Liqueurs and tinctures on acorns – five original recipes

Of course, there is no way without oak in the case of home distillation-maceration – if not an oak barrel, then at least roasted chips, shavings, or at least bark. However, you should not forget about the fruits of oak – acorns. In our country, they have long been used for the production of bitters, and many other peoples, for example, Poles, Americans and Spaniards, are very fond of sweet acorn liqueurs. Today we will discuss both varieties of this drink and, of course, we will find out detailed recipes – some of them are unique and are found only on the Rum Diary in the entire Runet!

Acorn – acorn strife. As is known to those who dared to try this delicacy in childhood, this product is extremely bitter, due to the high content of tannins. Acorns are eaten, but after pre-treatment – most often, repeated boiling. Survivors use the “Indian” method – peeled acorns are washed for a long time in a stream or river. This process is called “leaching”. Processed acorns are used to make flour for cakes or bread, as well as a kind of ersatz coffee – invigorating, and, they say, quite interesting in taste. For tincture on acorns, oak “nuts” are also usually prepared – boiled or baked in the oven.

A completely different matter is edible acorns, common, for example, in the north of Spain, the USA and Korea. It all depends on the type of tree. The sweetest is the Holm Oak, and the fruits of the Kellogg Oak, Emory Oak, and Oregon White Oak are also edible. Such acorns do not require mandatory preparation, they can be used to make sweet liqueurs with a bright nutty coffee taste. The fruits of pedunculate oak, common in Russia, are suitable for tincture of acorns on vodka. In general, more details will be seen in each individual recipe.

Bitters on acorns from moonshine or vodka – 2 recipes

Bitter, spicy-spicy drinks used as an aperitif or “warming” agent. If you use a high-quality base – best of all, self-made grain moonshine – you get real “male” alcohol – strong, fragrant, with a rich palette of taste.

“Cognac” from moonshine on oak acorns

In fact, the recipe painfully resembles the “country cognac” we talked about in this article, but with its own nuances.

Preparing a drink is quite simple. Acorns need to be cleaned, peeling the core – we only need it – and boil for half an hour over medium heat. After that, pour out the water, dry the remaining “pulp” in the oven and grind it with a pusher or blender – best of all, not into dust, but just finely, otherwise it will be difficult to filter. Measure out five teaspoons of acorn flour, add herbs and spices, pour moonshine over everything. Prepare caramel syrup separately – burn sugar in a pan until dark brown, then add a little water, mix, cool and pour into a jar. Transfer the tincture to a dark place for 2-3 weeks, shake occasionally. When the infusion period has expired, the drink must be filtered, sweetened with syrup if necessary and set aside to rest in a cool place for a month and a half or two. Ready!

Spicy tincture “Mountain Dubnyak”

A drink, once produced in the USSR, with a very beautiful amber color, a characteristic “astringent” taste with spicy notes and a rich spicy aroma. The recipe is taken from the 1971 recipe guide for alcoholic beverages of the USSR, slightly simplified and adapted to home needs. The drink is prepared in two stages – first, an infusion-concentrate is made, which is then added to vodka in a certain proportion.

Acorns for this recipe do not need to be prepared – the drink just needs the astringent taste of their tannins. However, they must first be dried in the oven or in the attic. Preparing the infusion is very simple – all the ingredients must be thrown into a jar, poured with alcohol and set aside in a dark place for 2 weeks, periodically shaking the container. After that, the liquid is thoroughly filtered and that’s it – it can be used to make “Mountain Dubnyak”. The concentrate obtained according to the above proportions will be enough for 15 liters of the final product.

We combine vodka and concentrate. The proportion is indicative, because the ingredients are different for everyone, as well as tastes – no one will forbid you to make the final tincture more or less concentrated. If necessary, sweeten the drink with a small amount of sugar syrup, for color, you can also add a little caramel syrup – the same as in the previous recipe. Before tasting, the drink must certainly stand for at least a month.

Sweet and rich acorn liqueurs – 3 recipes

It may seem strange to hear this in our area, but acorn liqueurs are very popular in various parts of the world, the Spanish Licor de bellota is especially appreciated, which is very fond of both the Spaniards themselves and many gourmets in Northern Europe and the USA. For the first – Polish – recipe, ordinary, “our” acorns are used, for the next two – special edible ones. Well, or ordinary ones, but at least twice pre-boiled – if you really want to, but there is no necessary ingredient.

“Zholudyovka” – tincture on acorns in Polish

A rather simple but interesting recipe, gives a bittersweet drink, about 30-32% alcohol, popular in Poland and industrially produced in some places. By the way, the Poles even produce a special concentrate for making acorn tincture, which is diluted with vodka at home, similarly to Gorny Dubnyak. But this is all lyrics, anyway, they don’t sell it here.

There is nothing particularly difficult in the preparation of such a drink. Acorns must first be cleaned and soaked in cold water throughout the day, changing the water every 2-3 hours. Then dry and lightly fry over high heat until the color changes, then cool and chop. Pour the acorn mass with a liter of water, bring it to a boil, turn off the heat and leave it under the lid for an hour or two – to infuse. Now you need to strain the broth, add sugar, vanilla, soda, bring to a boil again and cook until the sugar dissolves. Allow the liquid to cool naturally and pour alcohol into it. Mix well and can be bottled immediately. Before drinking, the drink should stand for at least six months in a cool place.

American “Acorn liqueur” on rum

A homemade drink widely produced in the North American States, it tastes like Kalua and Tia Maria coffee liqueur at the same time, with light notes of nuts, chocolate, vanilla and almonds.

To begin with, we make caramel syrup from all the sugar – we burn it in a suitable saucepan until light brown, add finely chopped vanilla and fill it with water. Boil, periodically removing the foam, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add chopped, well-fried acorns, let it boil and turn off the fire. We wait until the liquid cools down under the lid, pour it into a suitable jar, add light rum, close it tightly and put it in a dark place for at least 2 months. After that, the tincture needs to be filtered and you can immediately start tasting!

Licor de bellota – Spanish acorn liqueur

A typical drink for the Spanish province of Extremadura, this acorn tincture is prepared on orujo vodka, which is already being replaced by ordinary chacha, since in a technological sense it is almost its complete analogue – we recently talked about orujo in an article about Galician punch, queimada.

This version of the sweet acorn tincture is much easier to make than the previous two! Grind the peeled acorns slightly, add anise seeds, sugar to them, pour everything over with chacha and mix until the sugar dissolves. We tightly close the container and rearrange it in a dark warm place. The recommended period of infusion according to classical technology is 3 months. After that, the drink must be filtered and poured into bottles. Its taste will really reveal itself only after half a year of storage, but, they say, your patience is worth the agonizing wait – Licor de bellota, with proper exposure, turns out to be simply delicious!