3 Proven Ways to Give Alcohol a Fruity Flavor Without Ruining It

I tried many ways to flavor alcohol, sometimes it was possible to achieve such a pleasant aroma that not a single note of alcohol was felt.

But it also happened that the alcohol was completely spoiled. For example, I had to simply pour out some tinctures, as they were unsuitable for consumption.

This is normal, everyone learns something, especially since I usually run a large number of products, because I like to experiment. In my entire practice, I have tried almost 50 different ways of flavoring, so I can share three that I liked the most.

Sukhoparnik – not only for cleaning

Everyone who has come across home-brewing knows that a steamer is used to separate fusel oils. But this is not its only purpose. With it, you can saturate the product with aroma, not only fruity, but also any other.

Important! Each fruit/herb/bark, etc. has its own set rules. If they are neglected, then at best there will be no effect, at worst – the product can then be poured out.

Most of all I like to put apples or bananas in a steamer. Many people think that banana flavor and spirits are incompatible, but they just haven’t tried it.

Apples need to be peeled and eaten, since only the peel is needed for the dryer. It is more difficult with bananas, one peel is not enough.

I cut the skin into cubes and add ¼ of the banana itself. I simply throw the apple peel into a steamer, and evenly distribute the banana mixture throughout the volume.

As they say on the forums of moonshiners-distillers, if you overdo it with a bookmark in a steamer, the product can become oversaturated with aroma, which spoils its quality. I checked it for myself, pawned almost half – nothing bad happened.

I also tried other ingredients:

1. Citrus fruits – bitterness appears.
2. Coniferous twigs and needles – in fact, the effect is noticeable, but the smell itself is not for everyone.
3. Grapes and raisins – I did not feel the effect.
4. Leaves and twigs of berry bushes and trees – the effect is practically absent.

Therefore, I use this method exclusively for apples and bananas.

We hang citrus

Another method I like is the hangman. It is enough just to hang a citrus fruit over the finished product and let it stand. The main thing is to prevent contact between the alcohol-containing product and the suspended fruit. This method is applicable only with citrus fruits – lemon, lime, orange.

I have friends who even tried very exotic fruits and the result was the same – a rich aroma that did not affect the taste in any way.

Anyone who says that the hanged man should hang for no more than a week does not know what he is talking about, but simply re-read the distillers’ forums. Once I forgot about the hanged man for almost a month, and nothing bad happened.

Infusion

The best way to saturate the berry flavor, while you can even do without berries. I insist on blackcurrant, cherry and gooseberry. The latter – gives the most intense aroma, and, for example, raspberries – gives almost nothing, the smell is rather unpleasant.

How to insist? I use 10 liter glass bottles or 20 liter plastic jerry cans. In them, I load about 50 g per liter of product of twigs of shrubs or trees of the desired berry species.

It is best to cut branches in the spring, where there are young shoots, and even better – buds. During this period, the wood contains the greatest amount of juice, which is what we need.

I insist from 7 to 15 days, I didn’t see much difference, I just drain the alcohol when I have free time.

What is the best method

It is impossible to single out the best method, because each of them is suitable for its own flavor. If you insist on a lemon – nothing good will come of it, it’s checked, at the same time hanging currant twigs is generally stupid.

I choose a method, only starting from what flavor I want to give moonshine. What methods of flavoring homemade alcoholic beverages do you know? Maybe someone managed to achieve a pure berry flavor without changing the taste of the product?