The taste of ethyl alcohol diluted with water can be improved by insisting on specially prepared oak chips (pegs). You will get homemade whiskey that most people will not be able to distinguish from store-bought whiskey. I will talk about the technology of harvesting wood and the method of infusion.
Attention! Real whiskey is made from malt distillate. Using the method described here, a drink is obtained that only successfully imitates the taste of whiskey. For greater similarity, I recommend taking alpha class alcohol, which is produced from cereals (barley, wheat, rye), and not other starchy raw materials.
Ingredients:
- alcohol (45-50%) – 2 liters;
- oak pegs (slats) – 100-150 grams;
- pharmacy glucose (40%) – 20 ml or 2 tablespoons of sugar;
- soda – 1 tablespoon;
- water (for oak preparation) – 10-14 liters.
Alcohol with a strength above 50% is pre-diluted with water. The fact is that strong alcohols do not absorb wood substances well. But I also do not recommend diluting below 45%, because in the process of infusion, the fortress will decrease by several degrees.
You can prepare oak pegs yourself or purchase them at a hardware store. It is desirable that the wood is as old as possible. Glucose (sold in ampoules) is needed to soften the burning taste of alcohol, you can replace it with sugar or not add it at all. Soda and water are used to soak tannins.
alcohol whiskey recipe
Wood preparation. The most complex process, on which the lion’s share of the result depends. In some recipes, the oak is not soaked, immediately starting from the sixth stage. But in this case, there is a very high probability of getting a “plinth” – a drink with a sharp unpleasant taste. It is better to adhere to the following methodology:
1. Cut dry oak into sticks 2 × 2 cm and 8-10 cm long.
2. Soak the pieces in cold water for a day, changing the water every 6-8 hours.
3. Fill the wood with soda solution (1 tablespoon of soda per 5 liters of water) and leave for 6 hours.
4. Drain the solution, rinse the pieces well under running water, then put them in a saucepan, pour water again (to cover completely by 5-6 cm), put on the stove and simmer for 45 minutes over low heat. If necessary, add evaporated water.
5. Drain the decoction, then rinse the wood with cold water.
6. Dry the bars in the sun for a day, then wrap them in thick foil (you can use several layers), put on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 2 hours at a temperature of 150-160 ° C.
7. Remove the wood from the oven, unfold the foil (when cool), then lightly char the pieces all over on a gas burner. Cool workpieces to room temperature. The resulting chips (the second name is “chips”) are used not only to imitate the aging of whiskey, but also other drinks, such as cognac.
Infusion technology
8. Fold the prepared sticks into a glass container, add glucose (sugar), pour alcohol up to the neck and close tightly.
9. Keep in a dark cool place. The aging time depends on the properties of the oak and taste preferences. After a week of infusion, I advise you to take a sample from your spirit whiskey every 3-4 days, controlling the smell and taste.
10. When the desired result is achieved (usually it takes 2-7 months), pour the drink into a glass container and close it tightly.
