Store Bought Flavoring- Whats hot & whats not

[violentblue]

bought some Liquor Quick essences, to hold me over untill the good stuff had aged enough.

kentucky Bourbon- 3/5 -tasted all right, but not like bourbon.
Spiced Rum- 4/5 doesn't taste like the captian, but its pretty decent. considering I was using a nice white rum as the base
Caribian White rum- 2/3 maybe if I used vodka as a base instead of white rum I might be able to taste the difference.
Canadian Rye Whiskey- 4/5 not top shelf, but fine for mixing. Grandad will like it.

[ml9099]

Hey Guys,
Some reviews:

Still Spirits Classic Tennessee Bourbon - great with oak chips, tad on the sweet side
Still Spirits Classic American Bourbon - Really good, had this with wild turkey chips. Best so far.
Still Spirits Classic Gin - Made it for a mate, he'snow building a still. Very strong flavour, maybe needs to be reduced with more alcohol...
Still Spirits Classic QLD Gold Rum - Nothing like bundy, but made better with some rum chips, but very sweet
Top shelf aussie gold rum - Closest to bundy but not as rough
Top shelf citrus vodka - Nice but is a bit too sweet after a few
Top shelf Vodka - Not that they have much flavour...but nice, recommended!
Willards tennessee bourbon - in a word....Shit. Flavour is too weak. After one glass the rest was re-distilled.

I have a few liquers on the way, I'll let you know how they go.

Anybody else been testing flavours? Post them here!!!!

[HookLine]

Top shelf Vodka - Not that they have much flavour...but nice, recommended!

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6800

[dazastar]

ml90999

You must be getting commission from StillSpirits.

I'm not bagging SS as I have a lot of their gear and used the flavors a fair bit, but there very ordinary to say the least. Willards tho - thanks for the tip - was going to try it.

Give Edwards a go I have given taste tests to friends and every one of them said it was better than store bought bourbon.

[adama_bill]

I tried the Samuel Willard - St James Gin . . . . shit; flavour much too weak.
However the Still Spirits Classic Gin (2 sachet pak) was great.

[dazastar]

Hmmm, was looking for a good Gin flavouring, may restore my faith in SS after all.

[kiwistiller]

the essencia gin is very close to bombay sapphire.

[olddog]

I would rather make my own gin from juniper berries and other herbs, store bought essences taste like crap by comparison.

[kiwistiller]

I agree. but if the mans looking for an essence for gin, essencia would be my pick.

[lawnman 2]

Hey Guys,
Some reviews:

Still Spirits Classic Tennessee Bourbon - great with oak chips, tad on the sweet side
Still Spirits Classic American Bourbon - Really good, had this with wild turkey chips. Best so far.
Still Spirits Classic Gin - Made it for a mate, he'snow building a still. Very strong flavour, maybe needs to be reduced with more alcohol...
Still Spirits Classic QLD Gold Rum - Nothing like bundy, but made better with some rum chips, but very sweet
Top shelf aussie gold rum - Closest to bundy but not as rough
Top shelf citrus vodka - Nice but is a bit too sweet after a few
Top shelf Vodka - Not that they have much flavour...but nice, recommended!
Willards tennessee bourbon - in a word....Shit. Flavour is too weak. After one glass the rest was re-distilled.

I have a few liquers on the way, I'll let you know how they go.

Anybody else been testing flavours? Post them here!!!!

well`id agree all the way way with all of the above im a basic stiller and with some time on oak its cheaper than buyin at at a bottlo
on the citrus vodka im impressed with the flavour a can of lemon solo guzzle the top off and top up with the vodka wahoo youve got ya self a lemon ruski
and at $50 for a bottle of absolute vodka bloody cheeper doin it our way i made 18.......... 700mls bottles of diff flavours for $120 tooo easy im happy.
i use to buy beer in the summer at $70 for 2 cartons 24 im not going down that path any more for what i can churn out for $120 dam cheeper than buying beer.
this summer ive decided to make rereshing summery drinks like midori,citrus vodka ect ok may sound girly but its a change from ya bourbons and ya rums ect.

[leiothrix]

I agree. but if the mans looking for an essence for gin, essencia would be my pick.

Really? I tried that once and it tasted like soap.

My pick is Samuel Willards.

They're my favourite brand of essences. I've found Essentia to be crap, Edwards to be fairly flavourless and Still Spirits to be wildly varying in quality between the different flavours.

As with everything though, YMMV.

Rob.

[ORR]

Last night i took a pint of shine poured it in a quart jar added a 1/2 cup sugar shook real good until sugar was dissolved then added 2 candy canes until it was dissolved, turned out now bad at all.

[Nightforce]

Since I was able to produce a good neutral I went ahead and used some of the essences that I got a while back. I tried the Prestige Spiced Rum and it's pretty good. It surely isn't Captain, but it's a fairly good facsimile and if you're adding it to soda I'd say the average palate wouldn't know the difference. I'll be buying more in the future to keep on hand, easier to store the little 20ml bottle as I don't drink much spiced rum. Next I'll try the essence with some of pinto's rum wash; I bet that enhances the flavor a lot.

[bfpierce]

I found Prestige Bombay fit my tastes, 10ml per 375ml.

makes a nice orange blossom (skip the extra sugar)

[bradinwva]

are there any of the flavorings or essences I can add to just plain old clear shine to give it a good peach flavor? I tried some during christmas and it was great. The one I tried was clear and tasted to be around 50 proof and had a really nice peach taste.

