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It would seem – “in vino veritas”, what is there to invent, there are grapes – make wine. If everyone thought so, the world would not know either cognac, or chacha, or grappa. But what to do if there are no conditions for the distillation of grape spirit, but you want to cook something “such”? Try to make a tincture of grapes – at home it is quite feasible!
Today we will get acquainted with several interesting grape tinctures on white and red grapes – strong and not very strong, and also talk about a special anti-hangover vodka “for members of the Central Committee” on grape ridges and even find out how it can be made at home.
Red and white grape tincture at home
Grapes, like any other fruit, are quite suitable for making tinctures. Moreover, the most interesting thing is that you can make a worthy product from any grape – red and white, sour and sweet, technical and dessert, tart and not very. Even inedible semi-wild varieties are quite suitable – they can be used to make a very interesting bitter tincture, reminiscent of port wine, and Isabella, which is common for our region, makes a delicious liquor tincture – beautiful, simple and tasty. In general, about everything in order.
Sweet red grape tincture
Any sweet red grape you like will work for this tincture. In fact, this is an ordinary ratafia, but with its own nuances.
You will need:
- ripe grapes – 1 kg;
- vodka – 1 liter;
- sugar – 300 grams;
- if available – you can add a handful of cherries, pierced to the bone – they will add piquancy to the drink.
Cooking shouldn’t be difficult either. We separate the grapes from the bunch, wash them, let the water drain. We put the berries in a jar without kneading, sprinkle with sugar and fill with ordinary vodka or 40-degree moonshine. The infusion period is until the berries turn white, depending on the variety, this process takes from 2 weeks to a month. When the tincture is ready, it should be drained, filtered and bottled. After the drink rests in a dark, cool place for another week – you can try!
This tincture has variations. For example, it can be prepared with alcohol – for the first time pour 70 degrees, stand for 10 days, drain; the second time – 40 degrees, stand for 3 weeks, drain and attach to the first; the third time – add either pure water or highly diluted alcohol of 10-20 degrees, stand for a month and combine with the first three liquids. In this way, not very strong, but rich homemade grape tincture is obtained, even if you had very little of it.
Bitter red grape tincture
For this option, even wild grapes are suitable for us. You can also use pomace obtained from the production of homemade grape wine, which is a pity to throw away. In general – full scope for imagination! Grape scallops are also added to this tincture (a couple of grams per liter of drink) – read about the effect they give in the second section of the article.
We will need only raw materials and 40-degree alcohol, moonshine, vodka. Ideally, of course, home-made chacha, diluted to the desired strength.
The grapes are placed in a jar to the top and filled with alcohol, after which they are infused for at least a month in a dark place. If you use pomace, do not fill the entire jar with them, but only 2/3. After infusion, the liquid must be filtered and slightly sweetened to taste – for this, use sugar syrup or fructose. Now, as usual, you need to let the drink stand for several days (or better weeks) in the dark and cool, after which it is declared ready!
To taste, such a grape tincture on vodka, they say, resembles port wine or other fortified wine, and when aged in an oak barrel, it generally acquires wonderful flavoring properties and becomes unlike any of the existing drinks.
Clear tincture on white grapes
This tincture will give in the finale an original spicy-grape liquor, which will differ in a rich bouquet and a delicate straw or light green color (depending on the grape variety, mainly purchased watery sweet varieties such as sultanas are used here). For her, first, a spicy sugar syrup with vodka is prepared, with which the grapes are subsequently poured for settling.
For syrup:
- zest of two lemons;
- 8 cloves;
- 2 cinnamon sticks;
- 400 grams of sugar (the sweetness of the drink can be reduced, depending on your taste);
- 10 grams of vanilla sugar (as an option – vanillin on the tip of a knife);
- 50 milliliters of water;
- other favorite spices in a small amount: nutmeg, star anise, anise, cumin – a couple of pinches each.
And besides this, of course, we need a kilogram of grapes and a liter of pure vodka or sorted 40-45 degrees.
This spicy tincture of grapes on vodka is prepared as follows:
1. Pour sugar into a thick-walled saucepan along with vanilla, dilute with hot water and cook, stirring, until dissolved. Don’t caramelize! (read more about sugar syrups and caramel in this article).
