, only apples are needed. Although you end up with a distillate (moonshine made from fermented juice), I still advise you to take the quality of your apples seriously. They should be ripe, with no signs of rot or spoilage. The variety is not of fundamental importance, but it is better to use sweet and juicy fruits.

1. Getting cider. Squeeze the juice from apples in any way possible. The less pulp, the better. Let the juice stand for 24 hours in a dark place at room temperature. Then remove the foam from the surface and drain from the sediment through a tube into a fermentation vessel. Install a water seal or a rubber glove with a small hole in one of the fingers (pierce with a needle).

Transfer the container to a dark place with a temperature of 18-27 ° C. After fermentation is complete (signs: the water seal does not let bubbles for several days or the glove deflates, the drink has become lighter and does not taste sweet, a sediment appears at the bottom) drain the finished cider into the alembic, trying not to touch the sediment at the bottom, you can additionally filter through gauze. If this is not done, the hard part will burn during heating, ruining the taste of the Calvados.

Wort fermentation under a water seal

2. Distillation. It's time to get the distillate out of the cider. This requires a moonshine of any design. During the first distillation, the yield should not be divided into fractions, taking all the product until the strength in the stream falls below 30 degrees. Measure the strength of the obtained apple moonshine and determine the amount of pure alcohol.

Dilute the moonshine with water to 18-20 degrees, then distill again, taking away the "heads", "body" and "tails". Collect the first 12% of the amount of pure alcohol in a separate container and pour it out (use for technical needs), these are "heads" that contain harmful impurities, spoil the taste and have a bad effect on health.

3. Excerpt. For apple moonshine to turn into calvados, it needs to be infused with oak wood. The classic technology uses oak barrels. But at home, not everyone has such an opportunity, so a simpler option is suitable - aging in glass jars (bottles) with oak pegs.

You need oak wood with a trunk diameter of 25-35 cm. Bark, sawdust and shavings are not suitable, as they contain too many tannins that make Calvados bitter.

The wood must be divided into pieces 5-8 mm thick and 10-15 cm long. Pour the resulting pegs with boiling water, leave for 10 minutes, drain the broth, soak in cold water for 20 minutes, then drain the liquid and dry the wood. Put the processed pegs in jars and fill with apple alcohol diluted with clean cold water to 45 degrees. Roll up the jars with iron lids (close tightly with corks), put for 6-12 months in a dark cool place for ripening.

Filling bottles with apple alcohol

4. Filtration. Filter the finished homemade Calvados through several layers of gauze and cotton wool, then pour into bottles for storage, close tightly with corks.

The video shows an alternative technology for preparing Calvados with sugar and yeast. Although the technique is inherently correct and a little simpler than the proposed one, due to the addition of other ingredients (yeast and sugar), the recipe cannot be called classic, the aroma will be worse, and the taste will not be so soft.

Cognac is a noble drink that is quite difficult to make at home. based on the use of ordinary ethyl alcohol as raw materials, only a crude counterfeit can be obtained. Only by making a real one can you enjoy a fragrant bouquet without fear for the quality of the alcoholic drink you consume.

What is cognac distillate?

Cognac distillate is made from certain varieties of white wines with the obligatory observance of all the rules of distillation and aging. Only with strict observance of all production conditions will cognac acquire its characteristic color, bouquet and taste.

Consider the stages of the distillate manufacturing process:

  1. Preparation of wine materials, which includes the cultivation and collection of grape varieties with a minimum sugar content.
  2. Obtaining grape juice and making must from it.
  3. Fermentation
  4. Primary and secondary distillation of the resulting wine with separation of the middle fraction.

The efforts spent on production will pay off, because the cost of 1 liter of cognac distillate, made by yourself, is significantly lower than the price of cognac in a store. The result of the correct passage of all stages will be homemade cognac, which is pleasant to drink yourself or treat friends.

Cognac distillate or cognac alcohol - which is better?

Nothing is better, they are different names for the same product. According to the latest national standard (GOST), cognac distillate was introduced instead of cognac alcohol that existed in the legislation until 2012.

It should be noted that the description of the cognac alcohol production technology is identical to the standard for the production of cognac distillate.

Failure to comply with the requirements for production technology increases the amount of harmful substances, including fusel oil, which is part of the cognac distillate, the hazard class of which is defined as the third.

