Tarragon and moonshine tincture recipes

Few can forget the wonderful herbaceous green fizzy drink from the Soviet era called Tarragon. Not only the color, but also the taste and aroma of this drink are remembered for a long time. It’s hard to confuse it with anything else. True, home-cooked tarragon tincture will be able to quench the nostalgic thirst for this divine nectar.

Useful properties of tarragon tincture on vodka or alcohol

Tarragon is a perennial plant, a close relative of wormwood. This is a well-known spicy and medicinal plant, especially popular in eastern countries. It has many synonyms and speaking folk names that aptly describe its properties: tarragon, dragon grass, tarragon wormwood, Mary’s gold, terragon. Fresh tarragon grass has a slightly refreshing taste with a spicy note, the aroma is very rich, pungent, a bit reminiscent of mint and anise at the same time.

Tarragon has a very rich composition, which determines both its active use in cooking and its considerable importance as a medicinal plant.

• potassium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, selenium, copper, manganese;
• vitamins A, B1, C;
• coumarins and flavonoids;
• alkaloids;
• essential oils and resins;
• tannins.

Tarragon tincture completely preserves all these elements valuable for health and is able to have a healing effect on many organ systems in the human body.

Here are just a few examples of its healing properties, as a complete list would be too long:

• favorably affects the functioning of the internal glands and normalizes the action of the digestive tract;
• has diuretic properties and is used to treat cystitis;
• lowers blood pressure, calms and normalizes sleep;
• promotes healing of wounds in the mouth, strengthens tooth enamel and bone tissue in general;
• external use of alcohol tincture of tarragon helps to eliminate pain in the spine and joints.

True, it must be borne in mind that tarragon tincture on any type of alcohol has a rather strong effect on a person, even has some slight psychedelic effects. Therefore, it should be used quite carefully, and try not to overdo it with doses.

How to make tinctures on tarragon

Actually, the process of making tarragon or tarragon tincture is very simple – you just need to pour the prepared grass with the necessary amount of alcohol and insist for a certain time. But, as in any business, there are several features and nuances, knowing about which, you can get one or another color, taste and aroma of the finished drink.

First of all, it does not make much sense to use any other raw material for the preparation of tarragon tincture, except for its fresh leaves. The stems can be too bitter, and the dry herb will not bring the true tarragon flavor or its stunning emerald hue into the tincture.

Tarragon has several varieties and varieties. And, although they may look very similar in appearance, the taste and aroma of the herb can vary significantly depending on the variety, as well as on growing conditions. For example, the color of the finished tincture can vary from emerald green to rich cognac. By the way, it also depends on the shelf life. Over time, the color of tarragon tincture in any case acquires straw shades. This fact must be taken into account, and if the resulting tincture caused some disappointment, then you can look for other varieties of tarragon.

Almost any alcoholic beverage can be used to infuse tarragon – this is a matter of individual capabilities and taste.

It is also pleasant that the time for insisting on tarragon is not very long – literally in 3-5 days you can get a very attractive and aromatic drink, ready to drink. Moreover, tarragon tincture, unlike other drinks, does not benefit from long-term storage. It may lose bright colors, and the taste will not get better. Therefore, for pleasure, it is better to cook it in small portions and drink it almost immediately.

Classic tincture on tarragon and moonshine

Since tarragon tincture is most often prepared at home, moonshine is the most classic and popular alcoholic drink for its manufacture. Indeed, after double distillation, it turns out to be much stronger than the same vodka (up to 70-80 °), and it costs several times cheaper. In addition, when insisting, a high degree allows you to extract the maximum amount of useful substances from tarragon. It is only undesirable to add tarragon tincture on moonshine to hot drinks, for example, to tea. Since even when using high-quality and well-purified moonshine, an unpleasant taste of fusel oils can be felt as a result.

You need:

• 1 liter of moonshine, with a strength of about 50 °;
• 20-25 fresh tarragon leaves

Sugar and other additional ingredients are usually not added to a real male drink.

