For as long as I can remember our gatherings at the dacha with families, my mother always looked askance at me. While he and my wife were preserving the harvest for the winter in small jars, I filled herbs, fruits and berries with vodka and, with a satisfied look, put the supplies in the cellar.
But our table was always full of alcoholic delights: fragrant and light drinks for ladies, stronger drinks for men, and, of course, something for exotic lovers. This season is no exception, so I’ll tell you how I will pamper guests and family during the holidays.
The story was shared by my subscriber Alexander.
Herbal tinctures
Herbal tinctures are perhaps the most common and favorite in my family. They are easy to cook, they do not require a lot of raw materials, but in the end they turn out to be very original and fragrant.
Herbal tincture for beginners
To prepare it, you need to stock up on cardamom, ground ginger, anise, angelica, cinnamon and cloves. Each ingredient is approximately 10-15 grams. Mix everything and pour 1 liter of vodka. We are waiting for about a week. Be sure to filter the finished product.
Advice! Herbs can be used fresh or dried. The main thing is that they should be fragrant. And do not be afraid to taste the resulting alcohol in the process, to stop at the most delicious option.
“Erofeich” and tincture on basil for real gourmets
Herbal vodka tinctures
But popular among experienced distillers are tinctures of vodka based on basil in the proportion of 6 leaves of the plant per 0,5 liters of vodka and a drink with a rich history “Erofeich”, in the preparation of which they use half a teaspoon of centaury, yarrow, peppermint and galangal root to a liter of vodka.
Fruit tinctures
Craftsmen use a variety of fruits: plums, pears, peaches, apricots, apples and others. You can choose several types at once, add sugar or refuse it and use honey.
Please note that the juicier the fruit goes into action, the lower the degree of the resulting tincture will be. And if you add a berry to them – raspberries, currants, cherries or strawberries, you will get a more saturated color of the final product, because it is the berries that contain more coloring substances.
Universal recipe
Ingredients must be ripe and clean. Don’t worry if they are a little wrinkled. Bones do not need to be removed. The recipe, as is usually the case with tinctures, is extremely simple. Pour 2/3 of fruit into a clean container, pour 1/3 of vodka.
Sugar is used on average at the rate of 200 grams per liter of tincture. You mix all the ingredients, put them in a dark, cool place, wait a few weeks, periodically shaking the contents to completely dissolve the sugar, and voila. The tincture is ready.
Fruit vodka tinctures
Gooseberry tincture
You can also easily prepare the famous northern grape tincture, for which you will need:
- 2,5 kg of gooseberries;
- 4 liters of vodka;
- 8 liters of boiled water;
- 800 grams of sugar.
Cognac tinctures
Turning mercury into gold and vodka into cognac is a separate art form. For example, I like “cognac” from vodka with oak bark and spices.
For this we take:
- 1 liter of vodka;
- 1 tablespoon of oak bark;
- 1/3 tablespoon honey, neutral in taste;
- 2 bud of carnation;
- 3 peppercorns;
- 1/3 tablespoon of dried St. John’s wort;
- 1/3 tablespoon marjoram;
- a tiny pinch of vanilla.
We boil the bark for 10 minutes, let it cool, add spices, herbs, honey to it and pour vodka. We insist and be sure to periodically shake until the honey is completely dissolved.
After a few weeks, we filter the drink, bottle it and return it to the cellar for 2-3 months.
Cognac according to the express method
Cognac from vodka at home
With a few tricks, you can even make “homemade cognac” in 20 minutes. For this you need:
- Xnum l vodka;
- 2 teaspoons of oak bark;
- Xnumx buds clove;
- 1,5 teaspoons of tea;
- 3 teaspoons of sugar;
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla.
Pour sweeteners with a small amount of water, boil for 5 minutes, remove from heat and cool. Mix all the ingredients in a jar and leave until X hour. Of course, the longer the “cognac” is, the better, but it acquires a characteristic color very quickly.
More exotic tinctures on vodka
I am not a supporter of experiments, but sometimes you have to rack your brains to cook something like that. Therefore, I want to advise you a couple of unusual, but easy-to-prepare tinctures.
Mint tincture of vodka.
And now I want to hear from you, friends: what is the most unusual experiment with tinctures that you did? And what kind of bark do you use to make real cognac at home?