Cognac from alcohol or vodka at home – 5 recipes

Every alchemist knows how to make gold from mercury – all you need is a philosopher’s stone. To turn vodka into “cognac” you need a little more – herbs, spices, dried fruits and, of course, oak in one variation or another. And the “Rum Diary” will act as the “fifth element” for this difficult transmutation, which will provide several interesting recipes for vodka and alcohol tinctures “under cognac”.

Wow, I’m just starting to write an article, and I’m already looking forward to a flurry of comments – they say, making cognac under normal home conditions, even from the right grape must, is an extremely difficult task, and even trying to build it from rectified alcohol or vodka is generally nonsense. Calm, comrades, calm! The editors know perfectly well how the original French cognac and Armagnac are made, and we can even teach you how to cook chacha or real grape brandy. Today, we have a different question – is it possible, with the help of improvised means and relatively affordable ingredients, to make something at least remotely similar to what we used to call “cognac” from the most popular alcohol – vodka or alcohol?

We already have a similar article – here it is – but it contains recipes exclusively with a home-made product – fruit, grain, sugar, finally. Distillate is not vodka, it has a different density, taste, and aromatics. A rectified is a rectified – it is neutral, but clean. That is, all that is needed is to choose the right ingredients for infusion, and time will do the rest for us. Many of today’s recipes will use oak chips, aka chips. For information on how to properly prepare it and what it gives to a drink, read the article at the previous link. By the way, chips from any other wood: apple, cherry, apricot, etc. prepared in the same way.

Homemade “cognac” from alcohol with oak bark and spices

American recipe. Yes, yes, in the New World they also make brandy tinctures, since Everclear alcohol in US supermarkets, unlike domestic ones, is sold absolutely freely. It can also be made with vodka, but it is still desirable that the raw material has a strength of at least 50 degrees. Oak bark is used here as a “woody” base – how to prepare it will be written in the recipe.

* – it is recommended to use honey as a sweetener, not sugar – it will give the drink the necessary “cognac” density and viscosity.

There is absolutely nothing complicated in cooking. The bark must first be boiled for 10 minutes, pour out the water. Add spices, herbs, honey to the cooled bark, pour diluted alcohol, mix until honey dissolves and leave for 2 weeks in a dark place at room temperature, shaking occasionally. After that, the infusion is carefully filtered several times and bottled, moved to a cool place – a cellar, a basement. Like all alcohol tinctures, this homemade homemade cognac requires aging – at least a couple of months. Only after that it will be possible not only to drink it, but to drink it with pleasure!

This recipe in practice from our friends from Dobrovar:

“Cognac” from vodka with wild rose and hawthorn

Another recipe from the English-speaking Internet. Reminds us of the popular “country cognac”, but with its own nuances. Instead of harsh home-made wood chips, chips are used here – a smaller and thinner fraction of wood, medium roast – brown or dark brown. The combination of wild rose and hawthorn will give the drink light fruity notes and sourness – when aged for six months, these notes will merge with the main aromatics of the product and the tincture will become very similar to grape distillate aged in a barrel.

* – chips can be pre-soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes to reduce the content of tannins;

** – any neutral honey is suitable – flower, forbs, linden. Interesting results can be achieved with buckwheat honey – its tart taste goes well with wild berries.

This version of “cognac” from vodka is made even faster and easier than the previous recipe. Chips, spices and dried berries are put into a jar, poured with vodka and honey. After thorough mixing, everything is set aside in a warm, dark place for 25-30 days, every 5-7 days the jar must be shaken. After that, the infusion is filtered. It can be sweetened a little more if needed. You can try after a couple of days of settling in a cool place, but the taste of the drink will finally form in no less than 3 months, better – six months. The strength of this “cognac” is 37-38%, it can be stored for up to five years (in fact – indefinitely).

Homemade “cognac” from vodka with prunes, galangal and almonds

An interesting recipe from one of the domestic forums. As a result, you will get an original tincture – maybe not particularly similar to cognac, but certainly tasty, incredibly fragrant, soft, drinkable. The recipe includes oak chips – the same as in the previous recipe. You can be original and replace them with an equal number of shells from unsalted pistachios, fried in a pan until black. With pistachio shells, they make an independent tincture, which in itself is a bit like cognac – read about it here.

Such a “cognac” is made from vodka in the same way as according to the previous recipe – easily and rather quickly. Almonds need to be slightly crushed with a knife, add prunes, chopped galangal and chips, pour vodka, cork tightly and set aside for 2 weeks in a dark, warm place. After that, the tincture is carefully filtered – through several layers of gauze, then – a cotton or paper filter. It is not required to sweeten it, but if desired, you can add a little sugar – half a teaspoon is enough. Next, we move the drink to a cool place and let it stand for another 3-4 weeks. Everything you can try!

Homemade “calvados” with apple chips

This drink tastes closer not to cognac, but to its apple counterpart – Calvados. Apple chips are easy to make with your own hands – fortunately, we have plenty of apple trees, and they are prepared in the same way as oak chips – only you need to fry them stronger, until brown-black.

Put all the ingredients in a jar and pour alcohol to the top. It is better to pre-wash the raisins properly, crush the almonds slightly. The waiting time is 2 months. After that, drain the infusion, squeeze the ingredients well. Carefully filter the drink through gauze and any fine filter, sweeten if necessary. Before using Calvados, it is advisable to stand in a cool place for at least 3 months.

Imitation “grappa” – a recipe for the most meticulous alchemists

An interesting recipe from the Runet allows you to prepare aromatic alcohol, very similar to grape distillate, but at the same time – do not mess with grape mash. Of course, not a real brandy, but a fragrant and tasty replica. For manufacturing, you will need a simple moonshine still.

* – it is better to take the cake left after squeezing the juice, along with the skins – the drink will be even more fragrant.

Such an “imitation” is being prepared in two stages. To begin with, grape cake is poured with alcohol and infused for at least two months. Next, the resulting infusion must be diluted to 20-30 degrees and overtaken – this is done in the postill mode, at low speed – according to the principle, for example, of gin. When distilling, we carefully select the heads – 50 grams is enough for our quantity. We drive until the liquid retains a pleasant grape, fruity aroma, we send the rest to the tails.

Such an ersatz grappa from alcohol will be the best basis for making homemade cognac according to any of the above recipes. If the grapes were flavorful enough and done right, you won’t need anything but oak chips or chips. Just add 2-3 chips of medium roast per liter of diluted product – and in a month you will get an excellent drink, much superior in quality to cheap cognacs from the store!