The real ingredients of flavouring agents

[Birrofilo]

We all know that a certain flavour can be obtained either directly, from the natural substance, or sometimes chemically, from an unrelated substance with a similar flavour, similar to the natural one.
For instance, vanilla flavour can be imitated with vanillin.
Your "smoked" salmon can be smoked "chemically" and have seen no smoke in its afterlife, and your "bacon" chips never saw bacon too.

So the question is: as a general rule, the various flavouring that one can buy to add to a neutral distillate, in order to obtain a liqueur (such as Amaretto, Mistrà, Nocino etc.) or a spirit (whisky essence, rum essence, tequila essence) have ever been, in a phase of their factory life, real whisky, real rum, real tequila, to which water and ethanol was removed by some ingenious technical means, or are just cocktails of chemical substances which somehow imitate the aroma and flavour of the real stuff?

If both cases exist in commerce, is it possible to name, or hint, the name of some reputable producer (or some reputable internet shops) carrying the natural ones, rather than the smart(-ass) ones?

The shops selling them never show the ingredients list. Do they typically say "artificial flavourings" or "natural flavourings"?

[Bushman]

I know Blue Spirits Distilling buys both neutrals, tequilas, and whiskey then redistill fruit flavors through a lab vacuum still. I have a video of the process somewhere and will look for it.

[Pikey]

I do think it would be rather pointless to make real Scotch whisky, keg age and blend it to pefection, then take all the flavour out and "can it" for some punter to stick in a grotty little "Turbo likker" to make it taste a little bit like the real stuff !

[kiwi Bruce]

I think the essences and kits are a useful half step to becoming a full HDer, some never get past this step and that's OK...but some take a store bought "high Test" and mix in some Scotch essence, it's alright...but the clever little beaver is now thinking "Wait a minute...if I use some of my beer malt and make my own, instead of the store stuff...it would have to be better...right?...Right" and low and behold another HDer is born!

[Copperhead road]

I have been told that adding a little bit of LorAnn peach flavouring to neutral can easily be passed off as a peach brandy. Apparently it takes a couple of days for the flavour to fully appear in the spirit.
I had never come across an artificial fruit flavour that actually tasted like the real deal before. NOTE this experiment was not carried out by me but is a very reliable source.

[Birrofilo]

I do think it would be rather pointless to make real Scotch whisky, keg age and blend it to pefection, then take all the flavour out and "can it" for some punter to stick in a grotty little "Turbo likker" to make it taste a little bit like the real stuff !

It would make sense to make whisky, without aging, take away water and ethanol, selling separately the ethanol and the distilled water, and selling separately the congeners as "essence", leaving the aging to the final user. The savings in the excise tax alone, and the shipping cost, could create a market for genuine essences. I suspect candies and pralines are more easily made with essences (e.g. whisky candies).

This is something that was currently made for liqueurs. When I was a child, you could buy the original essence of Liquore Strega, produced by Alberti themselves, to make a product substantially undistinguishable from the original (being, in fact, the original).

So I have no doubt it can be done for liqueurs, such as a fernet, a mistrà, a nocino etc. What I buy is an infusion of herbs.

But I have doubts about essences of "whisky", "tequila", "grappa" and "vodka". Those essences should in theory only contain congeners. I wonder about those congeners, are they "chemical shortcuts" or what? Aromatic esthers can be created in a laboratory, and can be assembled.

"Wood" could be added, either by the final user or by the essence producer, by means of what, in the Brandy trade, is known or boisé, a distillation of a water infusion of "wood" (or a distillation of an alcoholic infusion of wood, that kid of boisé is not allowed in Cognac but it's allowed in other brandies such as Armagnac).

I'm not really interested in whisky essences myself, but I am curious about the real ingredients.

I am, instead, very interested in essences to make tequila, or fruit brandies, because I cannot buy fresh blue agave or economically make fruit wine (let's say apricot wine, or plum wine) but I am very interested in Marillendbrand, or Slivoviz, and I have no alternative to essences than buying the real stuff. As a HD I would rather make my own neutral and add a Marillendbrand extract to it.

I am not interested in artificial aromas imitating the perfume of tequila. Even if the imitation were perfect, that fact itself of knowing that I am drinking a chemical concoction would take the poetry out of the brewage! (Besides the fact that an assembly of chemical substances probably lacks complexity).

[Birrofilo]

The more I research the more I gain the convinction that it's all artificial flavouring. Probably even simple things such as essence for Ouzo is actually "fake".

I have asked a couple producers by mail to specify whether they use natural or artificial flavouring, I don't know whether they will answer, but I think I know the answer.

Meanwhile, I found some actual herb distillates that could actually be useful if diluted in a neutral spirit, to give a complex herbal aroma:

Angostura: https://www.weinquelle.com/artikel/Ango ... 097_e.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Fee Brothers Orange Bitter: https://www.weinquelle.com/artikel/Fee_ ... 383_e.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Elisir di Chartreuse: https://www.weinquelle.com/artikel/Char ... 332_e.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I think I will move in this direction for my neutrals: either a simple aromatization with herbs (Gin style) or diluting some more complex herbal extracts like the ones above.

