Rhubarb Brandy

[Plaincrazy]

Ran a Rhubarb Brandy, to see what would happen

I used a simple Rhubarb wine I found on the internet, simple instructions reduced to the following...
5 gal water
enough sugar to macerate the 20 cups of chopped rhubarb
1118 yeast
added more sugar to bring up to 1.080 SG
As this was more of an experiment than anything else, it sat in the corner mostly ignored. (did not check PH)
6 weeks later, bubbling stopped, wash cleared ready to run. (SG was 1.020, stalled?)

Ran it twice through my keg boiler with pot still head and liebig.

Pulled off about 4 liters of product in 500ml jars (half full)
First few jars and I thought I will probable run it through the new Boka
Hearts seem nice but nothing special.
Well into the tails and no wet cardboard detectable, but huge rhubarb pie smell, this I like
Cuts were easy to make, very distinct. Ran deeper into the tails than I ever do (10%) and still smelled acceptable. Expected oils and cloudy by morning but none to be found.
Finished product is good but nothing to brag about. I plan on putting it away for many months to see what it's like then.

Now I understand why there was not much information available about Rhubarb Brandy, nothing special, not for me anyways.

I will probably try both but what does everyone think? clear or oaked

[still_stirrin]

I wonder if you'd get more flavor of the fruit if you macerated the rhubarb in the distilled spirit or brandy. And then distilled it in a potstill, much like making a gin.

Using the sugar to reduce the fruit to syrup would pull some of the flavor out, certainly it would be much sweeter than the rhubarb itself. But much of the flavor (and aroma) is reduced in the fermentation process.

I'm not at all experienced with this type of brandy production, so my thoughts are (like yours) experimental at best.

One question for you, is the finished brandy tart like the rhubarb originally? Or does the sweetness of your sugarhead offset the rhubarb "crisp" flavor?
ss

p.s. - oaked, or not? No, I'd aim for the natural flavor of the fruit itself. I don't think I'd change that flavor with the woods.

[Plaincrazy]

One question for you, is the finished brandy tart like the rhubarb originally? Or does the sweetness of your sugarhead offset the rhubarb "crisp" flavor?
ss

No, not tart at all, very mild flavor actually.
Best analogy I can give is that rum tastes like rum not molasses, rhubarb brandy tastes like rhubarb brandy not like rhubarb, if that makes any sense

I'm starting to lean towards your thoughts as well, what if I aged it on a rhubarb stick instead of an oak stick? or infusing it with some macerated rhubarb syrup? The original syrup had a great flavor and neat pink colour.
Will need to think some more on those ideas

Making Gin is down the pipe for me so I'm not sure how that would turn out, no experience in that dept... yet

[Odin]

You could try a Rhbarb-cello. Macerate Rhbarb in 90% neutral for two weeks. Then add water/sugar syrup to get it back to 30 to 35%. Let it rest for a few weeks in the fridge. Strain. Good drink!

Odin.

[Danespirit]

That's roughly how i do to Odin, except is just use 50% Vodka from my potstill.
It gives a very nice flavour if you add a stick of vanilla to it...yumm...

[still_stirrin]

....Making Gin is down the pipe for me so I'm not sure how that would turn out, no experience in that dept...

Three words.....Odin's Easy Gin. Slam dunk. The recipe is a T&T for a reason. And it's 100% cookbook too. Look for it.

And you'll notice that Odin weighed in on this thread too...with the rhubarb-cello. And this was also given the by Danespirit here too.

And that is exactly what I was thinking as well...to retain the uniqueness of the rhubarb fruit flavor. Not too sweet, yet with that crispness you get from the rhubarb.

Often, rhubarb is combined with strawberries (in a sugar syrup) to balance the tartness with sweet. The flavors mix very well. I would suspect that in a liquor the same would be true as well. sure, it's a divergence from the hackneyed "apple pie" moonshine...but keep in mind the elegance of Chambord. Call it, "rhubarb pie" if you will. It sounds inviting.
ss

[Plaincrazy]

I was looking at making a Gin Basket for my recent build but when I came across Odin's Gin I decided to try that first, I like the simplicity of it.
Making a chicken scratch wash as we speak, faints from that whiskey run will be my vodka with the new Boka and then gin with the new pot still head

I'm not really looking for an overly sweet drink, I will try a few of your suggestions and age one on a rhubarb stick, see what I like after a month or two.

Thanks for the food for thought

[MDH]

Yes it has been done, and of course Distillerie Métte has been the one to do it (I don't doubt Christoph Keller has done it too).

https://www.masterofmalt.com/eaux-de-vi ... ux-de-vie/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

My thinking is that Rhubarb has almost no sugar, so it is probably combined with a fairly neutral grape (himrod, columbard, or any of the white table grapes) and fermented. The redistillation method also would work.

