Absinthe as a first (and second) run.

[Blais]

Yesterday I posted pics of my new still (http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... highlight=) and made my first liter of absinthe. Today, I tried another with some adjustments, repairs (thanks defcon4!) and recipe tips I found, and figured I'd post my results.




(Sorry for the quality and the off-colors)
First batch: The still worked ok, though it leaked and I had thermometer problems which led me to believe that my still was running much hotter than it really was. 3 hours into it, I turned up the heat and started to get a semi-consistant flow from the condenser (Take the pro's advice when the tell you where to place your thermometer ). Once it was finished, I poured all the 'leftovers' into the same pot to set aside and went through with the final coloring/flavoring phase. After carefully pouring the product into a bottle, I gave my wares a taste with some ice water and a sugar cube and found the finished product to be drinkable, but kinda thin. The alchohol was certainly high enough but the flavor of the herbs didn't come through as much as I had hoped. It smelled of anise and was faintly bitter, but didn't louche hardly at all and wasn't exactly something I'd want to sip daily. Today I decided to try another run only this time, I poured both my macerate and the leftovers/tails from yesterday into the boiler and used less water to compensate. When it was done, I found it to be almost overpoweringly falvorfull and VERY aromatic. I colored it the same way and on a whim, I mixed yesterdays batch and today's together.
The results were great! The aroma is very pleasant and mild, the louche is not opaque and milky but active and satisfying, and it tastes great! The herbs are well-defined without being overpowering and it's pleasant to sip. The finished product isn't as anise-ey as Pernod Pastis and is slightly thinner tasting but certainly has a more herby-taste. I also noticed that it has a subtle sweetness to it that yesterdays batch had none of. It's not really a sugary/corn syrup sweet but it's at least noticeably sweet. I'm guessing it's from the anise, but I dunno.
Anyway, I wanted to share my experience with any other novices out there and let you know that your first couple of tries could end up being even better than you expected! Good luck and happy swill-making.

[HookLine]

Nice work. But unless you are living in New Zealand, where home distilling is legal, you might not want to show your face here. No need to make it any easier for the law to find you than you necessary.

[Blais]

That's not me, it's some kid I know.

P.S. The previous post is a work of fiction and is not based in any way on fact. The information provided is for entertainment purposes and not meant to be taken as fact. The images are a dramatization and the substances depicted are non-controlled and legal under federal guidlines. The author assumes no responsibility, legal or otherwise, for actions taken as a result of or pertaining to the information contained in the previous post.



Edit: I fixed it and removed my ugly mug.

[mikeac]

That's not me, it's some kid I know.

P.S. The previous post is a work of fiction and is not based in any way on fact. The information provided is for entertainment purposes and not meant to be taken as fact. The images are a dramatization and the substances depicted are non-controlled and legal under federal guidlines. The author assumes no responsibility, legal or otherwise, for actions taken as a result of or pertaining to the information contained in the previous post.



Edit: I fixed it and removed my ugly mug.

[bronzdragon]

I was going to say something but decided not too. Good decision on the photo shopping skills though.

~r~

[Blais]

Update: I found someone else who's had (but not really enjoyed) absinthe before to try my batch. The response was; "A-yea. That's absinthe. *cough*". I've only ever tried Pernod pastis so I guess it was a bit of a reassurance to know that my absinthe tastes like absinthe to someone who's had it before. Can I send someone who knows absinthe a sample or something to find out if I did a decent job? Would that even be legal?

[bronzdragon]

Sending liquor through the U.S. Mail is not legal, as far as I know. If you like the flavor of it, then go with it.

cheers

~r~

[Blais]

Cool, thanks.

I didn't think mailing it would besuch a hot idea, especially given it's flammability.

[CatharticusX]

You "can" send it through the mail just about the same as anybody who gets a bottle of European absinthe does. I think if it's over some proof (140 or 150 IIRC) the USPS can legally confiscate it.

I sent a 250ml sample to a stateside Marine with the cork duct-taped on, the bottle wrapped in paper and a large ziplock bag. I wrapped that in bubble-wrap, that was put in a circular mailing tube and that was put inside a bubble-wrap-filled box. The idea wasn't to conceal the contents as much as
to protect them, and to contain the contents if something happened.

Threw in an old Stephen King book and a birthday card.

Probably overkill, but I wanted triple-redunancy in my packaging for the benefit of everybody involved. Made it just fine. If you order a bottle of LaFee via mail, it will have much less protection.

Those little $1 250ml bottles you can order off the internet are great, by the way.

-cx