Contents
For as long as I can remember, my grandfather always made moonshine himself, as he did not really trust store-bought vodka. It’s hard to say how justified this is, but I exactly adopted his skills and preferences. Now I am also engaged in moonshining almost professionally (if I may say so), while often experimenting.
At some point, I got the idea to make something more interesting out of moonshine. The easiest option is to insist on something. Tangerine rinds, walnuts and wood chips have become so commonplace that I decided to try using one of my favorite fruits, namely pomegranate.
Story from blog subscriber Dmitry.
What ingredients and equipment will be needed
To prepare a pomegranate tincture, you will not need any special cash costs and the presence of some kind of exotic equipment. First of all, what we need is moonshine itself, so that it is 40-45 degrees. You can make it yourself or buy it somewhere. I, of course, had my own product.
Next, the second most important ingredient is pomegranate. Choose the most ripe. Many mistakenly think that the redder its crust, the riper it is. They are wrong. I advise you to take such a fruit, the crust of which has already begun to dry in places.
It can be light brown or even yellowish in color. I bought a pomegranate in the middle of autumn, it was just the season.
You will also need dishes in which the moonshine will be infused. Take something glass, for example, regular jars. It would be useful to have a wooden or plastic pusher, which crushes potatoes to make mashed potatoes. With it, the process will be much more convenient.
Important! This is the minimum set for the classic version. You can use additional ingredients, but this will be discussed below.
The cooking process
The first thing to do during cooking is to separate the pomegranate seeds from the peel. I used the easy way. He cut the pomegranate in half, took a spoon and began to tap on it, directing its middle into the cup so that the flying grains immediately fell into it.
Try not to let the white peel get into the tincture, it will give bitterness. For 1 liter of moonshine, I use 2 grenades, but more is possible.
I knock the seeds out of a pomegranate.
The resulting grains are gently crushed with a pusher. Do not press hard, you just need to burst the shell with juice, the grains themselves should remain intact. The resulting mixture of grains and juice was poured into a jar of moonshine. Then tightly closed it with a lid and set it aside.
I press the pomegranate seeds.
The container with tincture should be stored in a cool place, at most at room temperature. I would advise you to wait about a month, although in theory a few weeks is enough.
All this time, the contents must be stirred periodically, at least once every 3-4 days. I just shook the jar and that was enough. A month later, my pomegranate tincture was ready.
A jar with future tincture.
Important! It is desirable that the contents stand in a dark place.
What will be the result
When I opened the jar for the first time, I immediately realized that something worthwhile had turned out. The aroma immediately hit my nose as soon as the lid was removed. Perhaps this smell caused such vivid feelings in me because I basically love pomegranate.
A tincture already bottled.
Although the liquid remained transparent, its color was still saturated, more like scarlet, and not red or burgundy. Before you drink the tincture, do not forget to strain it. I took an ordinary funnel-watering can and put gauze on top of it. This is quite enough.
As for the taste, it is very unusual. Much will depend, of course, on moonshine. I used my own, clean product with no bad smell. Therefore, my tincture turned out with a pronounced taste and smell of pomegranate. Nothing interrupts him. You can’t really buy this in a store.
Important! In extreme cases, store-bought vodka can be used instead of moonshine.
What can be added / replaced in the recipe
Since this is a classic recipe, nothing can be removed from here. I can only advise adding additional ingredients to the tincture to achieve a brighter result.
The easiest way is to throw a little lemon zest along with the pomegranate. But it should be noted that then the smell of citrus can interrupt the pomegranate aroma.
Many people, including myself, prefer to make the tincture sweeter. In this case, you can add either honey or sugar syrup. Someone does it at the very beginning, someone at the end. I choose the second option.
I take 300 gr. sugar per 1 liter of moonshine and prepare sugar syrup from it. After the moonshine is infused for 1 month, I add the syrup to the jar.
There are also more perverse options, such as using cinnamon sticks or wine. Honestly, I have not tried this, but I know what people do. There is an option to use pomegranate peels instead of pomegranate seeds. In this case, the taste will be more tart.
How to serve and with what to use
As for the filing, there is nothing to guess. You need to drink tincture in small piles, as it is still a strong alcoholic drink. That is, it is drunk like ordinary vodka. I do not think that such a tincture can be considered a long drink, like cognac or whiskey, which, despite the fact that they are strong, are drunk in small sips.
With what to drink it – the choice is huge. Much depends on how the tincture was prepared. For example, if you make it sweet, add cinnamon and citrus, then it is quite possible to use fruits, chocolate, etc. as snacks. And just for appetite, it is quite suitable.
I liked this experiment with tincture, or rather, its result. There was a desire to move on and try other recipes. I remembered that you can still make a liqueur from a pomegranate, but I’m not quite familiar with the recipe.
As far as I remember, even yeast is added to it. If anyone has experience making pomegranate liqueur, please share the recipe. I am very interested in making it. Perhaps it will turn out even better than tincture.
Dear readers, remember that alcohol abuse harms your body. Take care of yourself!