If I were you I would add a small amount (a single drop) of almond oil to enhance the rhubarb flavor. This works with most stonefruits and berries when it comes to liqueur making.

[Plaincrazy]

Update after three months of aging.

Jar infused with rhubarb syrup tastes sugary, not much colour or flavour, has a sediment as well.
Jar aging with rhubarb stick is quite nice actually, very smooth, nice pink colour and delicate rhubarb flavour.

I would say that this was a successful experiment, but to be honest, its not something I see myself drinking.

[still_stirrin]

Update after three months of aging.

Jar infused with rhubarb syrup tastes sugary, not much colour or flavour, has a sediment as well.
Jar aging with rhubarb stick is quite nice actually, very smooth, nice pink colour and delicate rhubarb flavour.

I would say that this was a successful experiment, but to be honest, its not something I see myself drinking.

Thanks for the update.

It is interesting that the syrup didn't have much of the fruit flavor. But not surprising that it is sweet. But the macerated jar which produced color and the soft flavor without the candy sweetness is very encouraging.

As to personal preferences with fruit macerations, I have yet to favor any, the exception being gin. That's a staple.
ss

[MDH]

The sugar will inhibit the absorption of the rhubarb flavors.

You could try taking a neutral, crushing it into a puree with the neutral, then redistilling in pot mode and sweetening the spirit.

[Plaincrazy]

As to personal preferences with fruit macerations, I have yet to favor any, the exception being gin. That's a staple.
ss

Raspberry infused chicken scratch whiskey is my favorite, mixed with ginger ale makes a fine summertime drink, ah damn it, now I'm thinking about summer

[JustinNZ]

G’day. I’ve been trying to make a drinkable rhubarb Pálinka for a while and the most recent is the best. I upped the proportion of rhubarb to wash volume to 10kg in 16L. I also only put in a kilo of sugar. But… I threw in about 5 litres of expired tinned fruit (pears, apricots and peaches) instead of water. I cooked about a quarter of the rhubarb in a little water and the rest was finely chopped and frozen to extract the juice. Fermented this with a general wine yeast till dry and distilled in a 1.5 spirit run with 4 L of rhubarb low wines.

Anyway, the aroma is strong and beautiful and the flavour is not as bitter as previously. But, having drunk a fair bit of commercial and village Pálinka lately, I reckon the aroma is really important and the flavour didn’t need to be big and obvious (or sweet). It’s a dry spirit, loosely speaking. So I’ve changed my expectation and I’m happy with it. I think it’s potential is in a mixed Pálinka, just like you get in Hungary. The rhubarb will dominate but having pears and apples in the wash could provide the balance.

So rhubarb fans shouldn’t give up. Just put shitloads of fruit in there, dial the sugar right back, and avoid the tails.

[JustinNZ]

Funny how you can disagree with yourself! I made another batch and I think I’ve made a breakthrough. This ferment was 2:1 rhubarb to sugar.

The differences were 1, I stripped it deeper, 2, in the spirit run I did properly proofed and tasted cuts which led to keeping early tails jars that had lots (relatively speaking) of cooked rhubarb flavour and 3, I bottled it at blended proof (around 57% abv). After two months white it’s got a richer mouth feel than all my previous Barbies and tastes fruitier with much less bitter after taste. Funny thing is there’s less aroma. But to be honest I don’t give a shit - I finally have one that I’m not disappointed in. I’ll keep trying. I just want to impress a Hungarian one day.

[Bradster68]

Funny how you can disagree with yourself! I made another batch and I think I’ve made a breakthrough. This ferment was 2:1 rhubarb to sugar.

The differences were 1, I stripped it deeper, 2, in the spirit run I did properly proofed and tasted cuts which led to keeping early tails jars that had lots (relatively speaking) of cooked rhubarb flavour and 3, I bottled it at blended proof (around 57% abv). After two months white it’s got a richer mouth feel than all my previous Barbies and tastes fruitier with much less bitter after taste. Funny thing is there’s less aroma. But to be honest I don’t give a shit - I finally have one that I’m not disappointed in. I’ll keep trying. I just want to impress a Hungarian one day.

This is great news. And thanks for the info.
My rhubarb patch is getting huge and I was actually just wondering what I could make(alcoholic beverages of course) besides the rhubarb margarita.
Thanks JNZ

[JustinNZ]

Good to hear you’re gonna have a go. Awesome. It’s a dangerous game taking on the Barb - but it’s such a cool plant. I’m a bit hardcore and want to drink just distillate - otherwise I’d do the infusing thing. I’ve tried aging it on white oak and found the combo was unnatural, so I blended it with some bourbon - which also turned out to be a moderately poor idea.

