Infusion oils to get flavors in neutral?

[sttifyd35]

Hi guys! Not sure if I'm in the right forum, but I'm interested in making some flavored vodkas. I want to take a variety of different fruits, veggies, herbs, etc.. and make essentially an infusion oil/liquid to add either to my pot or thumper to put as much flavor into my run as possible without having to just soak the whole fruit, vegetable, or herb into the finished product. Anyone do this actively or have any tips for me? Thank you

[cayars]

Doing a maceration will almost always provide the most flavor but of course will no longer be a clear liquid.

[NZChris]

Start here. viewtopic.php?t=60563

[DAD300]

You want easy and no fuss...

Wash your citrus fruit well. And drop the whole fruit into some 63% alcohol! Two three days in the jar.

Now, you have no time zesting, no possible exposure to pith and best of all you didn't ruin the fruit! Peel the fruit and it is still intact and moist.

Figs work well and you can save and use the fig leftover.

Some candies work well, like jolly rogers, I think because of the citric acid in the candy.

Every liquid flavoring I've ever tried had a bizarre additional taste, like soap or something.

[sttifyd35]

You want easy and no fuss...

Lemons r.jpg

Wash your citrus fruit well. And drop the whole fruit into some 63% alcohol! Two three days in the jar.

Now, you have no time zesting, no possible exposure to pith and best of all you didn't ruin the fruit! Peel the fruit and it is still intact and moist.

Figs work well and you can save and use the fig leftover.

Some candies work well, like jolly rogers, I think because of the citric acid in the candy.

Every liquid flavoring I've ever tried had a bizarre additional taste, like soap or something.

This is very interesting. Now I have another question. Now say I wanted to make a spirit from scratch. Now I make my neutral, infuse the lemon, orange, etc...; What do you think would be the result if i add this to the boiler and also add some to the thumper with some zest as well?

[still_stirrin]

...What do you think would be the result if i add this to the boiler and also add some to the thumper with some zest as well?

You’ll lose the color and some of the flavor (it depends what you macerated). There will still be a good aroma in the product, but it may be different than the maceration. And of course, you’ll end up with a higher %ABV the 2nd (or 3rd) time through your still.

Since taste and smell are made of many different constituents, oils and esters, etc., the boiling points may be higher (or lower) than the ethanol. As a result, what carries over to your product will vary. But what you extract from the citrus in the maceration will be different when you redistill it. Typically, an increase in purity means a decrease in the constituents that contribute to the flavor, color, or aroma.

So, try it. Learn for yourself what happens. Don’t speculate...gain knowledge the old fashioned way...by doing it!
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