Grape varieties for the production of cognac distillate

Cognac distillate can only be obtained from certain sour grapes. Their distinguishing feature is their low sugar content. In France, Folle Blanche, Colombard and Ugni Blanc are used for these purposes, which stand out for their particularly intense and persistent aromas.

So which grape variety should you choose for making your cognac? These should be fruits of white, less often pink varieties with clear juice without a nutmeg aftertaste. Isabella grown everywhere in the south of Russia is not suitable as a wine material for the production of cognac due to the low yield of the product.

The most suitable varieties were recognized by the Institute of Winemaking and Viticulture:

  • Grushevsky white;
  • Kunlean;
  • Bianca;
  • Swim;
  • Aligote;
  • Scarlet Tersky.

These grape varieties at the stage of technical maturity have the required sugar content and acidity, as well as are characterized by thermal stability and increased juice content, which is necessary for the production of must by the runoff method.

Preparation of wine materials for cognac distillate

Go through the harvested grapes, removing the spoiled fruit. It is impossible to wash the grapes because of the yeast cultures on the skins, which are necessary for fermentation. To obtain juice, crush the grapes together with the seeds.

Pour the resulting juice together with the pulp into an enamel vat and cover with a small amount of sugar if the berries are slightly not ripe. Within two weeks, natural yeast forms on the surface and the fermentation process starts. If fermentation is not too vigorous, add wine yeast. Close the container hermetically and place in a warm place. Remember to stir once a day.

After 1-2 weeks, measure the strength of the young wine with an alcohol meter. If it shows 11-12%, drain it by filtering the pulp through cheesecloth. Long aging of wine is not recommended because of the possibility of the appearance of Madeira aftertaste.

Primary distillation

Cognac distillate is produced from young white wine by double distillation. Pass the wine material obtained as a result of fermentation through a distiller to produce raw alcohol. It is also very important at the stage of the first distillation to be able to correctly separate the middle fraction from the head and tail.

The result of the primary distillation will be a crude distillate with a strength of 25-30% and vinasse.

It is permissible to leave the middle fraction together with the tail for re-distillation. In this case, before the re-distillation process, it is necessary to lower the strength of the raw alcohol by diluting it with clean water.

Secondary distillation

Improving the quality of the product is achieved through repeated distillation, during which it is also necessary to separate the fractions and cut off the central fractions from them.

The head fraction has a strong unpleasant odor and has a strength of about 80-85%. Its production takes about 3% of raw alcohol and up to half an hour of working time.

The central fraction, which is the desired cognac alcohol, is cut off as the pungent smell weakens. The cut-off is also done based on the strength of the product, starting at 78% and finishing at 58% to avoid unpleasant tails in the distillate.

As the strength of the produced product decreases from 50% and below, the stage of cutting off the tail fraction approaches. The third fraction has a significant volume and often accounts for 40 to 50 percent of the total amount of raw alcohol. The tail can be left for further distillation.

The result of the secondary distillation and the separation of the middle fraction will be a high-quality cognac distillate - a colorless transparent liquid with a taste of ethyl alcohol and a pronounced wine aroma, suitable for further aging.

As it seems, everyone knows about moonshine - a strong alcoholic drink. And many people mistakenly believe that moonshine in its qualities "loses" to more noble drinks. In fact, this is completely wrong, because if everything is done correctly, observing the technology of each stage without violations, you will get an ideal product - transparent, strong, and most importantly - your own!

Homemade moonshine recipes are very diverse, because the peculiarity of the drink is that it can be prepared from a wide variety of raw materials. Grain, berries, fruits, vegetables, all kinds of jams, tomato paste, starch and even sweets - all of the above is suitable for brewing mash and subsequent distillation, while each type of raw material makes it possible to prepare a certain type of moonshine. Grains will make a strong and captivating drink, from berry mash - more aromatic, the main thing is that the raw materials are of high quality. So, choose any of the methods we have proposed and get started!

Sugar moonshine

You will need 3 kilograms of sugar, 15 liters of water and yeast (100 g). Mix the ingredients, leave for a week. Further - distillation in the apparatus. To improve the taste and impart a pleasant aroma, you can put a few currant leaves or a bunch of dry fragrant dill in the mash before infusing.

