Distilled spirit made from a naturally sweet flower?

[desnaz]

Hi all:

Just checking around... given that we are a diverse set of distillers from all over

Does anyone know of a distilled spirit, anywhere in the world, made from naturally sweet flowers?

Thanks in advance...

Cheers!

Desmond Nazareth

[fizzix]

You know I looked all over for an answer to your question, and can find only floral macerations like
adding lavender and such to vodka. That, and dandelion wine.
And there's a company named Dark Corner Distillery making "The World's Only" Honeysuckle Whiskey.
No details of course, just cocktail recipes with it.

[Expat]

Arrack is traditionaly made from the nectar of palm flowers. If that's the kind of thing you mean.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrack

[Bushman]

Interesting topic, yesterday I separated some mint oil from the hydrosol after distilling it for the essential oil. The mint smell was really strong and when I put a dab on my finger I licked it. The taste was so strong and bitter I think I would be afraid to add it to a neutral.

[desnaz]

You know I looked all over for an answer to your question, and can find only floral macerations like
adding lavender and such to vodka. That, and dandelion wine.
And there's a company named Dark Corner Distillery making "The World's Only" Honeysuckle Whiskey.
No details of course, just cocktail recipes with it.

Thanks for looking for an answer, fizzix... What you came up with is basically 'liqueur' or 'schnapps' type products that have the essential oils of various flowers blended/infused/etc with separately distilled alcohol... there's a fair amount of that produced globally...

Until I find evidence to the contrary, I now claim the Central India forest belt tribal drink, 'mahua', is the only spirit in the world fermented and distilled from the naturally sweet mahua flower. Likely a one-of.

Mahua has been considered a 'country liquor' in India for many decades, if not centuries, and my company, Agave India, has finally managed to make an official international quality spirit (and a derivative liqueur) that we launched in Goa in June 2018. Look it up via a google search and you will see the media attention it has garnered

Thanks again! Desmond

[desnaz]

Arrack is traditionaly made from the nectar of palm flowers. If that's the kind of thing you mean.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrack

Arrack is a very generic term used in these parts of the world, 'Expat'.

I'm am currently based in India and started India's first official craft distillery.

Despite what the Wikipedia article says, my understanding is that the collected sap of the palm species is fermented and distilled to make a version of arrack. There are no sweet flowers involved.

So arrack is not the kind of thing I mean. Do research 'mahua' to get an idea of what I mean (and see my earlier reply.). You may be pleasantly surprised

Thanks for your input!

[desnaz]

Interesting topic, yesterday I separated some mint oil from the hydrosol after distilling it for the essential oil. The mint smell was really strong and when I put a dab on my finger I licked it. The taste was so strong and bitter I think I would be afraid to add it to a neutral.

Not quite what I was looking for 'Bushman' But thanks for your response!

Cheers!

[distiller_dresden]

Buy yourself 12lbs coconut sugar (available in stores or online) to 5.5 gals water, use 1122 yeast and ferment low. I have a thread detailing this experiment, and that coconut sugar is basically the nectar, cooked down to powder, of the coconut palm blossoms. The distillate is very delicate, wonderful and smooth; it is distinctly floral, and also has some sweet, nutty notes, but the 'nutty' flavor is unlike anything I've had before, like no nut on the market. Nope, not even like coconut. Maybe a cross between coconut flesh, hazelnuts, and almond, is close to the flavor. But the floral taste that carries over is absolutely wonderful and complex, it's delightful.

This is probably as close as you can come to literally distilling a wash that was made, 100%, from flowers. Outside that I think you're looking at infusions, or a gin basket, something like that.

Here's my coconut sugar thread/details: viewtopic.php?f=40&t=60631&p=7547940#p7547940

[BlackStrap]

Not so sure about naturally sweet, the Clover flower is pretty good but would sure take a lot of it...
I don't know of any commercial distilleries, in my area to many regulations.
Up in these parts, I have friends that make wine from Dandelions and Sumac. I suppose one could distill a wine and make a "Brandy" It's a sugar wine with the flowers for added flavor and color... but don't tell them that. sheesh.

[LWTCS]

Palm Sugar (nectar) likely qualifies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHWuQj95SYw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[distiller_dresden]

True, LWTCS, but nearly all palm sugar is almost impossible to do a full, pure ferment with due to the high sodium content. Only coconut sugar (which is also technically a 'palm sugar nectar', just from coconut palm flowers) has finished every time for me, and I did a lot of research before investing (shit is expensive - coconut sugar) for the run. Lots of threads to be found if you HD Google search here for palm sugar.

[LWTCS]

True, LWTCS, but nearly all palm sugar is almost impossible to do a full, pure ferment with due to the high sodium content. Only coconut sugar (which is also technically a 'palm sugar nectar', just from coconut palm flowers) has finished every time for me, and I did a lot of research before investing (shit is expensive - coconut sugar) for the run. Lots of threads to be found if you HD Google search here for palm sugar.

If you search,,you'll see my time signature in those discussions pretty early on.

[Sunshineer]

I like this idea and I'm going to try one using red hibiscus flowers which are very sweet and used in herbal teas between my neighbor and myself we have 20 bushes should provide me with plenty of free ingredients will start collecting tomorrow and start a 5 gallon batch when I have enough flowers. Will post everything here once I have a enough to start .

[Odin]

Mahula. We make it for a customer in India.

Regards, Odin.

[StillerBoy]

Mahula. We make it for a customer in India.

Mahua has been considered a 'country liquor' in India for many decades, if not centuries, and my company, Agave India, has finally managed to make an official international quality spirit (and a derivative liqueur) that we launched in Goa in June 2018.

just super Odin...

Mars