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Maceration of moonshine is the process of infusing a distillate on fruit or other raw materials (malt, zest, spices, etc.) with subsequent distillation together with the ingredients so that the alcohol vapor extracts the maximum of aromatic substances. The purpose of maceration is to obtain a strong transparent drink with the aroma and taste of the raw material. The finished product will resemble store-bought flavored vodkas, only without synthetic additives.
Ingredient selection
Moonshine of one or two distillations is used as an alcohol base. It is optimal to use a product of double distillation with the selection of “heads” and “tails”, then unpleasant fusel notes will be minimized. You can macerate moonshine of one distillation, separating harmful fractions during distillation after infusion, this reduces time, but the quality of the drink will be worse.
The alcohol base must be in harmony with the selected raw materials. Sugar moonshine is considered neutral, it is suitable for maceration of any raw material. For fruits and berries, it is better to take fruit moonshine, and for malt and spices – grain distillate.
Vodka also belongs to the neutral base, it can be infused immediately without prior distillation.
With the right approach, any raw material is suitable for maceration of moonshine, the most popular options are: apples, grapes, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, oranges, lemons, malts, spices. Berries or fruits should be fresh and ripe with a bright natural flavor, in which case frozen raw materials are a poor choice. For orange and lemon vodkas, only the zest is often taken.
The amount of raw materials to be laid depends on the recipe and the time of infusion, there are no uniform standards here. In most cases, 1-0,5 kg of fruits or berries, 1-50 g of zest or malt are taken for 100 liter of moonshine, then insist 5-20 days. The more raw materials and the longer the exposure time, the richer the aroma and taste of macerated moonshine will be. With spices, be careful not to overdo it. A too concentrated drink can be diluted with a pure alcohol base – moonshine or vodka.
moonshine maceration recipes
When insisting 12-15 days, the proportions of ingredients per 1 liter of moonshine can be as follows:
- apples, pears (together with peel and pulp, but without core and seeds) – 1 kg;
- strawberries, raspberries, blueberries – 0,5 kg;
- light barley malt – 100 g;
- orange or lemon zest (fresh) – up to 100 g;
- caraway seeds – 10 g;
- juices (pineapple, orange, apple) – 1 l.
Classic moonshine maceration technology
- Drain off the washed mash from the sediment and overtake at maximum speed without separation into fractions.
- Determine the amount of pure alcohol (volume in liters multiplied by the strength in percent and divided by 100). Dilute the distillate with water to 18-20% vol. and overtake a second time. Collect the first 8-10% of the amount of pure alcohol separately – this is the “head”. Finish the selection of the “body” when the fortress in the jet falls below 40% vol.
- Place the crushed raw materials in a container for infusion. Pour moonshine. Close tightly, leave for 5-20 days in a dark place at room temperature. Shake once every couple of days.
- Strain the infusion through several layers of gauze.
- Pour the liquid part into a distillation cube. Hang the remaining raw materials in a cube on gauze (should not touch the liquid) or add to a steamer so that alcohol vapor passes through it. Experienced distillers use a false bottom to macerate moonshine.
It is impossible to distill the infusion without filtration (especially with heating elements), otherwise the remnants of the ingredients will burn, spoiling the taste of the drink.
- Make the third distillation on a classic moonshine still (distiller) without a reflux condenser and other devices, only a slight strengthening is allowed due to the height of the drawer. Collect the first 10 ml of output per liter of pure alcohol separately. This fraction contains excess essential oils (there are especially many of them in zest and spices), which it is desirable to remove, especially if you plan to dilute the final macerate with water.
- Select the product until the total strength of the distillate is equal to drinking – 40-45% vol. That is, we are guided not by the strength in the jet, but by the readings of the alcohol meter in the receiving tank with the total amount.
This is the main “feature” of the classic maceration of moonshine – the finished drink does not need to be diluted with water so that it does not become cloudy.
- Pour the resulting macerate into bottles for storage, close tightly, leave in a dark cool place for 2-3 days to stabilize the taste.
Maceration of moonshine with juice
A simpler version of the technique. After the second distillation, forty percent moonshine is diluted with clarified juice (without pulp, homemade or store-bought) in a ratio of 1: 1, left for 2-3 hours, then distilled according to the technology.
It turns out very interesting with pineapple juice – characteristic notes appear in moonshine, but you can try other options.