Framboise – raspberry moonshine at home

Framboise is an Alsatian raspberry brandy, a delicious, fragrant and very unusual drink that will certainly appeal to any connoisseur of fruit distillates. If you are lucky and you have a lot of raspberries, you can try to make a couple of bottles of real framboise from it using the original technology. Or you can simplify the technology and reduce the cost, but still get a drink with an amazing raspberry smell and the finest berry taste. In general, get ready to be surprised and surprised!

Making moonshine from raspberries at home is not very difficult, but very costly. Raspberries contain few sugars, in ordinary garden – only 6,1% fructose, in yellow – 7,5%, the most sugar in wild raspberries – up to 8,3%, but making brandy from an amazing forest berry is already a transfer. You can go in two ways. The first is to cook classic framboise, that is, fruit schnapps without any additives, only with juice. But in this case, you will get no more than a liter of double distillate from 8 kg of raw materials. And the second is to add a small amount of sugar or fructose, violating the authenticity, but significantly increasing the yield. If everything is done correctly, the drink will still be very “raspberry”, tasty and aromatic.

Brandy framboise – who is it and what is it eaten with?

In fact, with the name “Framboise” on the net there is an unprecedented confusion. The thing is that “framboise” in French is simply “raspberry”, the most famous variety of this berry has the same name. Oddly enough, this time the French also came up with the names of alcohol completely without imagination: framboise is a strong wine, a kind of raspberry analogue of port wine, a sweet liquor is called “Creme de Framboises” (by the way, we have an article with recipes for similar liquors), there is a Belgian raspberry lambic called the same thing, even a French raspberry cake – and that Framboise.

We are not interested in all these sweet delights, but in an honest, strong drink, a product of distillation of fruit raw materials – the French call such alcohol Eau-de-vie. The birthplace of aux de vie de Framboise is considered to be Alsace, a province in the north-east of the country, where lovers of strong brandy live – here it is made at once by several small family distilleries scattered throughout the province. An analogue of framboise is also popular in neighboring regions of Germany. Usually raspberry brandy is produced and sold clean, without aging – oak wood interrupts a delicate raspberry bouquet. But some particularly rich varieties of Frambuase Reserve still languish for several years in barrels until they get into a gourmet glass.

Regarding the culture of framboise consumption, there are no special recommendations. They drink it in the same way as any fruit brandy – as an aperitif, chilled to 15-17 degrees, with ice, straight or with a very moderate snack with a soft taste that does not interrupt the finest aromatics of the drink. Raspberry distillate is an excellent ingredient for experimental cocktails, it goes well with champagne, vermouth, liquors, perfectly reveals itself in tea and coffee, suitable for making punches and strong versions of mulled wine, sangria. Aged framboise is drunk in the same way as cognac – at room temperature, in small sips, with a cigar and a leisurely conversation.

How to make framboise at home – a universal recipe for raspberry moonshine

Before starting the production of framboise at home, you need to honestly answer the question, what is more important for you – a rich taste or a decent yield of a drink? As already mentioned, if you do not add sugar, eight kilograms of raspberries will turn out no more than a liter of distillate – this, you see, is not serious. Experts still recommend sweetening the mash, but not with sugar, but with fructose, and adding it quite a bit – at the rate of 1-2 kg per 10 liters (about the same 8 kg) of raspberries. Each kilogram of fructose will increase the yield of moonshine by 1.3-1.5 liters.

By the way, a certain analogue of framboise can also be made from raspberry jam, including fermented or candied, but in this case it is better to use the recipes from the corresponding article. Also, raspberry moonshine can be made from homemade raspberry wine – for example, if it did not live up to your expectations or just this drink did not suit your taste (seriously? Can this be ?!) – but the recipe for raspberry moonshine mash, which is presented below, is much simpler and faster in production.

As for yeast, raspberries ferment perfectly even on savages, the berry is so saturated with them that it is even used to make wine sourdough. But wild yeast produces much less alcohol than special wine yeasts. Given that the distillate will turn out like a gulkin’s nose, I advise you to purchase a couple of bags of yeast for fruit, red wines or universal CCD + special top dressing, so that it’s completely scientific – all this can be bought at a wine shop. Alcohol or baker’s yeast is not suitable for making framboise.