The given recipe for sugar moonshine is an example of how you can make a strong alcoholic drink from a minimum set of products on your own.

Recipe for making moonshine without yeast

Option 1

In this case, the well-known tomato paste will be the main component. So, we take a liter of pasta, stir it with sugar, dilute the resulting gruel with water and add any beer there. Insist the resulting mixture warm until the mash ferments. And only then we distill.

Sugar will need 5 kilograms, water - 15 liters, beer - 0.25 liters.

Option 2

Chop sweets (three kilograms) with any fruit filling, then transfer the whole mass to water, stir, set to ferment for about 5 days. Then we do the distillation. Water consumption - 20 liters.

Recipe for making moonshine from jam

You can use any jam (raspberries, currants, blueberries, strawberries), as long as it ferments. For 3 liters of jam we take 1.5 kilos of sugar, 15 liters of water (always warm), 100 g of yeast. Mix, put in a warm place. After 5 days we distill.

Potato moonshine

This recipe is laborious, and it is very important to withstand the technological subtleties of the process.

Required:

  • 10 kg of potatoes;
  • 4 kg of oats;
  • yeast (about 600 g);
  • water (38-40 liters).

Grind oats and pour boiling water over them. Rub the potatoes, then gradually add them to the oatmeal mixture, stirring constantly. We leave for three hours, then gradually add water and yeast, stir. We close the tank tightly with a lid, set it away from the light. As soon as sediment and bubbles appear in the container, it's time to distill.

Moonshine from honey

The main component of honey mash is, of course, honey. It will need three kilograms. In addition, you will need the same amount of sugar, 300 g of yeast. Water is also used in this recipe, you will need twenty liters of it.

Two main components - we mix sugar and honey in water, then we throw yeast into the mixture, mix everything thoroughly and put it on fermentation. After a week, ready-made honey mash can be distilled into moonshine.

Moonshine from corn

To get high-quality moonshine from corn cobs, you should first make a mash. To do this, grind the corn (about 8 kg), add 1 kg of wheat flour there, mix everything thoroughly. It is best to use a large enamelled pot for mixing. Then add boiling water (35-40 liters) to the mass, mix, put the tank on the stove and cook for about 4 hours.

Next, cool the mixture, add barley malt (1 kg), mix and leave for two hours, after wrapping the tank with a blanket. Then we cool the resulting mixture a little (to about 20 degrees), add 100 g of yeast, set everything to ferment for seven to eight days. We distill. The malt used is sprouted barley grains.

Bread moonshine

This recipe uses both bread and grains. Required Ingredients:

  • black bread (seven loaves);
  • ten kilograms of boiled potatoes;
  • sprouted grains of oats, barley or wheat (six kilograms);
  • 1 kg of yeast.

Soak the bread in 10 liters of water, then thoroughly grind the mass. We also grind the grain, and knead the potatoes to the consistency of porridge. We mix all the ground and mashed products with each other, add yeast and set aside the mass to ferment. After 7-8 days, the mash can be distilled, and it is better to do this twice.

Recipe for making moonshine from grain

This recipe is also laborious, but the drink is strong and of high quality.

We take 10 kg of any grain, soak it in water for about two to three days, and then dry it until crispy. Pour the grain into a tank (preferably an enamel one), fill it with ten liters of hot water, stir everything well. After two hours, add another 10 liters of hot water and again leave the mixture for two hours. After that we add cold water (2 liters), add yeast (500 g), put on fermentation for three days. After the completion of fermentation, the composition is distilled. To get a better quality grain moonshine, you can do the distillation twice.

Wheat moonshine

This recipe uses regular wheat grain. The calculation is as follows - grind four kilograms of grain, add sugar, water (three liters) in the same amount and put it in the heat. After five days, we add another kilogram of sugar, warm water (18 liters) to the composition, we insist everything for about seven days. The last stage is distillation (twice).

This recipe is often called classic, and it is this recipe that is most often used in practice.

Wheat sprouted moonshine

Mash according to this recipe is infused with sprouted grain. It is convenient to germinate it on baking sheets - sprinkle the grain, fill it with warm water. In the process of germination, we control the humidity, maintaining the ambient temperature no more than 17 degrees and turning the grain about every 6 hours. Wheat grains usually germinate after about 8-10 days. Then we grind the grains, add yeast, water to the mass and insist until the contents ferment. The process will take about 6-7 days. We distill the product two times.

