Smoothing out Spirits

Treatment and handling of your distillate.

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SippinOnShine
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Smoothing out Spirits

Post by SippinOnShine »

Lately I have been playing around with flavoring. I have read many of the suggestions posted by others and tried the large majority of them. My favorite so far seems simple but it has to be vanilla in whiskey. It seems to complement corn whiskey especially well. Some vanilla in combination with glycerin or some maple syrup seems to really smooth the drink out and nearly completely remove the bite provided by the alcohol. I have been flavoring it at about 60% ABV and with combinations such as vanilla/maple syrup and the spirit is far more than drinkable at this proof. In fact I now much prefer it this way. I guess my question is what causes the spirit to smooth out and mellow with the addition of certain flavors. I doubt it is any kind of reaction but really just the way certain flavors interact and mask each other. I have never experienced this before without aging or lowering the proof. Also what other flavors help to calm the alcoholic bite? Don't get me wrong I don't mind it at times, but it is nice to have an extremely smooth drink available. I guess really I am just curious what yall list as your favorites to smooth out your drinks? (Aside from aging of any kind)
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by bez »

well lately i have been having an issue with my ventures but before i started having these issues i was able to get some mighty fine spirits out. here is my favorite... some good ujssm i use JD chips with a squirt or two of maple syrup let it sit for a few months then enjoy.
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by Coyote »

If you are getting a "bite" it is most likely due to the presence of heads in your final product.

People tend not to want to toss a bit extra out.
I do single runs on a simple pot still, 12 gallons of mash, I toss at least 2.5 cups as fore shot/heads.
After a week of airing with a coffee filter over a gallon jug I am yet to have a "bite".
I keep everything down to 50% and the rest is tails in my mind.

I understand that most folks try to make very tight cuts. On occasion I will pull a 1/2 gallon or so
of hearts out, but for my desires I mainly do single runs and toss it on oak.

I have been playing with vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks but only as flavor not trying to beat any "bite".

My bet guess is toss more fores, or second distill.

Just my opinion
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SippinOnShine
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by SippinOnShine »

Coyote wrote:If you are getting a "bite" it is most likely due to the presence of heads in your final product.

People tend not to want to toss a bit extra out.
I do single runs on a simple pot still, 12 gallons of mash, I toss at least 2.5 cups as fore shot/heads.
After a week of airing with a coffee filter over a gallon jug I am yet to have a "bite".
I keep everything down to 50% and the rest is tails in my mind.

I understand that most folks try to make very tight cuts. On occasion I will pull a 1/2 gallon or so
of hearts out, but for my desires I mainly do single runs and toss it on oak.

I have been playing with vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks but only as flavor not trying to beat any "bite".

My bet guess is toss more fores, or second distill.

Just my opinion
Coyote
Thanks for the suggestion. I will try to toss out more heads in my next run and see what that yields. As I am fairly new to distilling I am still trying to grasp the concept of not including such a large amount of output in the final product. It is almost painful to see that much liquor sitting in front of me and knowing I will only be able to drink a small portion of it.

Also how have you been utilizing the cinnamon sticks. I can't seem to find a good balance between the flavor being absent and completely overpowering. I ruined about a quart of good whiskey by either using too many sticks or for too long.
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by Odin »

Coyote,

What's the abv of your wash?

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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by RumRaider »

I don't know what causes it but, I sure agree about the affect vanilla has on smoothing out liquor. I love it and use it quite alot (split the bean down the middle and soak). It seems to take the "alcoholly" flavor down a notch while leaving the warmth. For cinnamon, I just taste the liquor frequently and remove the stick before the flavor gets too strong.
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by ipee7ABV »

RumRaider wrote:I don't know what causes it but, I sure agree about the affect vanilla has on smoothing out liquor. I love it and use it quite alot (split the bean down the middle and soak). It seems to take the "alcoholly" flavor down a notch while leaving the warmth. For cinnamon, I just taste the liquor frequently and remove the stick before the flavor gets too strong.
how do you aquire the vanilla bean?
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by Prairiepiss »

Here is a good way to do cinnamon. You can do it like I do my fire piss. Soak the cinnamon sticks in a separate jar. And keep it going. But use it to add a little at a time to the drink you are making? If your wanting to add a little to a whiskey. Just take a small amount out of your cinnamon jar and add it. Add it till you get the flavor you want. Have some extra whiskey on hand in case you over do it you can dilute it back.