Mash preparation

Braga will be prepared according to the “red” technology, that is, together with the pulp. But if you still decide to do without purchased yeast, it is better to use only raspberry juice – savages roam longer than CKD, and during this time an unpleasant bitterness from the raspberry seed can pass into the mash, which will then be felt in the brandy itself. So.

1. Wash the berries if possible. If they are slightly crushed or let the juice go, it will do. Knead the raspberries with your hands, feet, rolling pin, drill with a mixing nozzle – as you see fit.
2. Ferment the yeast in a small amount of warm (30°) water with sugar. This must be done without fail, even if it says on the package that the yeast does not need to be started – this way we will protect ourselves in case the CKD, for example, is overdue.
3. Pour the crushed raspberries into a fermentation tank, add all the water and running yeast, sugar or fructose (if you use them), pre-mix in warm water and also place in the fermenter. Install a water seal on top.
4. Within a day or two, there will be obvious signs of fermentation in the container – gurgling, foaming, etc. After another week or 10 days, these signs will begin to weaken and stop altogether. A dense sediment will form in the raspberry mash, and the liquid itself will become lighter – this means that young wine is ready.
5. Carefully drain the liquid fraction of the mash, the cake can also be additionally squeezed and filtered. Be sure to let the drink stand in a cool place for at least a week – during this time, the remains of yeast will fall to the bottom and the mash can be decanted with a straw. If you leave everything as it is, boiled yeast during distillation will give an unpleasant moonshine taste.

Everything, mash for distillation of raspberry moonshine at home can be considered ready!

First and second distillation

According to the recipe for raspberry moonshine, the “heads” are not cut off during the primary distillation, since they contain most of the fruit aromatics. However, if you have added a lot of sugar or fructose, it is better to select at least the first 50 grams of head fractions. Distillation is carried out at the full power of your apparatus, it is also recommended to take some tails in the first stage – the distillation is completed when the strength of the drink in the stream drops to 35-30%. Next, we measure the amount and strength of the resulting moonshine and be sure to let it rest for at least 4-5 days.

In some cases, after the first distillation, the framboise turns out to be insufficiently raspberry, dim. Re-distilling and resting usually solves this problem, but you can additionally flavor the drink by steeping it for a couple of weeks in a small amount of fresh or dried raspberries. It is not recommended to add raspberries to a steamer or directly to the cube itself – otherwise the drink may acquire the smell of not fresh berries, but raspberry compote.

Slightly rested and / or flavored raspberry raw alcohol is diluted to 20-25 degrees and again poured into the distillation cube. This time we will carefully select unnecessary fractions, so we carry out distillation at a low power.

1. To begin with, we select the heads in a separate container – literally 30-50 milliliters each, guided by the smell. As soon as the unpleasant smell of acetone disappears and a clear fruity aroma appears, we begin the selection of the main fraction. We pour out the heads.
2. Now the heating temperature can be slightly increased. The “body” is chasing up to about 40-45% of the fortress in the jet, but it’s better, again, to focus on the aroma. If the “tails” smell nice, they can also be added to the drink, but it’s better to take them separately, literally in a glass.
3. We drive out the remaining fractions to dryness – they will come in handy during the next distillation of raspberry mash.
4. Measure the strength of the resulting moonshine and dilute it with clean, unboiled water to 45 degrees.

What to do?

Like all fruit distillates, raspberry brandy reveals its flavor and aroma only after 4-6 weeks of rest. If it seemed to you that you got a buzz – do not despair, just let the drink stand in a dark, cool place – most likely, after the necessary time, it will turn into something very, very worthy!

If this doesn’t happen, don’t panic either. Raspberries are different, there may be violations of technology, and raspberry moonshine does not always turn out the way you imagined it. The framboise that did not live up to expectations will become an excellent raw material for raspberry tinctures, liqueurs or liquor, it can also be used to fortify raspberry wine – 100% will turn out much tastier than with vodka or ordinary sugar moonshine!

If, on the contrary, home-made raspberry moonshine exceeded all your expectations, it turned out to be very fragrant, with a strong raspberry smell – it’s worth experimenting and putting at least part of it in an oak barrel for aging, only in this case it’s better not to dilute the distillate, and pour 60-70 degrees. You can also age the drink simply in a jar by adding 1-2 specially prepared oak chips per 2-3 liters. Aged framboise is the real elite of fruit brandies, a drink that is extremely rare and costs fabulous money. Such a distillate will become the real pride of the moonshiner and will definitely decorate your home bar!