Product consumption:

  • grain two kilograms;
  • water thirty liters;
  • yeast a pound.

Rye moonshine

To make rye moonshine, we first germinate rye grains, then grind and then dilute with water. While constantly stirring, heat the mass a little and bring it to a jelly-like state.

Then we put the tank or large saucepan in a warm place for about ten hours. Next, cool the mixture to a temperature of about 17 degrees, throw in the yeast and set it to ferment. We distill once.

Water is taken based on the amount of grain 1: 3, yeast - 50 g per 1 kg of grain.

Recipe for making moonshine with pine nuts

In this case, distillation of the mash is not required. We take 3 liters of high-quality vodka or good moonshine, add 200 g of raisins, 200 g of peeled pine nuts. If you like tart drinks, you can add one tablespoon of dry oak bark.

For a mild taste, it is recommended to add about 100 g of honey. We mix all the components, pour into a jar, roll up the lid and put in a cool place for 1.5-2 months. After vystoyka distillation is not required, you just need to filter it through a strainer or cheesecloth. Moonshine on pine nuts is ready!

Moonshine on prunes

To prepare such a fragrant moonshine tincture, you will need a pound of prunes. There is no need to remove the bones. We wash the prunes thoroughly, fill them with moonshine (6 liters), set them to stand for a month. Then we filter the drink. Moonshine infused with prunes is ready to use.

Millet moonshine

We take two three-liter cans of millet and cook it until the cereal is completely boiled. Cool the porridge a little, add two kilograms of flour and warm water to make a mushy mixture. Carefully dilute 200 grams of yeast in water, add to the resulting porridge with millet, mix.

We set the content to wander. After five to seven days, we distill the finished mash, and it is better to do a double distillation.

Moonshine on cranberries

You cannot make moonshine directly from berries. But cranberry tincture on moonshine is very popular.

This will require 4 liters of strong high-quality moonshine, two kilograms of cranberries, a quarter of a kilogram of sugar. Add moonshine to the berries, add sugar, mix everything. For fermentation, we put the mash in a dark place and keep it there for three months. After the expiration date, the aromatic cranberry tincture can be consumed.

Rice moonshine

You will need three kilograms of rice (long, round - no difference), three full glasses of any sprouted grain (malt), two hundred grams of yeast.

Add warm water (8 liters) to boiled rice (do not drain the water), cool it a little, add ground sprouted grain. We leave the mixture for 10 hours, add the already diluted yeast into it and set it to ferment for a week.

After 6-7 days, thoroughly filter the mass, then distill it. From this amount of ingredients, approximately 3.5 liters of moonshine is obtained.

Apple moonshine

For the preparation of a strong alcoholic homemade drink, you can use apples of any variety.

Peel the fruit (10 kg), grind it, put it in a container. Add sugar (calculation: 150 g per 1 kg of apple mass), leave to ferment for five days. Then we filter the mixture, add sugar (150 g per 1 liter) to the resulting liquid mass, and set it to ferment again, now for two weeks.

We distill the resulting apple mash twice, after which an excellent moonshine will be ready.

Pea moonshine

First grind the peas into flour, then boil them. Cool the resulting mass, add malt (3-4 cups), mix and leave for 8 hours. Then add yeast and ferment for a week. In some cases, fermentation can last up to 10 days.

After fermenting the mash, filter and distill once.

Consumption: peas - three kilograms, 200 g of yeast, sprouted grain (malt) - 3 glasses, 10 liters of water.

Moonshine from wine

The recipe for making wine moonshine is simple. We take 10 liters of any quality wine, pour yeast into it, close the tank with gauze or tie it with a towel and put it in a warm place. After 6-7 days, the mash should be ready, and after that we distil it into moonshine.

Moonshine from beer

A good moonshine can be made from unpasteurized, so-called "live" beer. To do this, pour beer (5 liters) into a container, mix thoroughly, allowing all gases to escape. As a result, there should be no foam at all. Next, we do the first distillation, add a little water (about half a liter) to the resulting distillate and distill again. After that, we stand the product for three days, and the moonshine is ready for use.

Recipe for making odorless moonshine

Moonshine has a peculiar pungent smell that not everyone likes. To remove the odor, the drink must be cleaned.