Also, I am thinking about putting in the "gin basket" ready made mixed ingredients (purely herbal) to make bitters in alcohol maceration, some herbalists sell them, such as this: https://www.erboristerie.com/erbe-per-a ... dese-gr-90" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
The recipe is published in a book, so I might try to buy the individual ingredients.

First I would try the maceration, and then I would try the alcoholic vapour extraction, and then compare

In fact, I am developing the general idea that I might just dilute an interesting herbal bitter with distilled water and home-produced neutral to have an interesting "vodka" with complex but subtle herbal hints.

[MichiganCornhusker]

but the clever little beaver is now thinking...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bea ... f44a9ed259" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[OtisT]

Thanks for that Cornhusker.

Go Beavs!

[kiwi Bruce]

I am not going there...where is just so much to say about the smell of...

[Birrofilo]

I have been told that adding a little bit of LorAnn peach flavouring to neutral can easily be passed off as a peach brandy. Apparently it takes a couple of days for the flavour to fully appear in the spirit.
I had never come across an artificial fruit flavour that actually tasted like the real deal before. NOTE this experiment was not carried out by me but is a very reliable source.

I saw now LorAnn offerings. They have both natural and artificial flavours. Natural flavours are clearly labeled as such. They are essential oils of one ingredients, though, and generally the kind of stuff that can be bought at the herbalist's.

http://www.lorannoils.com/additional-natural-flavors" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Some of them, though, are rather interesting. E.g. certain berries are not easy to find in good quantity. Essential oils are, I suppose, very interesting to make a "single herb neutral" and sometimes more practical than maceration or alcoholic vapour extraction.

I have read somewhere that basil is not good to macerate when it is fresh, one has to dry it first.

I wonder whether anybody tried a London Dry Gin assembled only with essential oils (not in the still). One could buy essential oils of ingredients (or distill, separately, the essential oils oneself, of said ingredients) and then assemble gin aroma components "drop by drop": add a drop of an essence, taste, add another drop, taste... until one finds the "right" combination of botanicals without having to make several distillations. That should taste just as good as a normal gin (made with the basket for botanicals) because a gin is nothing more than an alcoholic vapour extration of herbs, very diluted.

Geist should also lend itself to the practice: preparing, or using, essential oils of lemon, orange, basil, rosemary and using it in a neutral, while having it also ready to scent tea, or sweets, or beer.

There is no much talk in this forum about what to do with a neutral. It seems everybody makes gin or drinks it "as is". Or maybe uses it to dilute a whisky or a rum which turned out a bit too widely cut

Herbal bitters and cordials are interesting to make at home. I thought it would have been possible to find some real herbal extract imitating, let's say, Amaro Braulio, or Fernet Branca, but it isn't. I can only find the artificial imitations for Fernet, "Benevento", and such. Any suggestions appreciated.

PS Maybe this happens because herbal bitters are less widespread outside of Italy than in Italy. Here one spirit on two served in restaurants or bars would be an amaro.

[Yummyrum]

Hopefully Kimbodious will jump in . He has tried using essential oils to flavour spirit.
Regarding Tequila , the "still spirits " Tequila essence is pretty darn close to a "typical" gold one .
I couldn't imajine coming anywhere close trying to do it with the real stuff . .... agave and stuffing around .
The ingreadients say natural Tequila and Oakwood flavours . Like you ,I would love to know what natural Tequila flavour is ..... but for the price of a little bottle of essance , I'm content to just buy it .

[kimbodious]

I use essential oils to make some liqueurs that resemble commercial versions and some that their own crazy thing. I too use HBS flavouring agent for tequila, brandy and gin.
Aniseed liqueur uses 15 drops aniseed essential oil, 400ml high proof (azeo) neutral, 600 mls stevia syrup
Citrus liqueur (similar to triple sec), 12 drops orange essential oil, 5 drops lemon myrtle EO, 400 mls azeo, 600mls syrup
Citral (use like gin) 15 drops lemon myrtle essential oil, 400mls azeo, 600 mls bottled water
As far as "wood" goes I use SD medium roast french oak dominos or 4 weeks in a two litre oak cask

[Birrofilo]

Thanks to both for the replies.

I will try this tequila "essence", but at the moment I think it is almost certainly a single, or an assembly, of aromatic esters. I should be more philosopher and think that it doesn't matter the colour of the cat, provided that it catches the mouse.

In brandy trade there are artificial aromas of brandy, they are forbidden for brandy (at least they are for Italian and French brandy) they are probably used in "brandy" chocolate and candies, ice creams etc.

rum essence is isobutyl propionate, with some caramel and glycerine added.

vodka essence is probably some head and tails collected from a run. I don't see what sense can it make.

I am glad to see that adding essential oils to neutral is something that can be done successfully and without problems. I think this is what some industrial producers do. I will do it for sure.

I have not given up my quest for natural aromas for liqueurs. I found a couple of Italian producers of natural aroma for liqueurs or food industry. I will try to contact them by email and ask them if their product is sold under some commercial brand that I can buy. There certainly is people making real herbal extracts for the liqueur industry, but they don't sell retail.
The only essences I find in the retail market is the fake stuff (which, maybe, it's not so bad. But it's not herbs).

I would be interested in seeing the cost of, let's say, apricot concentrate or plum concentrate (to make fruit wine, and then brandy). I see firms doing them, but not selling it to me but to professional buyers.