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Cant see any other Posts/questions about this so here we go...........

I am trying to make a rum and raisin flavor spirit.I have been looking and asking in most brew shops/health food shops trying to get raisin essence.I have been told that it was never made and cant get it.
So have (hopefully) made my own.Can someone tell me if i am on the right track in trying to get some essence.
375grams Sunbeam brand raisins,cut up (roughly in half)(to let seeds and flavor out of raisins.heated in a bowl with 150gram sugar and 600ml of 40% vodka. Put in a very clean preserving jar and the plan is to leave it for 2 weeks ,strain well and add the liquid to some dark Jamaican rum i have just made.Am i on the right track?Might i get the raisin taste?.
Has any one else done the same and what success/failures have you got.?

Any help would be great.

Thanks in advance

Grid.

Might wanna try with out the sugar

I would chop the raisins up very fine and put just enough rum to cover them.
They should absorb some of the alcohol and plump up. Just add a bit more rum but don't flood them in liquid.
Leave the mix on the shelf for a week or two.
Squeeze the rum out (cheesecloth or squish through a seive), filter it and let some of the rum evaporate to concentrate the flavour.
Like Tater said, leave out the sugar (unless you want a sugar syrup).

scarecrow

I can't really see any point in making up an essence. You have the natural product ready to hand.

I would have just thrown some raisins in a bottle of the rum, leave it a couple of weeks, check the flavour. If it seems to be going in the right direction but not raisiny enough, put in a few more. When you are satisfied strain out the raisins. They might be nice to munch on. Keep a record so that you can do it the same again.

A possible problem; more expert winemakers/distillers than me will know more about this. There may be a slight possibility of further (malolactic ?) fermentation, I don't know what level of alcohol will positively prevent it. This would be because of adding (effectively) sugar (from the raisins). A really high level of sugar, as in liqueurs, can prevent further fermentation but a lower level may promote it. So do not seal the bottle but cork it very lightly just in case!

I tried putting around twelve really nice dried apricots into five litres of pot-stilled apricot brandy that I was not satisfied with (I'm sure I got the cuts wrong) and it seemed to improve it a fair bit, just a hint of apricot aroma. (That was true brandy, not the apricot flavoured liqueur.)

The Baker wrote:I can't really see any point in making up an essence. You have the natural product ready to hand.

+1

Soak em, use em, eat em...

Chared dried dates can also assist with the color (and flavor) profile. IMO.

I do a Rum & Raisin damper when camping. I did one for a mates 60th, soaked 1kg raisins in rum for 8 days, strained off the liquid, made the dampers. The raisins were like little pieces of dynamite even after cooking and the strained off liquid made me walk and talk funny . I stick with soaking the raisins for 1 day max after that little experiment.

I accidentally managed a Rum and Raisin flavour yesterday by adding some stripped sugar wash to a couple of handfuls of dried fruit (the kind of stuff that you get in the baking aisle at the supermarket - (Seedless Raisins, Sultanas and Mixed Candied Citrus Peel), cinnamon and cardamom with a touch of honey.
I left it for 24 hours then redistilled it in my pot-still.

There were quite a bit of heads, but the hearts were gorgeous. Today someone tried some and declared it "Rum and Raisin".

The Baker wrote:I can't really see any point in making up an essence. You have the natural product ready to hand.

I would have just thrown some raisins in a bottle of the rum, leave it a couple of weeks, check the flavour. If it seems to be going in the right direction but not raisiny enough, put in a few more. When you are satisfied strain out the raisins. They might be nice to munch on. Keep a record so that you can do it the same again.

A possible problem; more expert winemakers/distillers than me will know more about this. There may be a slight possibility of further (malolactic ?) fermentation, I don't know what level of alcohol will positively prevent it. This would be because of adding (effectively) sugar (from the raisins). A really high level of sugar, as in liqueurs, can prevent further fermentation but a lower level may promote it. So do not seal the bottle but cork it very lightly just in case!

I tried putting around twelve really nice dried apricots into five litres of pot-stilled apricot brandy that I was not satisfied with (I'm sure I got the cuts wrong) and it seemed to improve it a fair bit, just a hint of apricot aroma. (That was true brandy, not the apricot flavoured liqueur.)

