Home Distiller

There is a commercial liqueur called HUM I believe that is hibiscus ginger flavored. I would like to try to make something along those lines. Anyone have experience with floral additions? I figurd start with a strong neutral and and use crystallized ginger, but I'm confused on how to get th hibiscus flowers prepared. Maybe just strip the pollen and chuck the whole flower in?

Monterrey Bay Spice Company sells dried hibiscus, cut and sifted, for $4.80 per pound. I use it to make Sorrel, aka Jamaica aka Hibiscus tea, and I have to agree that ginger is a good flavor match.

They also sell crystallized ginger for $6.80 per pound if you're not the type to make your own (which I do, but it is time consuming).

For a liqueur, I'd go with a simple infusion. Fill a jar with some ginger, sorrel, and some sugar then add spirit. Give it a gentle shake once or twice a day and start tasting in a week. It is a pretty foolproof method for liqueurs.

I've Never tried ginger but did a hibiscus liquor. Found that hot water extracts hibiscus flavor better than alcohol.
So I made a strong hibiscus "tea" using boiling water and than add a sugar and use this tea to dilute 70% shine to 30%.

Upd: I've used a dried hibiscus.

Ok so I will infuse the neutral with ginger and cut it to about 30%abv with the sorrel. Any ideas for additional flavoring or should I leave it simple? Was thinking about a couple cardamom seeds

I do two versions of hibiscus tea with ginger, one "hot" (served cold) and the other "cold" (served hot).

For cool flavors I use hibiscus, ginger, vanilla bean, and lemongrass. As a hot tea, its pretty damn nice. While ginger can be spicy, the vanilla and lemongrass mellow it out and leave you with cool, soothing flavors that work well in a hot tea.

For warm flavors, I pair hibiscus and ginger with a touch of ancho chili and a tiny bit of cinnamon. Served cold, it is full of big bold flavors and is very energizing. Just the thing to get you going on a hot day.

In my experience cinnamon and vanilla, in small amounts, will enhance other flavors but don't go overboard or it's the only flavor you will taste.

I was thinking about some vanilla, and I considered a tiny bit of lemon rind but lemongrass seems like a much milder choice and I happen to have about a kilo of it.

Yeah I am not sure on what kind of ratios to use. Vanilla seems awfully potent

By weight 1:1 hibiscus:ginger tastes fine in my teas, but I enjoy a real kick from the ginger. Dried hibiscus flowers pack more of a punch than you might expect. I might use one tahitian vanilla bean(split and cut into pieces) per 4oz of ginger/hibiscus mix and 1/2-1oz lemongrass. Tahitian vanilla beans have more floral notes than madagascar beans so in my opinion they pair better.

Your mileage may vary, but that's my tea recipe, 2oz each ginger and jamaica, 3/4oz lemongrass and 1 tahitian vanilla bean. One heaping spoon per cup of hot water.

How did this turn out? Sounds interesting enough, i'm looking for different things to make.