2. Vodka is poured into the slightly cooled syrup and seasonings are added – grated zest, chopped cinnamon sticks, broken star anise and so on.
3. The whole thing should be infused under the lid. How much – again, depends on your preferences. You can insist for half an hour – then the drink will have only a slight hint of spices. It can take a few hours to make the seasonings feel better. Just do not overdo it – the amount of ingredients is given with the expectation of a short exposure, otherwise they will kill the taste of the grapes.
4. Now the spiced liquor needs to be filtered well. In a jar or bottle, put the washed and sorted grapes freed from the brushes and pour the liquid under the very neck.
5. The term of infusion is about a month and a half. Of course, grapes can be stuffed directly into bottles and served as such. It’s beautiful, but not very correct. It is better to drain the tincture and filter it thoroughly through a cotton filter, if necessary – twice.
6. Now you need to try the drink for sugar and strength, in which case – dilute with water or standard syrup. To defend at least another couple of weeks, after which it can be put into action.
Of course, if you want to get more grape flavor, this tincture can be prepared easier and faster – take grapes, pour vodka and add syrup. There is such a version of this recipe on the Web – the grapes are poured not with vodka, but with 70-degree rectified, it costs about 3 weeks, after which it is slightly sweetened and sent for aging in a prepared oak barrel or at least in a jar of oak chips. They say that the final product is very reminiscent of brandy.
The secret development of the Central Committee – vodka with grape tassels that kills a hangover!
Of course, every alcohol lover at least once thought – is it possible to make such a product, after which there will be no hangover at all? Once, after a stormy feast with an abundance of bison, such an idea occurred to Brezhnev himself. After all, if the party elite, consuming invariably high-quality drinks, suffers so much in the morning, then what can we say about ordinary hard workers? After all, this has a bad effect on the pace of industrial growth, and on Mondays, production generally stops!
Leonid Ilyich blew his brains and gave the task to prominent scientists of that time to create such vodka that could be drunk “tits-masiski”, after which they could go to work fresh and crispy like a cucumber. Professor Bulanov, academicians Brekhman and Mujiri took up the research. Tons of various substances of natural origin have been studied, their effect on the body. As a result, scientists took into development flavonoids – biologically active substances that were extracted from grape ridges.
Much later, in the late 90s, the world community learned about the terrible “free radicals” and the antioxidant properties of polyphenols that can destroy them. And then, despite the undeniable arguments of scientists and even the practically proven effectiveness of the new “anti-hangover vodka” (they say that experiments were actively carried out in Chukotka), the project did not go into action – Gorbachev came to power, who, as you know, disliked grapes and interesting development, in which millions of people’s rubles were swelled, was frozen.
Tinctures on grape ridges and seeds
Today, when a lot is known about the biological properties of flavonoids, it’s a sin not to try to create an analogue of such a homemade tincture from grapes – it definitely won’t cause any harm. Moreover, the taste of the drink, they say, is very good, a bit like cognac, but it is done very simply and does not require a special raw material base.
We will need to dry the grape scallops well and grind them in a coffee grinder. For 1 liter of vodka you need to take 6 teaspoons of powder. The whole thing is infused for a week, shaken daily. After settling, the drink must be filtered, add quite a bit of glucose or fructose (sugar can be used), stand a little more and consume. This grape tincture on vodka has a pleasant cognac color, original smell and taste, slightly reminiscent of chacha.
The second option is even easier to implement. We will only need grape seeds – they are also rich in antioxidants. Bones can be taken from mash from under homemade chacha, or simply do not throw out the seeds from the grapes that your household eats. In addition, you need 40-45-degree vodka or sorting. The proportion is simple – in half-half. Half a jar is filled with bones, everything is filled to the top with vodka. The drink should stand as long as possible – the author advises to insist for at least 6 months, preferably 8. The resulting tincture has a grape aroma, cognac taste and color.
And do not forget: even the most “anti-hangover” tincture is still alcohol, you should not sip it in cans! Drink in moderation – think about tomorrow!