Here are the ways we offer you for this:

  • for three liters of finished moonshine, add 2 g of potassium permanganate. After some time, a precipitate will form in the drink. We carefully drain the moonshine, not allowing the sediment to mix with the purified liquid.
  • pour fresh milk into the finished moonshine and distill. Consumption: one liter of milk is taken for 6 liters of alcoholic beverage.

Birch sap moonshine

For mash, we take 15 liters of juice, three kilograms of sugar, yeast (100 g). We slightly warm the birch sap, then add sugar to it, mix, and then add yeast.

We insist the mass for a week, then we filter and distill the liquid.

To improve the taste, before you put the resulting mass to ferment in the heat, you can add cherry or garden currant leaves there.

Rowan moonshine recipe

  1. We sort out ripe mountain ash, remove bad or damaged berries. Pour in sugar, add water. We mix everything, throw in the yeast, stir the mass thoroughly again and only then set it to ferment. Fermentation time is approximately two weeks. Distillation follows. Product consumption: mountain ash - three kilograms, water - five liters, yeast - 100 g.
  2. In this recipe, you will need to take berries, bread kvass instead of water, yeast. Rowan thoroughly crush, add yeast and kvass, mix. Then we put the mixture on fermentation (about 6 days). We distill once, add moonshine (6 liters) and distill again.

Number of products: kvass - five liters, berries - three kilograms, yeast - 50 g.

Apricot moonshine

With proper observance of all stages of the technological process, you can get a great aromatic alcoholic drink from apricots.

Remove pits from apricots, grind in a blender or meat grinder, add yeast, a little sugar syrup and set to ferment. After two to three weeks, we filter the finished mash and put it on distillation. The best option is to overtake two or three times.

Amount of products: apricots - 10 kg, sugar - 10 kg, water - three liters, yeast - 100 g.

Barley moonshine

In fact, this recipe for moonshine is the preparation of homemade whiskey, where barley is the main raw material. To begin with, we germinate the grain (it takes from three to six days), then dry it and grind it. Next, pour boiling water for 10 hours, then add more water (the calculation is as follows: we take three liters of liquid for 1 kg of ground barley), add yeast.

We set everything to over-ferment, for about a week. Then we distill the mash twice.

Moonshine with dry yeast

Usually dry yeast is used in combination with sugar, then a better quality drink is obtained. You will need a bag of factory-made dry yeast, five kilos of sugar and twenty liters of water.

We carefully dilute the yeast, mix it with previously dissolved sugar and let the mass brew for about ten days. Only after that we distill the mash.

Malt moonshine recipe

Malt is obtained from sprouted grains of wheat, barley, rye. In malt recipes, yeast can be dispensed with. Here's an interesting option:

  • germinate barley grains, dry, grind;
  • we prepare a steaming: we brew 200 g of fresh hop cones in hot water (2 liters), then filter the broth from the hops, cool it a little, add three tablespoons of flour, stir, let stand for an hour;
  • we take half a bucket of apples, add malt, steam, warm water (to get a semi-liquid mass), then set it all to ferment for about a week. Then we distill.

Moonshine on oak bark

Moonshine infused with oak bark has a pleasant aroma and beautiful color.

To prepare a drink, add dry oak bark to the ready-made moonshine (about 30-50 g of bark per 1 liter). We insist at a temperature of 17-18 degrees for about a week, then filter and pour into bottles.

Moonshine from flour

Dilute rye flour with water, then add yeast for fermentation and put in a warm place. After a week, perhaps a little more, we filter and distill the resulting mash.

Calculation of ingredients:

  • 100 g yeast;
  • for 1 kg of flour, about 1 liter of water.

Banana moonshine

To prepare this exotic drink, take 1 kg of bananas, one pineapple, nutmeg (100-150 g), anise (120 g), sugar (100 g).

Peel the bananas, mash them with a fork in mashed potatoes. Peel the pineapple, cut the pulp into pieces, cover with sugar. Mix banana puree and pineapple pulp, cover with chopped nutmeg, fill with moonshine (10 liters).

We insist for about 8 days, carefully filter. One distillation will be enough and your moonshine with a pleasant banana aroma is ready!

Mulberry moonshine

Good moonshine is obtained from mulberry (mulberry) berries.