[The Baker]

are there any of the flavorings or essences I can add to just plain old clear shine to give it a good peach flavor? I tried some during christmas and it was great. The one I tried was clear and tasted to be around 50 proof and had a really nice peach taste.

Try slicing some peaches into it?

[bradinwva]

Ive tried that before and ya dont get much flavor and no smell.

[kiwistiller]

Try slicing some peaches into it and waiting longer?? also freezing the peaches first will mean a better flavour extraction.

[Dnderhead]

Use good tree ripe fruit is the best, use a whole jar of slices, cover with spirits, put the cover on and leave in a dark warm place
for one month or more.(just a tuch of sugar will help bring out the flavor)

[hilltopper]

A few members have mentioned Top Shelf Aussie Gold Rum as being a good rum essence...but say it needs diluting more than instructions state....Can someone give me a starting point..2.5lt....3lt????.....Don't drink spirits........its just a gift for my son
thanks in advance

regards

[still crazy]

This is a link to the Virgina Dare company I know people who have been using there flavorings for years .

http://www.virginiadare.com/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[lawnman 2]

A few members have mentioned Top Shelf Aussie Gold Rum as being a good rum essence...but say it needs diluting more than instructions state....Can someone give me a starting point..2.5lt....3lt????.....Don't drink spirits........its just a gift for my son
thanks in advance

regards

i make alot of the top shelf aussie gold rum and best way is a bottle of essence makes 3x 750ml bottles
what i do is tip 3 750ml bottles of vodka or clean spirit into my mixing jug add the bottle of essence hey presto too easy.

[marc83]

I have a bottle of Rum sitting in the cupboard,used a SS Dark Rum essence.Anyone used this one before?What else does anyone recommend?I have not made it for myself as not a fan of rum anymore.Thinking about soaking it on essencia chunks once im finished using them on my bourbon.Anyone done this before?

Essences i have used:

SS top shelf Kentucky bourbon-sweet,fruity 3/5(may oak the next one)
SS top shelf Bourbon-has a bit more bite,JD like 4.5/5
SS top shelf Scotch Whiskey-Johnnie walkerish i thought.4/5
SS top shelf Ouzo-great for shots,not as sweet as store bought.4/5
SS London Dry Gin-Goes a long way,a mate loves it,5 bottles so far.
SS Herbal Liqeuer+base A-Nice Jagermeister,Yum.4/5
SS Tequila-Yuck-dont bother.1/5 I may try a Top Shelf SS Tequila.

At the mo i am soaking 3L of 40%ABV on 500g Essencia Bourbon Chunks,will try a couple of different things with the finished product.

[midisoul]

I got some oak charred chunks off eBay - instructions were to soak 1lt neutral/vodka on 100-150 grms for a month
my brew shop guy said to only do it for three days
I did 2.25lt for three days then strained and mixed Spirits Unlimited Premium Burbon.
One btl fully wooded - tasted like old wood - terrible
one bottle 50/50 wooded -terrible
one btl un-wooded, slight burbon flavour, mixer only.

SS Melon-
very nice balance of sweetness to flavour (used dextrose) 4.5/5

SS drambui
not exactly like the original but excellent 4/5

SS tequila
huh! Where's the agave? But drinkable 3/5

Prestige tequila
Very sweet taste nothing like Tequila - I think the batch must be tainted.
I can't drink it tho. 0.5/5

SS Irish Whisky
not too foul nice over ice 4/5 but Im not an expert

SS London Dry
not enough berry doesn't really tast like gin 2.5/5

SS Dark Rum Jamaican Style
very dark, light on for rum taste, needs a little sweetner, 2/5

Edwards Coconut Rum
strong coconut no rum sweet but nice use sparingly 4/5

Edwards Orange Liquer
not very orangey 2/5 too sweet as per instructions

[midisoul]

I have a bottle of Rum sitting in the cupboard,used a SS Dark Rum essence.Anyone used this one before?What else does anyone recommend?

I found it a little light on for flavour and suggest using spirit aged in charred oak

[Intoxicated]

Has anyone in Australia tried the True Blue brand? They are as cheap as chips on ebay when bought by the dozen, I am thinking of trying them.

Chris

Anyone know how this went? I haven't seen them on eBay, so I am assuming they are no longer in business.

[Rod]

I generally make my own gin , but

the wife likes a southern comfort and coke

as suggested hear I used the southern haze essence and she is happy

I noticed when I purchased the essence , various wood chips

if I wanted to add some wood chips

what sort to add

how much

how long

[kiwistiller]

I'd go charred or dark toast if you can get them. only a little, and for as long as you can wait a cm or two of vanilla bean wouldn't go amiss in there either I'm picking.

[Intoxicated]

That is tempting.. $32 for 8.4L of various booze sounds pretty good.

I might give them a go.. Who knows, they might be decent.

as suggested here I used the southern haze essence and she is happy

I was thinking of trying this one, but I thought it would turn out horrible. I went through a phase, as you do with booze, of drinking pretty much only Southern Comfort. How close is it to the original?

Intoxicated

[Rod]

I'd go charred or dark toast if you can get them. only a little, and for as long as you can wait a cm or two of vanilla bean wouldn't go amiss in there either I'm picking.

I will look at what my LHBS has , but from memory it was labeled , bourbon , Tennessee , Irish etc

will have to look for charred or dark toast , they did not appear to be charred or burn ???

maybe come back with a list

thanks

ps how close to the original , I do not know , not much on whiskey or bourbon , wife mixes with coke anyway