Manufacture:

1. Tarragon is washed under running water, dried and placed in a glass jar.
2. Pour with purified moonshine, insist in a warm place without access to light from 3 to 5 days.

The green color begins to actively appear in the tarragon tincture already on the second day of infusion. The finished tincture can be filtered through a gauze-cotton filter, or you can leave the leaves for beauty.

According to the recipe for moonshine on tarragon, nothing is added to it. But if you want to experiment with the color and get an even more saturated color shade of the drink, then you can add either high-quality green food coloring or green zest from two limes, or a few leaves of fresh blackcurrant when insisting. It is only important to carefully peel it off so as not to touch the white layer of the peel.

Useful tarragon tincture on vodka

In some conditions, vodka is the most accessible alcohol for making tinctures. Although the price of high-quality vodka greatly exceeds the cost of similar moonshine. But the finished product can be fearlessly added to both tea and coffee for medicinal purposes, without fear of an unpleasant taste.

Tarragon infusion on vodka can be prepared with or without sugar. But usually with sugar, the drink turns out to be richer and more palatable, since it contributes to a more complete extraction of nutrients from the herb.

You need:

• 25 g fresh tarragon leaves;
• 500 ml of vodka;
• 1 Art. l sugar sand.

Manufacture:

1. Tarragon greens are washed, dried, sprinkled with sugar in a deep container and lightly rubbed with hands or a wooden crush.

   

2. Cover the bowl with cling film and let stand for about half an hour in the refrigerator until the green mass forms juice.
3. Transfer it to a sterile dry jar, fill it with vodka and shake thoroughly until the sugar is completely dissolved.
4. Insist about 4-5 days in the dark and cool. It is advisable to shake the tincture every day.
5. With grass, the tincture is tasty, but slightly cloudy. For complete transparency, it can be filtered through a cotton filter.

The use of tarragon and vodka tinctures will help reduce and stabilize pressure, strengthen the gums and remove inflammation of the mucous membrane in the oral cavity, relieve painful processes in the joints, and stimulate the production of gastric juice.

Tarragon tincture on alcohol

Alcohol is currently one of the most difficult types of alcohol, although it is both the most delicious and the most effective. Before infusion, 96 percent alcohol must be diluted, otherwise, at a similar concentration, it will remove all useful vitamins, especially vitamin C and bind all polyunsaturated acids. As a result, the healing power of the infusion will decrease.

You need:

• 100 g of fresh greens of tarragon;
• 500 ml 50-60 ° alcohol.

Manufacture:

1. Tarragon leaves are slightly kneaded, placed in a prepared dry jar and poured with alcohol.
2. Insist 7 days under normal conditions without light.
3. After that, the drink is filtered and bottled, preferably from dark glass with tight lids.

Alcohol compresses with tarragon are especially effective for sciatica, bronchitis and any colds.

Moonshine infused with tarragon, mint and lemon

Mint goes well with tarragon, enhancing its aroma and harmonizing its taste. The combination of lemon, mint and tarragon makes the tincture even healthier and tastier.

You need:

• 25 g fresh tarragon leaves;
• 500 ml of moonshine;
• 20 g fresh mint leaves;
• 2 Art. l sugar;
• 1 lemon.

Manufacture:

1. Tarragon and mint leaves are washed with cool water, dried, cut into small pieces.
2. The crushed leaves are placed in a bowl, sugar is added, shaken and left for several hours in the dark to extract the juice.
3. The lemon is washed with a brush, doused with boiling water, dried.
4. Rub the yellow zest on a fine grater, without affecting the white layer of the peel.
5. The greens that gave the juice are transferred to the jar, the juice from the pulp of the lemon is squeezed there (strictly making sure that the seeds do not get into it) and the grated zest is added.
6. Mix and fill everything with moonshine.
7. Once again, everything is thoroughly shaken, tightly closed with a lid and insisted in a room in the dark for a week. Shake the contents of the jar once a day.
8. If desired, after infusion, filter through a cotton filter and bottle with airtight lids.

Tincture on moonshine and tarragon with honey

Exactly the same technology is used to prepare tarragon tincture, in which sugar is replaced with honey. For 500 ml of moonshine, 1 tbsp is usually used. l. honey.

