Moonshine from cherries: 6 recipes

Moonshine made from cherries with an exquisite almond flavor was invented in the German lands as an alternative to drinks based on grain wort. Colorless, it also serves as a base for the preparation of various original cocktails, aromatic tinctures and sweet liqueurs.

Rules for making moonshine from cherries at home

German kirsch is distilled through a special copper distiller – alambik, but domestic craftsmen claim that the same high-quality cherry drink is obtained in a conventional apparatus.

Braga from cherries for moonshine

The best drink will come from juicy, sweet, slightly overripe small berries, although any variety of sweet cherry is suitable for this purpose.

It is important to observe the recommended conditions during the preparation of the product. The fruits are harvested in dry weather, keeping the wild yeast that is on the skin. Water and berries are taken according to a 1: 2 ratio, but some recipes require a different ratio.

Sequence of preparation:

1. The berries are sorted out, removing leaves and small debris, but not washed.
2. The fruits are crushed under pressure so that the bones do not break.
3. If you don’t like the zest of kirsch – almond flavor – the seeds are chosen from the mass.
4. Braga stands in a glass or ceramic dish in a warm place, even in the sun, for the first 60-70 hours.
5. When foam appears and a slight hiss is heard, a water seal is installed or poured into a special container for long-term fermentation.
6. The wort is transferred to a dark warm room where the temperature does not fall below 25 ^°C.
7. Fermentation lasts at least 10–20 days, but it is important not to delay the distillation after clarification of the liquid so that the mass does not peroxide.

The process of distilling moonshine from cherries

• Preparing for distillation, the mash is filtered through gauze once, without achieving clarification.
• The whole mass is also distilled without squeezing the berries.
• If bones are added to the apparatus for aroma, the process is closely monitored so that the tube does not clog and explode.
• The first distillation is carried out on a quiet fire with steam, a water bath and direct heating are acceptable.
• Traditional kirsch is driven with the wort pre-boiled in order to remove hydrocyanic acid in the process.
• Rectification continues until the end of the liquid.
• Raw is diluted to a strength of 20% and a second distillation is carried out, since the first is suitable only for technical needs. It makes up 10-15% of the total volume of alcohol.
• The strength of the main faction is 55–40%.
• If the stream is below 40%, there is already a cloudy residue. It is also taken separately, used for the following distillations.

Cleaning, insisting moonshine

The pungent smell and woody taste of the cherry product is removed by cleaning and settling in glass or ceramic vessels. Oak chips are added to the containers or the bottles are closed with cork stoppers.

The resulting drink is also poured into small kegs and stored for up to six months or longer, up to 3 years. In the homeland of kirsch, it is infused in clay jugs with wooden stoppers.

How to make moonshine from cherries without yeast

According to a simplified technology, the drink is produced without yeast and sugar.

• 12 kg of berries;
• 4 L of water.

Technology:

1. Prepared and crushed berries with whole seeds are put for the first fermentation for 70 hours.
2. When the process of foam formation begins, the mass is poured into a container with a water seal for long-term fermentation and water is added.
3. The clarification of the mash signals that you can start distillation.
4. The mass is filtered through gauze and a secondary distillation is done.

The drink obtained by this method is inherent in bitterness and astringency. It is used as a raw material for tinctures and liqueurs. Previously, punch, grog and zhzhenka were prepared on its basis.

The traditional recipe for moonshine from cherries with sugar

The taste of moonshine will be brighter if the mash is put on sugar and yeast. This recipe produces a drink similar to traditional kirsch. In the same way, a product is prepared from wild cherries.

• 10 kg of berries;
• 2,5 kg of sugar;
• 300 g of pressed yeast or 60 g dry;
• 10 L of water.

Process:

1. The berries are crushed to release the juice.
2. Yeast is placed in 200 ml of warm water and sprinkled with a spoonful of sugar. After a few minutes, fermentation will begin. The mixture is poured over the berries.
3. Add sugar.
4. A water seal is installed and placed in heat until the end of fermentation. If the gas has ceased to be released, the mash has become light and unsweetened, you need to start the second distillation.

How to make moonshine from yellow cherries

Excess yellow cherries can also be used for distillation. They wait until the berries are fully ripe, it is better to take even overripe ones. Without sugar, the drink is prepared only from dark red fruits, and from yellow varieties they are driven on the basis of sweet mash.

• 8 kg of sweet cherry;
• 1,3 kg of sugar;
• 65 g of compressed yeast;
• 4 L of water.

Preparation:

1. The berries are crushed by hand to extract the juice.
2. Yeast is diluted, added with sugar to the berries.
3. The container with a water seal is located in a place with a temperature above 25 ^°From 8–11 days, until the liquid brightens.
4. Distilled according to the rules 2 times.

Moonshine from cherries and cherries

The sweetness of ripe cherries and the acidity of cherries complement each other during the fermentation process. From the specified amount comes out 8 liters of moonshine.

Ingredients:

• 10 kg of fruit;
• 2 kg of sugar;
• 200 g fresh yeast.

Process:

1. Bones are removed from the berries, kneaded or crushed.
2. Yeast is diluted in warm water. Mix berries, yeast and sugar.
3. The first two days the mash is stirred 2-3 times a day.
4. When the fermentation is over, do a double distillation.

Cherry moonshine tinctures

An alcoholic drink made from sweet berries is often used to make aromatic tinctures.

Recipe for tincture of moonshine on cherry with honey

Cherry drink has an almond aftertaste, so the berries are freed from stones.

• 1 liter of moonshine from cherries, diluted with water up to 40%;
• 1 kg of ripe berries;
• 150 g of honey.

Technology:

1. The berries are crushed.
2. Honey, berries and moonshine are mixed, the bottle is tightly closed, put in a bright place for 2 weeks. Shake the bottle every day.
3. The mass is filtered and bottled.

Homemade cherry liqueur on moonshine

For this product, cherry moonshine is also used, which has almond notes.

• 1 kg of ripe berries;
• 1,5 liters of moonshine;
• 1 kg of sugar.

Cooking process:

1. Bones are removed from the cherries, the mass is crushed in a blender.
2. Mix with sugar and transfer to a bottle.
3. Insist on the sun for 10 days. Every day the bottle is opened and the contents are shaken.
4. The infusion is filtered, moonshine is added.
5. Leave to pick up the aroma for a few more days before tasting.

Improving the taste characteristics of cherry moonshine

The organoleptic qualities of cherry moonshine are preserved only after the second distillation. Other cleaning methods may distort the taste of the drink.

1. Clarify the degrees in moonshine: the total amount is divided by one hundred percent and multiplied by the number determined when measuring the strength of the drink.
2. The distillate is dissolved with water up to 20 degrees.
3. Re-distillation is carried out. Again, the first portion with harmful properties is selected.
4. The main fraction is taken until a decrease in strength from 40% is recorded. The cloudy precipitate is collected in another vessel for subsequent distillations.
5. Adjust the strength of the drink by adding water, up to 40-45%.
6. Poured into containers with sealed corks, wooden or cork.
7. The taste will stabilize after a few days. Soften the drink by adding fructose at the rate of: 1 teaspoon per 1 liter of forty-degree moonshine.

Conclusion

Cherry moonshine is an original drink with a special aftertaste. A significant role in creating characteristic notes during its preparation is played by storage containers with the addition of oak elements. With an excess harvest of cherries, lovers can try to repeat the recipe of a recognized alcoholic product.