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March is already on the calendar, which means it’s time to think about spring alcoholic drinks, in particular, homemade birch bud tincture.
Learn how to make wine from birch sap.
Tips before starting
First of all, we need to understand what those same kidneys look like, or as they are also called “brunki” among the people:
Birch buds are such small tubercles on the branches of a tree, from which leaves should appear over time. Although many people confuse them with the “earrings” that appear in the summer, they are often depicted on the labels of store-bought vodka on brunka.
The most optimal time for harvesting is April-May. But everything can start much earlier, as this factor directly depends on the weather conditions and the region of your residence. Just watch the birch and wait for the brunki to appear on it.
The main sign of the maturity of the kidneys is that they have noticeably increased in size, but are not yet going to open. To the touch, the brunki are a little sticky, and if you knead them in your hands, a bright and rich aroma will appear.
If you do not feel like waiting, then you can always buy a dried product at the nearest pharmacy. But you should be prepared for the fact that the resulting drink will not have a pronounced aroma, and the taste may differ significantly.
Soft tincture of birch buds
Ingredients
Birch buds – 4 tsp
Birch sap – 600 ml
Alcohol (96%) – 400 ml
Granulated sugar – 2 tbsp. l.
Method of preparation
We throw the kidneys into a glass container, pour in undiluted alcohol and insist for two weeks in a dark place at room temperature.
After 2 weeks, strain the tincture, add birch sap and granulated sugar.
After thorough mixing, we leave the drink for another 10 days under the same conditions.
Then we pass the tincture through a cotton or paper filter and bottle it.
The finished product should be cooled and only then serve it to the table.
Spicy tincture of birch buds
This recipe is made in two steps. At the first stage, we prepare the essence, at the second – the tincture.
The prepared concentrate is enough for 10 liters of drink.
Spicy Concentrate Ingredients
Birch buds – 40 g
Ground ginger – 5 g
Ground cinnamon – 1-2 g
The rest is 3 g
Moonshine (50-60%) – 350 ml
Method of preparation
Birch buds must be crushed in a mortar.
In a small glass jar, mix all the dry ingredients and fill them with moonshine.
We infuse the essence for about 30 days.
After a month, we filter the liquid, and passes it 2-3 times through the filter.
Tincture Ingredients
Spicy concentrate – 35 ml (recipe above)
Moonshine – 1 l
Sugar – to taste
Method of preparation
We mix all the ingredients and leave for 3-4 days to stabilize the taste.
You can also adjust the saturation and strength of the drink by adding essence or alcohol.
Before tasting, we filter the tincture, bottle it and cool it in a cellar or refrigerator.
Spicy tincture of birch buds
This recipe, like the previous one, is prepared in two stages: the concentrate and the tincture itself. The amount of finished essence is enough to prepare 10 liters of drink on birch buds.
Concentrate Ingredients
Birch buds – 6 g
Coriander seeds – 6 g
Grass bison – 6 g
Linden blossom – 3 g
Citric acid – 1 g
Cognac – 200 ml
White port – 300 ml
Method of preparation
Pour all the spices and citric acid with cognac and leave for two weeks at room temperature in a room without direct sunlight.
Two weeks later, we filter the liquid through a strainer and mix it with port wine.
At the final stage, the concentrate must be filtered.
Tincture Ingredients
Concentrate – 50 ml
Vodka – 1 l
Honey / granulated sugar – 1 tsp.
Method of preparation
We mix all the ingredients in a glass container, take a sample and, if necessary, add an additional concentrate, alcohol or sweetener.
We leave the drink for 3-4 days in a dark place.
After the precipitate has fallen, the tincture must be passed through the filter and bottled.
Before tasting, birch bud tincture should be kept for 3-4 months in the cellar.
Relevance: 21.03.2018
Tags: Liqueurs, Liqueurs, Tinctures, Recipes for tinctures