I tell you how to make an exquisite brandy – Calvados from ordinary moonshine and ginger

A few years ago I went to visit a colleague. We haven’t seen him for a long time. Naturally, a small feast was organized in honor of such a case. A friend treated me to various dishes and alcohol of his own production.

Toward the end of the gathering, a friend splashed a light brown liquid with a pleasant smell of honey and ginger into my glass. Turns out it was brandy.

This story was sent by subscriber Alexey, who has been reading the blog for over a year.

What is this drink, where did it come from

My comrade in the army was distinguished by ingenuity. Constantly inventing something to alleviate the difficult soldier’s lot. In civilian life, he became interested in the home production of alcohol as a hobby.

Therefore, I was not surprised when there was not a single vintage brand on the table, but tinctures, wines and moonshine were in abundance. However, the ginger brandy surprised even me. After drinking another glass, we talked about this topic.

The friend, among other things, was passionate about history, so I soon learned that Calvados, as fruit brandy was originally called, appeared in France in the XNUMXth century.

Note! There is a version that one of the ships of the Invincible Armada, which ran aground off the coast of Normandy, was called Calvados. At first, the locality was named after him, and then the brandy.

Gradually, its production was put on an industrial basis, but the common people, who also did not mind drinking elite alcohol, learned how to make it on their own. Over time, recipes have changed, new ingredients have been added, but the essence has not changed over the past few centuries.

What ingredients are needed

History, of course, is an interesting thing, but in addition to the past, I was also interested in the present, and it was like that – I not only liked ginger drink, I, one might say, fell in love with it from the first sip, and retreat in such things is not accepted.

When the course on the history of Calvados was completed, I began to inquire about the products that would be needed to make brandy. The set wasn’t that big.

1. Liter of moonshine. Well, this business, as my friend said with a grin, you can get hold of in any corner of our vast. The main thing is that the product is well cleaned.
2. Lemon. The market asks for 70-80 rubles per kilo. For tea, you can, of course, take it with a margin, but for brandy, you only need one piece.
3. Honey. You need 100 gr. liquid flower honey. Cheaper than 150 rubles per can, alas, they do not sell it.
4. 50 gr. ginger root. For him in the store will have to pay 30-40 rubles.

Important! Moonshine is better to use double distillation. This will improve its taste.

The prices for products, announced by a colleague, suited me quite well. It only remained to figure out how to make quality brandy from this set of products.

The cooking process

The next morning, a friend decided to give me a master class on making ginger alcohol at home. According to him, this was caused not only by the desire to teach me how to make brandy, but by the need to replenish their personal reserves.

Well, as they say, it was only to my advantage. I have never cooked alcohol at home, so I wanted not only to translate products in an attempt to succeed, but first to see how professionals do it, and then try it myself.

In general, we quickly ran to the nearest store, where we stocked up on ingredients and, closer to noon, set to work in the following sequence:

1. The ginger was cut into small pieces.
2. The juice is squeezed out of the lemon, and the remaining zest is grated with a small cell.
3. Our honey was slightly candied, so we had to melt it in a water bath.
4. We put all the ingredients in a glass container, poured moonshine and stirred until the honey was completely dissolved.

Then came the most difficult stage of preparation for all moonshiners, namely: infusion.

The container was put away in the pantry, where it was supposed to stand for 2 weeks. That was how long I was going to stay with a friend, so by a short vote, it was unanimously decided to use brandy as the main alcohol on the table, which a friend promised to collect before I left.

What will be the result

And then the day came when I had to leave the hospitable mansions of my colleague. This case, as mentioned earlier, we decided to note. Yes, and the brandy just insisted.

And again, a light brown liquid, even closer to yellow, is swaying in our glasses. The first portion of our tradition is overturned in one gulp. A ginger-honey smell hits the nose, and heat from the sour-spicy liquid spreads through the body.

Note! Ginger brandy is best served chilled.

Arriving in my city, I told my friends and acquaintances that it turns out that ginger can not only be used to brew tea for colds, but also make high-quality brandy, which to some extent even surpasses its store counterparts. Do you agree with me?