While your at it give my fire piss a try. Good stuff.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 11&t=25616

And I love a vanilla bean in just about everything. Try adding 2 or 3 raisins too. You don't want many they can over power and sweeten it quick if you do. But 2 or 3 can be worked with. I've read the same about craisins. I haven't tried them yet. But I plan to.
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by Braz »

how do you aquire the vanilla bean?
Any decent grocery store should have them.
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by Prairiepiss »

Braz wrote:
how do you aquire the vanilla bean?
Any decent grocery store should have them.
I haven't found one in my area yet. :(

I have heard Costco sells them? And both the homebrew shops here do. Not cheap though.
You can get them online pretty cheap.

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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by blind drunk »

Yeah, got mine at Costco. 5-6 in a sealed glass test tube. Can't remember the price, but more than they are on ebay.
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by rtalbigr »

ipee7ABV wrote:how do you aquire the vanilla bean?
I get mine at beanilla.com. You can get any variety ya want. I keep the,m in a ziplock and that in a glass jar in a dark closet. They'll keep for a long time.

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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

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ipee7ABV wrote:
RumRaider wrote:I don't know what causes it but, I sure agree about the affect vanilla has on smoothing out liquor. I love it and use it quite alot (split the bean down the middle and soak). It seems to take the "alcoholly" flavor down a notch while leaving the warmth. For cinnamon, I just taste the liquor frequently and remove the stick before the flavor gets too strong.
how do you aquire the vanilla bean?
I've never been able to find them in grocery stores. I used Amazon.com and they hooked me up with JR Mushrooms & Specialties. They were $7.12US (+ free shipping) for 16 Madagasgar beans. I just looked it up again and they are now $9.20, still have free shipping though. Somewhere on these boards, someone said they like Tahitian beans better but, I'm still working through my Madagasgar beans. I had to try them first simply beacause they are also called "bourbon" (I think it's the name of a town in madagascar). Anyway, somebody else said the Mexican vanilla beans are best. I suspect it's mostly a matter of who had the freshest beans but, eventually I'll try them all.
SippinOnShine
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by SippinOnShine »

Prairiepiss wrote:Here is a good way to do cinnamon. You can do it like I do my fire piss. Soak the cinnamon sticks in a separate jar. And keep it going. But use it to add a little at a time to the drink you are making? If your wanting to add a little to a whiskey. Just take a small amount out of your cinnamon jar and add it. Add it till you get the flavor you want. Have some extra whiskey on hand in case you over do it you can dilute it back.

While your at it give my fire piss a try. Good stuff.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 11&t=25616

And I love a vanilla bean in just about everything. Try adding 2 or 3 raisins too. You don't want many they can over power and sweeten it quick if you do. But 2 or 3 can be worked with. I've read the same about craisins. I haven't tried them yet. But I plan to.
I think your idea for the cinnamon sticks is perfect. I am sure I will adopt this method in the future. The Fire Piss also sounds great. I happen to have a couple batches of sugar washes ready to be run. I will whip up some neutral and give this a try.
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by SippinOnShine »

RumRaider wrote:
ipee7ABV wrote:
RumRaider wrote:I don't know what causes it but, I sure agree about the affect vanilla has on smoothing out liquor. I love it and use it quite alot (split the bean down the middle and soak). It seems to take the "alcoholly" flavor down a notch while leaving the warmth. For cinnamon, I just taste the liquor frequently and remove the stick before the flavor gets too strong.
how do you aquire the vanilla bean?
I've never been able to find them in grocery stores. I used Amazon.com and they hooked me up with JR Mushrooms & Specialties. They were $7.12US (+ free shipping) for 16 Madagasgar beans. I just looked it up again and they are now $9.20, still have free shipping though. Somewhere on these boards, someone said they like Tahitian beans better but, I'm still working through my Madagasgar beans. I had to try them first simply beacause they are also called "bourbon" (I think it's the name of a town in madagascar). Anyway, somebody else said the Mexican vanilla beans are best. I suspect it's mostly a matter of who had the freshest beans but, eventually I'll try them all.
I have tried a couple different beans and I think you are right track of it being more about freshness than anything else. There are obviously differences but so far as long as the bean looks to be in good condition and somewhat fresh I haven't noticed any significant flavor differences coming through in the alcohol.
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by Coyote »

Coyote,

What's the abv of your wash?

Odin.
I have no idea, never been something I worry about.

Being that I make 12-14 gallon runs, toss a lot for fores, stop at 40 to 50%
and gather up a gallon + I am guessing around 10-11 %

I am only really concerned with taste, Never have been worried about maxing out the wash

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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by Rod »

I have some good quality vanilla extract

how much should I add to a bottle of bourbon
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Re: Smoothing out Spirits

Post by Jeffp60 »

Rod, or anyone, did you ever figure out how much extract to add ?
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