Knead 10 kg of berries, add sugar and yeast to the gruel. We put everything in a warm place, carefully monitor the fermentation process, stirring the mass for the first two days. Then we distill the mash.

Sugar will need two kilos, one hundred grams of yeast.

Moonshine on rosehip

In this version, the finished mash does not need to be distilled. We take five to six glasses of rose hips, add seven liters of water, mix the mixture.

Then add yeast (about 100 g) and sugar (4 kg). The fermentation period of the mass is about three months. After the end of fermentation, filter the liquid. Moonshine is ready to drink.

Persimmon moonshine

Grind persimmon, squeeze out the juice. The next step is the addition of sugar, yeast. Calculation: for 10 liters of juice 1 kg of sugar and 50-80 g of yeast.

We put the mass in a container to ferment in a warm place, the time is about a week. We distill in the apparatus.

Moonshine with herbs

Many people like to cook moonshine with various herbs. This drink has a pleasant aroma, rich taste, and therefore is easy to drink.

  1. For six liters of moonshine, we take dill (10 g), sage (100 g), coriander (30 g), rose hips (30 g). Pour the components with moonshine, insist for about five days. After standing, we distill the mass. After distillation, add sugar syrup (glass) to the finished product.
  2. We take wormwood (20 g), mint (200 g), rosemary (15 g), cloves (10 g), fill everything with moonshine (12 liters), close tightly. We remove the container and insist for three days. After that we filter the tincture and distill it once.

Grape moonshine

So, to make moonshine from grapes you will need:

  • 10 liters of grape pomace;
  • five kilos of sugar;
  • yeast (100 g);
  • 30 liters of water.

Gently fill the grape pomace with water, let it stand, add the rest of the ingredients. Stir the mixture constantly during cooking, then put it in a warm place. The aging period is a week.

After that we filter the mash and only then distill it. It is advisable to do the distillation twice, in this case, you get a transparent tasty moonshine.

Pepper moonshine recipe

You cannot get moonshine directly from pepper, but you can give the finished drink certain qualities. This is especially important in those cases when you want to get a drink of a beautiful color, without a specific moonshine smell, but with a pleasant aroma.

We take black peppercorns (at the rate of 15 g per liter), cloves (3 g per liter), ginger (10 g per liter). We add all of the above to the finished moonshine, insist for a week, filter.

We have given only some of the recipes, but there are a lot of them. In a huge variety of options, everyone can find their own, the most suitable, of the available products.

And having mastered the basics of moonshine, you can experiment, coming up with new recipes for homemade moonshine. The most important thing is not to overdo it with drinking, remember that everything should be in moderation.

Fruit moonshine attracts a lot of connoisseurs of spirits. When properly prepared, it is soft, easy to drink, and minimal when consumed in moderation. Grape moonshine is especially appreciated, but grapes are seasonal raw materials, but dried grapes - raisins - can be obtained all year round. The recipe for making moonshine from raisins is simpler than from grapes, but the quality and organoleptic properties [...]

The variety of homemade spirits is amazing. Pure moonshine is already an independent drink, and there are a great many recipes for home-made tinctures on moonshine. But it's not a secret for anyone that most of the elite alcoholic beverages (except for vodka, if certain types of such can be classified as elite) are aged in oak barrels. What's going on in the barrel? In short [...]

Wheat moonshine has always been famous for its softness and ease of use. Mash recipes for moonshine from such raw materials most often involve the addition of sugar and yeast culture, but you can do without them. The most budgetary, but the most time-consuming of all wheat moonshine recipes is a wheat moonshine recipe without sugar and yeast at home. A bit of theory. […]

Feijoa is an exotic fruit that is not so common in our area. However, it can be a great base for home brew recipes. Feijoa's taste is quite unusual. Everyone who tastes it notes their own flavor characteristics. If we summarize them, we can conclude that feijoa resembles a cross between strawberries and kiwi, sweet notes also slip [...]

Recipes for moonshine made from flour have been known in Russia since at least the 17th century. And although the process of obtaining a strong distillate using such raw materials is not simple, its quality and organoleptic characteristics are more than worth the effort. What is the complexity of the recipe for making moonshine from flour at home? The thing is that flour (and [...]

