My Amazing Absinthe!

[BLuTO]

Yes Wormwood is bitter as hell! But when macerated and then distilled it is quite pleasant. If you taste the spirit after maceration and before distillation it is EXTREMELY bitter.
When I distilled, I took small tastes from the distillate as it gradually came out. I was worried at first because it tasted different throughout the entire distillation process. After the first 5 mins of collecting distillate, it tasted OK. Then it tasted bitter then really sweet. I knew that its the blending of all this that gave it that nice flow of flavors. Now keep in mind You shouldn't need to cut the heads if you are already using ethanol that is 85% or higher. I still tossed the first 50ml from my 10 liter just outta habit. But you shouldn't have to.

After coloring and even letting the spirit sit, the flavors mellowed and blended nicely. Next time I think I might let the end product sit all together in one carboy for a little while longer before bottling. Like any spirit, Absinthe will mellow over time.

[Jimbo]

I ran my absinthe! holy shit is it good! So I dont know if I should post details here, or start another thread, what the hell is protocol on this? haha At any rate, THANK YOU Bluto for the recipe and inspiration!!! Most excellent!

[haggis]

May I ask, what type of set up was/is preferable when distilling this? I’m assuming by the numbers at pot still Alembic dome etc. of sorts. Could a reflux be used without the packing?

[Halloween Hot Sauce]

This recipe has received amazing feedback with everyone that has tasted it. Even sipping it next to other brands.

I started with 10 liters 85%

Macerated with...
500-grams Wormwood A.A.
300-grams Fennel Seed
700-grams Green Anise
50-grams Star Anise
50-grams Coriander
45-grams Angelica
40-grams SECRET INGREDIENT!
30-grams Caraway Seed

Colored with...
10-grams Hyssop
10-grams Lemon Balm
12 Cardamom Pods
10-grams Mint

My Process...
I ordered all my herbs off line. I made sure they were all organic. However they were all dried cut and sifted. No biggie.
The Wormwood smelt amazing! (at least to my California nose)

IMG_8117 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr
After weighing the herbs out for my formula. I then ground up what I felt needed to be finer, for example the coriander seed and star anise.

IMG_8120 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr
I gave them a few seconds in my coffee grinder.

I then tossed all my herbs in my still along with 2 Liters of distilled H20 then stirred them almost to make a paste, but just enough to get them a little damp.

IMG_8130 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr
I let this “paste” sit in the sealed still over night for around 10 hours.

Next morning I tossed in my 10 Liters of 85%. Ready for maceration I stuck the sealed still in my bathroom with a small space heater with a thermostat. This way if it got too hot in the bathroom the heater would shut off.

IMG_8132 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr
10 Liters 85% and 2 liters of water (used to make the “paste”) The highest the temp inside the still was around 120F the coolest was around 80F. I unplugged the heater when I had to go to work and then my lady turned it back on. So the temp DID fluctuate.
The sealed still sat like this for 24 hours.

IMG_8134 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr
Now ready to distill! I added 7 liters of distilled H20 to my 10 Liters of 85% and the 2 Liters of Distilled H20 used for the “paste.” (9 Liters of Distilled H20 all day) I also left all the herbs in the still even with me running a propane burner.

Then I distilled, collected 9.6 liters of Distillate. The reason I only collected 9.6 as opposed to 10 was because the last 1.6 liters came out a little different in shade and I didn’t want to get greedy. I collected the tails. Set them aside for the future.

IMG_8138 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr
I ended with 9.6 Liters of 160 proof distillate. I didn’t want it to be too high in proof so very slowly I added 1 Liter of distilled H20 to bring the proof down to 140, and my yield to 10.6 L. I then took 1 Liter of this 140 stuff for coloring.

Took my coloring herbs and threw them in my Erlenmeyer Flask (I like to swirl in this thing)

IMG_8150 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr
Heated the 1 liter of 140 proof very carefully in a glass jar sitting in hot water. I brought this temp to 131F or 51C.

IMG_8147 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr
Then poured heated distillate into the Flask with herbs. Let it steep for 5-6 mins then strained and squeezed used herbs to get all the distillate out. It came out super dark!

IMG_8154 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr


IMG_8157 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr


IMG_8158 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr


IMG_8162 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr

Let it cool back down to room temp then added to the rest of the distillate.

IMG_8166 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr
It wasn't as dark as I thought it was going to be, however I was thrilled with the end color! The louche is thicker than Lucid or Pernod. All my fans love the taste and were shocked on the quality! The only thing I didn't like was the initial odor it gave off. It smelt almost "green" or veg-ital, I don't want to say it but it smelt almost like farts! HAHA! now a week later this smell is practically gone. Its only gonna get better over time. I am stoked to put a bottle of this in the archives, to be opened when I am 60. HA!

Does the secret ingredient rhyme with “rare iguana?” (Is it pot? Lol)

[Halloween Hot Sauce]

Fantastic tutorial btw...thank you so much for sharing. I joined this forum to learn how to make absinthe!

[Halloween Hot Sauce]

Does the secret ingredient rhyme with “rare iguana?” (Is it pot? Lol)