Not sure what malolactic means..will check it out..but is fermentation possible at alcohol levels of 40%??? I wouldnt think much of anything is possible at higher ABVs

So i just read up on it and it seems all it is is the changing of some acids in a fermentation to another type of acid. It isnt a fermentation per se but since it releases small amounts of co2 they call it that. If it CAN occur it sounds like it enhances flavour more than anything it would be likely be benefitial. Hard to say without an experiment.

*Edit...I might add it is a bacteria that causes it and how many bacteria can live through 40% ABV alcohol?

(About malolactic fermentation)

noobsauce wrote:So i just read up on it and it seems all it is is the changing of some acids in a fermentation to another type of acid. It isnt a fermentation per se but since it releases small amounts of co2 they call it that. If it CAN occur it sounds like it enhances flavour more than anything it would be likely be benefitial. Hard to say without an experiment.

*Edit...I might add it is a bacteria that causes it and how many bacteria can live through 40% ABV alcohol?

I don't know anything about it really but I had a 205 litre barrel just emptied and wanted to fill it up again so that it didn't dry out.
(Bought it full of fairly ordinary Durif wine, cheap at a winery auction, and bottled the wine).

I had a lot of fortified wine, different stuff, that I put in the barrel, and needed more to top it up, so planned to use some of that same Durif with pot-stilled spirit to make up the alcohol level but when I tested some of it first, the flavour was a bit lacking. So I soaked the spirit first in maybe 6 kg of currants. Seemed to work out, I haven't tried it for a while, BUT;
my winemaker friend said I could have caused malolactic fermentation and that it could have ruined the flavour. There WERE some bubbles afterward so I was a bit worried at the time but I hope it has turned out okay.

P.S. I have an idea that experienced winemakers do use malolactic fermentation deliberately but that if it happens when you don't want it to it can cause serious problems in the wine.

"P.S. I have an idea that experienced winemakers do use malolactic fermentation deliberately but that if it happens when you don't want it to it can cause serious problems in the wine."

Very possible with wine as wine is at an ABV soley brought about by fermentation. Though i have no evidence i suspect very few if any bacteria live through higher than the ABVs we make. What winemakers use the malolactic "fermentation" for is to provide a more "mouthiness" feel to wines...whatever that means..hehe.

Though i have no evidence i suspect very few if any bacteria live through higher than the ABVs we make

Nothing survives above about 27% abv, and virtually nothing above about 15%, especially with prolonged contact, like in an ageing barrel. Can guarantee that your 40% drinking likker is safe, it will not spoil from microbes and will keep forever. In a pinch you can use it for sterilising wounds, etc.

I age my rum on raisins, pineapple, cardomam, black pepper and dried apricots, as per Harry's GGGP rum. Dunno if it's the same as rum and raisin, but it makes a fine rum. May give tho flavour that you're seeking.

blanik

HookLine wrote:

Though i have no evidence i suspect very few if any bacteria live through higher than the ABVs we make

Nothing survives above about 27% abv, and virtually nothing above about 15%, especially with prolonged contact, like in an ageing barrel. Can guarantee that your 40% drinking likker is safe, it will not spoil from microbes and will keep forever. In a pinch you can use it for sterilising wounds, etc.

the soaking of rasins in etho would be the best way for a flavoring. soak any fruit in a good clean nutrel and the flavors transfer to the alcohol the color mite be another story tho..

dang it... hooks wounded again, grab the whisky and lets get him steril
just saying hey buddy

big worm wrote:dang it... hooks wounded again, grab the whisky and lets get him steril

And the rum, vodka, gin, tequila, brandy, I'll take whatever ya got.

he he he I find it best when applied from the inside.

Thats too complicated a way, you better get 95 or even more degrees alcohol --be sure it is acceptable for human consumption-- then macerate your raisins (cut or not) for the time you prefer --I would say a week is enought-- then filter the alcohol, add this to your rum. Pls remember your alcohol % will increase, so, add purified water, a dark Jamaican could be too heavy, why not try first with an overproof --3 YO or more-- white then if you want colour or sweetness add caramel or sirope

Do not forget to have an alcolimeter to measure the result and add water.

Good look