Some may ask the question "why make moonshine if there is a lot of alcohol on the shelves in the store for every taste?" The answer is obvious! What is sold rarely turns out to be a high-quality product, since the technology for making spirits is complex and manufacturers save money, and mainly produce diluted products with various impurities. The right solution will be recipes for home brew and cooking in [...]

Moonshine is an ancient Russian invention that does not require special skills and high costs. The simplest and already a little forgotten is the recipe for moonshine from bread. For its manufacture, a minimum of components are required - water and bread. An interesting technology for making this alcohol at home is appreciated for its economy, the drink is soft, aromatic and of good quality. Bread recipe [...]

Serbs know the secret of a quality strong drink called dunevaca. Dunya from Serbian - quince, respectively, and the distillate is obtained from the mash, put on quince. The recipe for making moonshine from quince is relatively easy to prepare, and the drink is very aromatic. There is also the so-called "Japanese quince" or chaenomeles. Although this plant is only a distant "relative" of the quince (they have in common [...]

There are many different recipes for making moonshine. Many people prefer this particular drink among other alcoholic products, it is quite easy to prepare it from various available products, in other words, you can easily choose a drink "to your taste." Consider a Fruit Moonshine Recipe Making this type of moonshine is highly dependent on the sugar content of the fruit you want to use. If […]

Moonshine on prunes is an excellent aromatic dessert drink. It is also valuable because it retains all the vitamins and minerals that plums are rich in. Prunes and wild plums (thorns) are frequent components in recipes for home-brewed liqueurs due to the softness and pleasant taste of the resulting drink. The main thing in a prune moonshine recipe is to choose the right ingredients. Then a drink [...]

It is known that properly dried fruits and berries retain almost all of their beneficial properties. No wonder dried fruit compotes are included in dietary and children's menus. Mash recipes for moonshine were no exception, because dried fruits still contain sugar in their composition, which means that you can get a wonderful fruit distillate from them. The fragrance will be gone [...]

Many novice moonshiners, who easily receive the coveted drops, are wondering how to properly purify the resulting liquid to get rid of its unpleasant aroma and taste. For odorless moonshine recipes, or rather for cleaning methods, the well-known methods are usually used: filtration through activated or specially prepared charcoal; cleaning with milk; cleaning using manganese; […]

Wheat moonshine is considered one of the mildest homemade alcoholic drinks. There are several ways to prepare it, but they all differ only at the stage of preparing home brew recipes for moonshine. The most accessible recipe is moonshine made from sprouted wheat, in other words, from malt. Why is it the most accessible? Because malt can be bought ready-made. But you can sprout grain [...]

Before the invention of granulated sugar in its pure form, berries and fruits were always the sweetest products. And if there are sugars, then they can always be processed into alcohol using yeast. Recipes for moonshine mash made from various fruits and berries have been known for a long time. The craftsmen did not pass by their attention and irgu. Irga is a berry in the middle [...]

Everyone knows the nutritional value of pine nuts, pine nut oil, as well as their health benefits. Pine nut shells are only slightly inferior in value to the kernels themselves. They are rich in tannins, which are good antiseptics. Therefore, instead of regretfully disposing of the “remnants of the former luxury,” a good solution would be to insist on moonshine on cedar shells. Pine nut shells [...]

The healing properties of cranberries are known to everyone. This unique berry contains a lot of vitamins and beneficial acids, micro- and macroelements (iron, magnesium, iodine and others). All the beneficial properties of cranberries are retained without loss in alcohol for a year. Moonshine with cranberries prevents the formation of vascular plaques, helps fight gum problems and thyroid diseases. Vitamin C found in cranberries [...]

Everyone in the house probably has a few liters of jam. We didn’t cook it ourselves, it was given by generous relatives. And almost everyone has these jars, they are, they do not want to eat, but it is a pity to throw them away. Sugar, fermented ... There is always a way out - to overtake! However, let's make a reservation right away: if mold appears, there is only one place for such jam - in the landfill. Do not look that the mold is only from above, [...]

Only since the invention of the alembic, the work of which is explained even in physics lessons, have people learned to distill wine into stronger alcoholic drinks. The method of distilling liquids through a distillation still is called distillation, and moonshine is obtained by distilling mash. There are a huge number of recipes for home brew, but a separate position is occupied by a home brew made from barley, because barley porridge is [...]

