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As you know, “coffee” and “whiskey” – he. It is the Ministry of Education. But today we will not talk about the “right” whiskey, and not even about its distant relative – aged grain distillate. Today we will talk about what to insist on moonshine or vodka in order to adjust the taste of the drink “for whiskey”. Of course, “whiskey” here is an unattainable landmark, which our tinctures will only remotely, marginally resemble. And yet, without a doubt, they will be tasty and original.
Making “whiskey” from moonshine at home is a simple matter. We already have articles with chameleon recipes on our site – homemade cognac, ersatz rum, imitation gin, and more. As in previous cases, a number of additives are used for homemade whiskey – spices, herbs, dried fruits – most of which can be purchased or made by hand.
Whiskey from moonshine at home – what do we need?
Once again, we will make a reservation – none of the above recipes claims to be himself – “whiskey” of the masculine gender. For fans of original drinks, we have separate articles – for example, about homemade corn bourbon. However, in today’s recipes, we will try to avoid chemical flavors, sweeteners and other nasty things as much as possible. Yes, no whiskey. But – a delicious homemade tincture with natural ingredients. Does it look like whiskey? Good! It doesn’t look like it will be okay anyway, unless, of course, you were going to sell your drink under the guise of Johnnie Walker Black Label.
In most recipes for homemade moonshine whiskey, our old friend is used – oak chips, which allows you to quite simply and inexpensively replace the most important component of whiskey and scotch – oak barrel aging. In other cases, oak bark is used instead of wood chips – a much less “correct” ingredient, but still the same oak, only in profile.
What oak wood gives to a drink and how to properly prepare wood chips – read the article about homemade cognac.
The characteristic color is achieved by the same wood chips, dried fruits, spices and natural sugar color – caramel. They also give “caramel”, “fruity” and “spicy” tones in the smell. In addition, in Scotch whiskey – and today we prepare mainly its imitations – to one degree or another there is a smack and aroma of smoke, smoked meats. It can be imitated by smoked dried pear, apricot, prunes, heavily roasted wood chips, smoked malt or – for the lazy – “liquid smoke”.
And the last important issue is directly alcoholic raw materials. “Whiskey” from alcohol at home will, of course, turn out worse than from good moonshine. It is best to choose a grain distillate (of course, malt distillate is even better, but then you don’t have to fool around with imitations), as a last resort – ordinary sugar samogray, distilled 2-3 times. And sometimes even a little pervak is added to the imitation on vodka – “for the smell”.
In general, enough demagoguery – let’s move on to recipes.
Imitation whiskey with malt and barley
Most of the whiskey is made with barley malt. Naturally, there are recipes for homemade whiskey from moonshine, which use either the malt itself or roasted barley. You can make your own malt by germinating barley grain, drying it and roasting or smoking it. Barley is easiest to get in the form of barley – it must also be pre-fried.
Recipe number 1 – on malt with distillation
All you need is a heaping glass of smoked barley malt and 6 liters of 50% double-refined sugar moonshine. Alcohol is infused on malt for 2 days, after which it is distilled along with grain, and the tails can practically not be cut off – they contain all the aroma. The finished product is diluted to 50 degrees and infused for 2 months on oak chips of medium roast.
Recipe number 2 – barley tincture with spices
This recipe is more advanced. Black tea is used here as a dye, and pearl barley, lightly fried to a brownish color, is taken as the basis. The cereal does not need to be overcooked, otherwise the drink will give off burnt!
- Double sugar moonshine – 3 liters;
- Roasted pearl barley – 400 g;
- Tea – 1 tbsp. l.;
- Black pepper – 10 pcs.;
- Carnation – 2 pcs.;
After roasting, cool the grits, then pour moonshine, add tea and spices. Insist in a dark place for 2 weeks, shaking occasionally, after this period filter, if necessary, add a little sugar, bottle.
Whiskey tincture with dried fruits, bark and oak chips
The recipe for this imitation of whiskey at home includes liquid smoke, though not much – only half a teaspoon, but it is not necessary to use it – it’s up to you. If you refuse chemistry, it is better to replace the indicated dried fruits with smoked ones: pears, prunes, etc.
Composition:
- Moonshine 45% – about 3 liters;
- Dried apricots – 8 pcs. (or 8 small prunes);
- Dried apple – 8 slices (or smoked pear – the same amount);
- Cane sugar – 30 grams;
- Oak chips (maximum roasting) – 8g;
- Oak bark (steamed in boiling water and dried) – 4 g;
- Liquid smoke (optional) – 0.5 tsp or less.
Preparation:
Pour all the ingredients into a jar, pour alcohol, mix until the sugar is completely dissolved. Infuse for 2 weeks, shaking occasionally. After that, filter, discard all the ingredients, except for the wood chips, which are returned to the jar and leave for as long as you have enough patience – up to 2 months.
“Whiskey” from vodka with the addition of sherry
The key to this recipe is the alcohol base. In addition to vodka, it includes a small amount of pervak and sherry – just like cognac and port wine are included in the Strizhament tincture. Burnt sugar is used for coloring, and for flavoring – that’s a surprise! – a crust of black bread.
Composition:
- Vodka – 1 liter;
- Sherry – 50 ml;
- Moonshine of the first stage – 50 ml;
- Oak bark – 40 g;
- Black (rye) bread – a small piece;
- Sugars – 2 tbsp
Preparation:
Pour boiling water over the bark, let stand for a couple of minutes, then dry well. Dry the black bread and chop. Pour all the ingredients into a suitable jar, add wine and moonshine. Infuse for 10 days in a cool place, then filter thoroughly. Make caramel syrup (the recipe is in the article on sugar syrup), tint the drink with it to the desired color. That’s it, you made a simple whiskey from moonshine at home!
And finally – another thoughtful quote from the greats:
“Imitation is the sincerest form of plagiarism”
Alf