Strange question- perhaps

[sabot67]

Hello All,
Brand new to the forum and I am not really a distiller but I have a question that I just can’t seem to find an answer to anywhere else. Over the holidays my wife and I made some traditional Polish flavored vodka from recipes that her Grandmother passed on to us. These were kitchen recipes and involved really no science at all. The first vodka was Krupnik (Honey Vodka). Making the Krupnik involved creating a bar syrup out of water, honey, cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean, whole cloves, black peppercorns and half an allspice berry. Once the bar syrup was simmered for a few hours, we added about 2 liters of off the shelf, mid-range quality 40% vodka, brought it to a simmer and then turned off the heat and let it sit for an hour or so. We then strained through tripled up cheesecloth and put in sterile bottles. The second vodka was Blackberry and involved muddling about 2 pounds of fresh blackberries (after washing), adding about 2 cups of sugar and adding about 2 liters of vodka. We let that sit for about 8 weeks, strained and bottled. Both tasted good but both, especially the Krupnik, had a lot of sediment in the bottom that I could not get rid of with more cheesecloth straining. Since we wanted to give the Krupnik away to guests, we wanted to get rid of the sediment. We tried coffee filters with really poor results as the filters did the job but clogged up with gunk almost immediately. Enter my brilliant (or not so brilliant) idea. I created a funnel by cutting the bottom out of out of a liter coke bottle (cleaned of course) and then packed with a filter packet made of cotton balls wrapped in cheese cloth. This worked like a charm and removed all sediment viewable to the naked eye. Now the Krupnik is a very clear golden color. After doing this, I started having second thoughts in regard to the safety of using cotton balls. My thought is that the cotton balls are processed in some way between being harvested and being packed and sold. Also I would imagine that pesticides must have been used on the cotton when in the field as well. My worry is that I just transferred bad stuff from the cotton to my alcohol in some way. All I know about the cotton balls is that that package says 100% cotton and nothing else. So I am turning to the experts here for advice- was my idea brilliant or am I going to be passing on carcinogens to my friends and neighbors?
Greatly appreciate your thoughts.

[Twisted Brick]

A quick review of cotton balls reveals some are sterile, some are not. Some brands have been bleached, some not. You may want to check the manufacturer’s MSDS of the cotton you used. In the future you may have to just decant your precious elixir.

[Tummydoc]

Oh no, you didn't use nonsterile cotton. Retrieve all the gifted bottles before someone gets ill. Send those bottles to me and I will see to their safe disposal. Lots of nonsterile filters used here: coffee filters, cheese cloth, paper towels, charcoal. Dont sweat it. And an ABV content over 20% should inhibit any spoilage.

[The Baker]

Bringing the vodka to a simmer will drive off alcohol.

How would it be if you took the mixture off the heat (turned off the heat), let it cool a bit, then added the vodka?

Geoff

P.S. Could you describe the quantities of the ingredients in the Krupnik? That would be great. G.

[Corsaire]

I agree on the vodka, no reason to heat it. The flavours in the syrup will mingle well with the vodka without additional heat.

As for the filtering, I don't really see a problem. Except for using a plastic funnel to filter through.
I'd recommend letting it stand and syphon everything from the top. Or get yourself a lab grade separation funnel, they're pretty easy to find online.

Good luck!

[cayars]

I've got no problem heating the vodka to 150F-160F as that can help to blow off heads and allow things to mix better, but when you start getting warmer than that you are evaporating off the ethanol as well. You are essentially destilling the vodka without capturing and condensing the vapor. Just a waste of product.

It would be wise to pickup a decent copper or stainless steel funnel for use with alcohols.

You're fine using clean cotton & coffee filters for filtering purposes.