Mash recipes for moonshine can be realized from almost anything that contains sugar or carbohydrates. Berries and fruits are especially pleasant drinks, and citrus fruits are no exception. For example, orange and tangerine contain enough sugar for making mash, although along with other citrus fruits (lemon, lime) they can also be used in recipes for home-made tinctures on moonshine. At home [...]

Wheat moonshine is a classic in many European countries. But if you failed to find high-quality grain for making a recipe for moonshine from wheat, you should not despair. It is enough just to follow the recipe for wheat flour moonshine at home - and you can pamper yourself and your loved ones with a soft, barely sweetish drink. Wheat flour moonshine recipe has [...]

Jams and compotes are most often made from cherry plum, sometimes they are used in recipes for homemade tinctures on moonshine. Cherry plum contains many vitamins and organic acids in its composition, but there are quite few sugars (fructose) in it - only about 4-5%. And since its fruits are quite sour, cherry plum is not so widely used in home brew recipes for moonshine. […]

Raspberries are not a popular raw material for making home brew recipes. Most often, in the case of spirits, raspberries are used for cocktails and recipes for homemade liqueurs on moonshine. The thing is that although the berry seems sweet in taste, there are quite a few sugars in its composition. And since there are few sugars, the yield of alcohol from this [...]

Moonshine is an alcoholic drink "from the people". It has many variations and experienced moonshiners know the intricacies of preparing a drink based on the available raw materials. The recipe for moonshine from berries has its own peculiarities of preparation. The taste and smell of such moonshine depends on the berries themselves, chosen for preparation. The process begins with their preparation: It is not recommended to wash the berries, as they [...]

Having decided to try the recipe for home brew for moonshine from apples, you need to know the principle of its production: yeast placed in apple juice absorbs sucrose, glucose and fructose (fruit sugar) contained in apples, releasing carbon dioxide and alcohol. The apple braga that you make and don't distill is called cider. Moonshine from apples, which is obtained as a result of distillation [...]

Buckwheat (or buckwheat) can be used to make wonderful moonshine. Moreover, depending on the selected type of raw material (green - unroasted or brown kernel - fried), the taste of the final drink will depend. If you use green buckwheat in the recipe for home brew for moonshine, then the drink will have light herbaceous and fruity notes, and if you use a kernel, then the rigidity and bread [...]

It's no secret that moonshine nutcrackers are valued for their high content of vitamins and microelements. All this wealth passes into her when she insists on moonshine on pine nuts. Pine nuts are unique: they contain a number of vitamins and micro- and macroelements, amino acids and antioxidants. Despite all its beneficial properties, use moonshine infused with pine nuts [...]

For those who are fond of making homemade alcohol, it is difficult to identify the best recipe for moonshine - there are a lot of them. However, among them, general patterns can be distinguished.

Let's take a look at what constitutes the basis of homemade moonshine recipes.

First, ethyl alcohol. It is obtained by mixing yeast and sugar in water. Yeast absorbs sugar and releases ethyl alcohol. The resulting mixture is a wort.
Secondly, the wort is sent to infuse in a dark and warm place. In a sealed container, in order to exclude the ingress of oxygen, the fermentation process takes place there. It is important not to forget to release carbon dioxide from the container.

The liquid obtained after the yeast has absorbed all the sugar is called mash. Mash recipes for moonshine also differ in variety.

And the third: ethyl alcohol has been obtained, but it is still impossible to drink it, it is fraught with poisoning. Therefore, it must be purified by distillation. There are two ways here: distillation (splitting a liquid into components due to the difference in their boiling points) or rectification (several distillations one after another). The second method gives a cleaner product at the output.

The whole process takes place with the help of moonshine stills. They have one principle of operation, although there are many varieties.

Even the simplest recipes for making moonshine at home are based on heating the mash and helping the alcohol begin to actively evaporate. Its vapors are removed through a pipe cooled in one section, due to which the alcohol again becomes liquid.

Using home-made machines, you can often get weak, heavy-tasting, or bad-smelling moonshine. The solution to this problem is simple - buy a moonshine still. The product obtained from them will delight you with its purity and pleasant taste, no worse than store-bought vodka. In addition, it is perfect for many recipes for homemade moonshine liqueurs.