I tried rustic moonshine on cedar cones at a wedding – it is easy to drink and there is no hangover: I begged for the recipe, now I am sharing

Once I found myself at a village wedding, where instead of store-bought vodka, decanters with nutcracker were placed on the tables. It was made by an old local “supplier” of alcohol, who is about 90 years old, which cannot be said by his appearance. Maximum 65 years, he looks so great.

The drink really turned out to be unique, the guests felt good, no one felt bad. And the ill-fated sign “There is no good wedding without a fight” at our celebration, fortunately, did not smell.

So I decided to ingratiate myself with the village moonshiner and beg for the recipe. At home, I made moonshine on cedar cones on my own and now I am sharing the recipe with my readers.

The story of my reader Alexander.

What is moonshine

You can get this strong alcohol by distilling mash on a factory or home-made apparatus. It is made by fermenting a sweet syrup based on sugar, beets, grains, etc.

It turns out that the word “moonshine” arose not so long ago. Before the October Revolution, an alcoholic drink of its own production, that is, illegal, was called “tavern”.

An interesting fact: in past centuries, the word “moonshine” meant hunting for prey on one’s feet, that is, without the use of dogs, horses.

Since 1917, the term “tavern” was changed to “moonshine” due to the new laws adopted, so this word can be considered a fairly young concept.

How to choose cedar cones for moonshine

As mentioned above, I am a big fan of experimenting with spirits. It is important to me that they were authentic or colorful. And herbs, fruits, berries, nuts will help in this.

As for the latter, I really liked moonshine on pine nuts, the benefits of which only the laziest do not know about.

The stores also sell a tincture called “nutcracker”, but it is not profitable to buy it. Firstly, it is not known how the drink was made, and secondly, what is the quality of these nuts.

And thirdly, the high cost, which is also important for the family budget. Having studied all the “pros” and “cons”, I decided to prepare the tincture on my own.

Pine nuts must meet two simple criteria:

1. The shell is a rich, brown color.
2. Nucleolus – without black dots, pale yellow, clean.

A dark or gray color indicates that the product is stale and dangerous toxins can accumulate.

How moonshine is prepared on cedar cones

So, the cooking process begins with nuts, in the shell of which the resin with a characteristic bitterness is concentrated. You need to get rid of this taste so as not to spoil the drink. For this you need:

• wash nuts;
• soak them in boiling water for 5 minutes;
• drain the water;
• repeat the procedure.

Thus, all resins and unpleasant aftertaste are removed, but useful properties are preserved. After washing, the nuts must be dried in the oven for 1 hour (temperature +400).

You can also use already peeled nuts, which are enough to press down with a knife to facilitate the release of useful components.

Important! You can stock up on pine nuts on your own, they ripen in the autumn months – September, October.

And now let’s move on to the most popular and traditional recipe for making moonshine on pine nuts, popularly called “nutcracker”.

First of all, we prepare moonshine, for which we need water, yeast and sugar. Yeast is preferably special, alcohol, so that there is an appropriate strength – 45 degrees.

In the finished moonshine, add soaked and dried pine nuts (3 liters of 60 grams of nuts), 50 grams of granulated sugar and several cloves. Insist for two weeks, then strain through several layers of gauze and put in a cold dark place.

How long moonshine is stored on cedar cones

Alcoholic beverages, by their nature, have a very long shelf life. As for the nutcracker, if properly stored in a dark and cool place, it can be enjoyed for years.

However, if the recipe contains herbs, raspberry or currant leaves (and I have seen such options), then they must be removed from the tincture after a week, and then you can safely store the drink for several years.

At the same time, it should be understood that even such a seemingly healthy drink must be consumed in small doses – 50 grams before dinner. We don’t need more, we don’t want to get drunk, but to enjoy the authentic Siberian taste and aroma. Hope you agree with me?