New Triple-Sec recipe

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SouthwestAl
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New Triple-Sec recipe

Post by SouthwestAl »

I am starting a new Triple-Sec recipe, which is going to be as follows:
(Oranges are Brazilian varieties, and not sure if there are

5 litres 95% neutral (cereal base, bought)
25g Seville Orange Peel, dehydrated - sweeter orange peel
25g Lima Orange Peel, dehydrated - citrus element, but less acidic (Citrus Aurantifolia)
25g Pear Orange Peel, dehydrated - Hybrid Blood/Naval orange (Citrus sinensis)

Macerated for 24 hours.

Reduced down to 40% with 6.88Litres of demineralised water before distilling.

I am not cutting much for heads, as the neutral has already been cut, but will take 100ml for cleaning the pipes.

I plan to test for tails when output hits 70% abv - Orange flavours always tend to arrive towards the end of the distillation in my previous tests, but I don't want anything too murky - depending on the flavour, it might go down to 60%.

Overall abv - to be confirmed.

I will then macerate again in a new batch of the same peels, but fresh, to give some colour, and some fresh notes, before straining, and reducing down to 40% abv with demineralised water. Maceration time will be around 24 hours, but more based on colouration than anything else. I am considering adding a tiny amount of Tonka Bean, to give a mild vanila hint. I know it's not traditional, but I think will give it a nice warmth and a bit of a unique flavour. One bean should be more than enough, but will go on taste, and pull it out if it starts to get too strong.

Sugar will be 20% to 25% by volume, which I find about right for triple-sec, but will go on taste.

Any thoughts on this or suggestions for improvement? In the past, I have used larger quantities of fresh peel for the maceration stage, and then done the post-distillation maceration in the already used peels, just to add a bit of colour. This time I am dehydrating the peels to remove any chlorophyll (two of the oranges are green oranges) for the distillation, although suspect any chlorophyll that there is will be re-added if I do a post distillation maceration in fresh peel...
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Sporacle
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Re: New Triple-Sec recipe

Post by Sporacle »

Sounds pretty good, I've found with a similar product I'm at about 200gms per litre of sugar.
Which is a lot less than the actual amount in the store product I believe.

Not to sure what you are distilling in but I personally wouldn't use ABV to check for tails, I'd make sure that I was collecting in small enough vessels to be able to get a good cut point.

I like the idea of the second maceration and I just had a thought what if you stored your peel for the second maceration in the sugar for a day or so prior to macerating.

Let us know how it works
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GrumbleStill
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Re: New Triple-Sec recipe

Post by GrumbleStill »

Thanks for sharing Southwest.

I’ve had one go at a triple sec after reading up on the ingredients and processes used to make Cointreau, but wasn’t too happy with results, so I’ll be keen to see how yours works out.

+1 on Sporacle’s advice re small jars. I found that the funky stuff towards the end of the run came in really quickly.

Cheers and good luck
SouthwestAl
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Re: New Triple-Sec recipe

Post by SouthwestAl »

With Orange Peel, I generally find the flavour is coming most strongly around the 75% point, but will take lots of cuts towards the end, so I can see what to keep and what to ditch.

The Tonka Bean part is going to be harder, and will need some careful & regular testing to make sure it doesn't overpower the whole thing - it always catches me out just how strong that flavour can be, with tiny amounts!

I will report back when I distill this week.
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NZChris
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Re: New Triple-Sec recipe

Post by NZChris »

I'm not a fan of chlorophyll and I barely escaped a poor outcome when using green lime zest, so I'd recommend caution using green zest in the final product.

Also, bright green plus bright orange is likely give you a comparatively unexciting brown liquor.
SouthwestAl
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Re: New Triple-Sec recipe

Post by SouthwestAl »

NZChris wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 8:59 pm I'm not a fan of chlorophyll and I barely escaped a poor outcome when using green lime zest, so I'd recommend caution using green zest in the final product.

Also, bright green plus bright orange is likely give you a comparatively unexciting brown liquor.
Yep - agree on the chlorophyll, but the green oranges are green when ripe - they never turn orange. That said, it won't hurt to only do the final maceration in the 'orange' oranges. In the past, the final maceration only adds a very mild orange hue to the finished product though.
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cob
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Re: New Triple-Sec recipe

Post by cob »

be water my friend
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