Home Distiller

Well, I finally tried it and it came out amazing!

2 gal distilled water
3 14 oz bags sweet coconut flakes
1/2 cup good coconut oil
1 cup powdered malt
3 lb sugar

Came in at a whopping 70 ABV. I treated the finished product with some burnt sugar for taste and color and added 2 tablespoons of agave syrup and a drop of vanilla essence. Cut it to 100 proof. Really good stuff!

bourbonbob1 wrote:Well, I finally tried it and it came out amazing!

2 gal distilled water
3 14 oz bags sweet coconut flakes
1/2 cup good coconut oil
1 cup powdered malt
3 lb sugar

Came in at a whopping 70 ABV. I treated the finished product with some burnt sugar for taste and color and added 2 tablespoons of agave syrup and a drop of vanilla essence. Cut it to 100 proof. Really good stuff!

I don't see yeast in your list - did you use any at all?

What does the coconut oil do? Is it for flavor?

What does the powdered malt do? What is it and where do you get it?

What's the process - that is, do you cook it, mash it, etc.?

Sorry for all the questions, but thought I might like to try it if I could get a little more complete recipe.

Thanks,
S-C

No problem, ask away!
OK, I forgot the yeast, I used 2 oz of distiller's yeast. The coconut oil is for flavor, but you need to buy raw, unprocessed oil, not the stuff you get in the store. My wife is Belizean and we get it from there and it's amazing. As far as the malt, I added it for flavor, body, AND for higher alcohol content. You can mail order it online at Amazon or any home brewing website. Very cheap.
The process: I just threw everything but the yeast and the malt into a pot, brought it to a boil, then I let it simmer for 30 minutes. I turned off the heat and mixed in the malt. When the mash got to 70-80 degrees, I mixed in the yeast, covered, and airlocked it. Two days of hard fermentation, it slowed down the third day and I distilled the fourth.
One batch I added the burnt sugar as mentioned. The second batch I'm distilling right now and I'm just adding a bit of simple syrup (equal parts of distilled water and white sugar) to sweeten it slightly.
This recipe is a winner. I love the taste. Next time, I'm going to use coconut water and unsweetened, natural, organic coconut flakes and see if there's a difference.

Thanks for responding back. It sounds really nice. I like the coconut flavor in spirits and this recipe sounds like a departure from simply flavoring rum. I'll bookmark this and definitely come back to it. I might try skipping the mashing step with the malt and just try it as a sugar head.

Do you have a mail order source for the coconut oil that you can post here? That would seem to be the only ingredient that might be a little difficult to come by.

Thanks,
S-C

Maybe if you went to a small Latino or Caribbean store they may sell the real stuff there. We go to Belize every summer and bring back two or three quarts!

I have to add though, that the finished product doesn't have a strong coconut flavor like coconut rum. It's very subtle, but good nonetheless! I was thinking about adding some natural coconut essence like the one they use for baking, but the good stuff, not the artificial stuff.

bourbonbob1 wrote:Maybe if you went to a small Latino or Caribbean store they may sell the real stuff there. We go to Belize every summer and bring back two or three quarts!

I have to add though, that the finished product doesn't have a strong coconut flavor like coconut rum. It's very subtle, but good nonetheless! I was thinking about adding some natural coconut essence like the one they use for baking, but the good stuff, not the artificial stuff.

OK, found several different sources for it online - even Amazon has it. Kind of expensive - 8 to 9 dollars for a 16oz jar.

Thanks for posting the recipe,
S-C

OK, so today I took my coconut arrack and I distilled it a second time. It came out at 140 proof. I watered it down with spring water to 110 proof and sweetened it with some agave syrup. Mind you, when I distilled it the first time, I let it sit for two weeks with some burnt oak and apple chips and some coconut syrup I bought at the liquor store. Then I distilled it again. I've been sipping it for the last two hours which is why my account now may seem a bit disjointed, but I have to say, it tastes great!

Real arrack is made from the nectar of flowers. The coconuts are not involved. The taste is usually mildly fruity and fragrant, like Pisco. That's what coconut sugar is made of. If you were to spontaneously ferment some with yeast off of an unwashed tropical fruit, you might have a similar taste to Arrack.

Any of various spirituous liquors distilled from the fermented sap of toddy palms.
they climb the palms ,cut off the flower stem and ketch the sap..then this sap is fermented in versus ways depending what is being made.from just letting it sour and ferment on its own to more modern way of using yeast.from my understanding it can be down right disgusting or fruity,depending how it was made.

I always say this as a huge advocate of wild fermentation; proper wild fermentation is done completely anaerobically, no oxygen requiring bacteria or fungi is allowed access. Just make a starter in a completely air-absent container and you will allow preferable yeast to dominate. There are a few spirits that benefit from surface yeasts and various microflora (Think Mezcal) but they are a minority. A fermented coconut sugar wash with wild yeast would likely taste good. Just like dried vs. fresh fruits though, the natural compounds evaporate and so with coconut sugar it really isn't the same. You will have to find palm flower syrup somewhere to make a real Arrack/Coconut Feni/etc.

S-Cackalacky wrote:

bourbonbob1 wrote:Maybe if you went to a small Latino or Caribbean store they may sell the real stuff there. We go to Belize every summer and bring back two or three quarts!

I have to add though, that the finished product doesn't have a strong coconut flavor like coconut rum. It's very subtle, but good nonetheless! I was thinking about adding some natural coconut essence like the one they use for baking, but the good stuff, not the artificial stuff.

OK, found several different sources for it online - even Amazon has it. Kind of expensive - 8 to 9 dollars for a 16oz jar.

Thanks for posting the recipe,
S-C

I make my own soap, and coconut oil is one of my staples. It is quite expensive if ya go looking online for it, but you can usually find it at Wal Mart in a white tub for about $7 a tub (about 2#). It has the consistency of lard and has to be melted down for most applications, but man does it make a great body wash!