Tarragon tincture recipe with grapefruit rum

A very original recipe that came to us from America. Rum is used in light shades and maximum softness.

You need:

• 1 large grapefruit;
• a whole sprig of tarragon with leaves;
• 750 ml of light rum;
• a few pieces or teaspoons of brown cane sugar (optional)

Manufacture:

1. Grapefruit is washed, cut into thin slices, seeds are removed.
2. Lay at the bottom of the jar, pour rum.
3. Insist at room conditions in the dark for 3-4 days, shaking daily.
4. After that, a washed and dried sprig of tarragon is added so that it is completely immersed in the drink.
5. Insist in the same place for another 1-2 days until a characteristic tarragon aroma appears.
6. The resulting tincture is filtered, tasted and, if desired, sugar is added.

A simple recipe for tarragon tincture with honey and ginger

The addition of honey and ginger at the same time further enhances the healing properties of the drink. At the same time, it is drunk very easily – the taste qualities remain on top.

You need:

• 1 liter of alcohol with a strength of about 50 °;
• 150 g fresh tarragon;
• 1 tbsp. l. liquid honey;
• 25 g fresh ginger root.

Manufacture:

1. Ginger is washed and cut into small pieces. They do the same with tarragon greens.
2. They are placed in a glass jar, honey is added and poured with alcohol.
3. Shake, leave to infuse for at least two weeks in a dark place at room temperature.
4. After filtering, the tincture is ready for use, although it can be infused for another two weeks.

Recipe for tarragon tincture with cinnamon and coriander

According to the classical technology, you can also prepare a tarragon tincture with the following components:

• 50 g fresh tarragon;
• 1 liter of moonshine with a strength of 50 °;
• 3-4 g of coriander seeds;
• 5 peas of black and allspice;
• pinch of ground cinnamon;
• 1 clove button;
• zest from one lemon or lime
• sugar as desired and to taste, since the tincture should not be sweet.

Infuse a drink according to this recipe for 5 days.

Moonshine on tarragon: a recipe with distillation

This recipe is used when they want to preserve the taste and aroma of fresh tarragon in the tincture for a long time. As mentioned earlier, in tinctures made according to the traditional recipe, both the aroma and the original taste disappear rather quickly and the drink becomes slightly grassy.

You need:

• tarragon leaves in such quantity as to tightly fill half a liter jar;
• 1 liter of 70% moonshine.

Manufacture:

1. Washed and dried tarragon leaves are poured with moonshine and infused for about 4 days under normal conditions.
2. Then the tincture is diluted with water 4 times and distilled using a conventional apparatus with cutting off heads and tails. What you get in the end should have a pleasant fresh smell, without hay and other unnecessary aromas.
3. The tincture is then diluted to give a strength of around 45-48°.

How to drink tarragon tincture

For exclusively medicinal purposes, tarragon tincture should be taken no more than 6 tbsp. l. in a day. Usually it is consumed 20-30 minutes before meals, 1-2 tablespoons. To lower blood pressure, take 1 tsp. 3-4 times a day.

Such a tincture in cocktails is very popular. Especially if you mix 1 part of alcohol tincture with 5 parts of sparkling water of the same name, you get a drink that tastes delicious. Despite the fact that it is drunk too easily, it is also better to observe the measure in its use.

Tarragon tincture should not be given to pregnant women under any circumstances. Not only is it alcohol, the infusion, even in small quantities, can stimulate a miscarriage.

With caution, tarragon tincture should also be used by people with a tendency to constipation, since it has a fixing effect.

Storage rules for tinctures

Tarragon tincture should be stored only in a dark room, otherwise it will very quickly lose its color brightness. It is advisable to use it within 6 months, but even after the color changes, the taste of the drink will last up to two years. Storage temperature should not exceed + 10 °С.

Conclusion

Tarragon tincture has such a powerful healing effect that it is more of a medicine than a drink for pleasure. And a variety of additional ingredients further improve both the taste and the beneficial properties of the drink.