) on a fortified ginger wine based on Stones (see product website: http://www.stonesoriginal.com.au/products.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow). I've reached a product that I'm pretty stoked with, so I thought I'd post up my progress here as well.Stones thoughtfully provided their process, which in a nutshell is macerate ginger with neutral, add back to wine, then add spices etc. I assume this would be a long soak at low strengths, and then is filtered, or maybe essences are made and then added in. the product is bloody sweet so it's a safe assumption that it is sweetened heavily, and also the thickness and mouthfeel suggest glucose and glycerin play a role.
I did it a little different, and made a spices+ginger maceration, in one shot. IMO quicker and easier, but you do loose the fine control over different components. I'm not a huge fan of precision recipes anyway so that doesn't bother me.
I took two large ginger roots, smashed them in the blender (coz chopping is for chumps
) and then put the minced results in 1L of 70%. The ABV was a stab in the dark, as I was trying for a balance of flavour extraction and not wanting to bump the end ABV to high. I'd repeat at 70%, it was a good spot.After a critical tasting session of stones, I added to the maceration a small handful of raisins, a tablespoon of coriander seeds, the zest of a whole tangelo, and the zest of half a lemonade. after tasting halfway through the maceration I added half a cinnamon stick and a couple of cloves. a few days later I had another sampling, and really enjoyed the citrus (although it was way over what is in Stones) so I added another few strips of tangelo zest. total maceration time was 7 days. It takes quite some filtering to get clear afterwards, so be prepared for a lot of coffee filters, and squeezing out handfuls of ginger (hurts cuts like hell...)
This next bit is the fun part. I sat down with the bottle of caramel from my rum production (for colour and flavour), the bottle of essence that is the filtered maceration, a bottle of my bog standard liqueur syrup, which contains glycerin and glucose for mouthfeel and thickening, and some dry white wine, a crisp 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. I poured the whole bottle of wine into a large container to be my starting point, and then added the essence first, until I was happy with the flavour profile. Then I added caramel until happy with the colour, and then finally sugar syrup until happy with the sweetness and consistency. I ended up with a product around 14% by my rough calculations at the time. I have plenty of essence left over, so next time I make this I'll keep better notes on the quantities of the mixture. I still reckon the best course for anyone else making this stuff would be to do it by taste though.
Tasting notes: It's not a clone, but right now, sitting in the hot sun, it all makes so much sense
. The crispness of the wine is coming through much more than the original, if I was trying to clone it specifically I'd use a Riesling I think. The crispness is awesome. I'm calling it Ginger Wine (Summer Edition). In the winter time I think I'll try and get closer to the sickly-sweetness of stones, but right now, this is crisp and refreshing, and best served cold . I stupidly added the essence cloudy, and then added the sugars, so filtering is a bitch but fortunately I've only made a little. The next batch will be clear as I've filtered the essence now (plenty of that left). The citrus is just fantastic in combination with the ginger, in comparison with stones I have too much, but I wouldn't get rid of it for the world. Stones was much thicker, and had more mouthfeel. In a clone, I'd up the glucose and glycerin significantly. Mine was a lot easier to drink as well, I always feel like mixing stones with something else like ginger ale, but I prefer mine straight.In a side by side, 3/4 flatmates prefer mine to stones. I'm with the majority. But then again it's a stinking hot day and mine was simply better suited to the situation.
But, like I said, it's summer and I love what I've come up with. Hope this is of use to someone.
Kiwi