I used a mangrove jacks wine yeast to ferment it dry. Maybe CY 17 (16 to 24deg C). I always macerate a combo of finely chopped frozen and fresh barb under the sugar for a day then hit with pectinase for a day then top up and ferment. I had a fair amount of feints and less-loved rhubarb brandy to chuck in the pot for the double run.

But I think it came down to more rhubarb, less sugar and thoughtful cuts in the end.

It helps if you like interesting rocket fuel like I do. Having a Hungarian wife can do that to you.

[NZChris]

There is so little sugar in it, that I don't bother fermenting it, just roughly chop, steep in neutral overnight and run slowly.

To get color, I steep peel from the reddest stems in some neutral/matching heart cut for a couple of hours. The colored spirit gets added after the run.

Using this method there is not much skill needed for the cuts, as most of the nasties that you don't like in your finished products were removed when you made the neutral.

[Bradster68]

Good to hear you’re gonna have a go. Awesome. It’s a dangerous game taking on the Barb - but it’s such a cool plant. I’m a bit hardcore and want to drink just distillate - otherwise I’d do the infusing thing. I’ve tried aging it on white oak and found the combo was unnatural, so I blended it with some bourbon - which also turned out to be a moderately poor idea.

I used a mangrove jacks wine yeast to ferment it dry. Maybe CY 17 (16 to 24deg C). I always macerate a combo of finely chopped frozen and fresh barb under the sugar for a day then hit with pectinase for a day then top up and ferment. I had a fair amount of feints and less-loved rhubarb brandy to chuck in the pot for the double run.

But I think it came down to more rhubarb, less sugar and thoughtful cuts in the end.

It helps if you like interesting rocket fuel like I do. Having a Hungarian wife can do that to you.

Mmmmmm rocket fuel.

[Bradster68]

There is so little sugar in it, that I don't bother fermenting it, just roughly chop, steep in neutral overnight and run slowly.

To get color, I steep peel from the reddest stems in some neutral/matching heart cut for a couple of hours. The colored spirit gets added after the run.

Using this method there is not much skill needed for the cuts, as most of the nasties that you don't like in your finished products were removed when you made the neutral.

Well thats good to know. Wife loves rhubarb so gotta keep her happy.

[still_stirrin]

There is so little sugar in it, that I don't bother fermenting it, just roughly chop, steep in neutral overnight and run slowly.

To get color, I steep peel from the reddest stems in some neutral/matching heart cut for a couple of hours. The colored spirit gets added after the run.

Interesting.

This process is parallel to the process used for absinthe: maceration and distill + maceration for color.

Certainly makes sense.
ss

[JustinNZ]

There is so little sugar in it, that I don't bother fermenting it, just roughly chop, steep in neutral overnight and run slowly.

To get color, I steep peel from the reddest stems in some neutral/matching heart cut for a couple of hours. The colored spirit gets added after the run.

Using this method there is not much skill needed for the cuts, as most of the nasties that you don't like in your finished products were removed when you made the neutral.

I’m gonna give that a go. Have a bit of neutral lying around looking desperate for a glass. Cheers.

[NZChris]

I’m gonna give that a go. Have a bit of neutral lying around looking desperate for a glass. Cheers.

Try the color trick for more than rhubarb.

Raspberries and rhubarb have great color for making pink gin. Distil the gin with at least two times the botanical bill, then add the colored steep before diluting with more neutral to minimize the louche.

[JustinNZ]

Right, back into the Rhubarb. I ended up using that ‘neutral’ (actually corn vodka, truth be told) to make some Odin’s gin, but…

Since that last post I have frozen 15kg of rhubarb and now dropped it into 10L of commercial apple juice (no additives) along with a mere 1.5kg of sugar. It will hopefully be fizzing by the morning. That’s the most intense rhubarb to sugar/liquid ratio I’ve tried so far in my never-ending quest for rhubarb brandy perfection. I’ll let you know how it goes in about a week or so. That gin showed me I can distil small amounts in my old 25L still without problems, so this could be the breakthrough… My optimism is ridiculous, but good things will happen - one day.

[quadra]

We grow a heap of rhubarb and have a fantastic recipe for rhubarb lemonade, it makes a concentrated syrup that is stellar for cocktails with gin or vodka. There are couple good commercial examples as well Edinburgh Gin does a rhubarb ginger gin that is worth looking for, and Shearingham does a liqueur at 25% that is like sipping on a spiced rhubarb compote.. surprisingly good for a low ABV nip!

https://www.sheringhamdistillery.com/rh ... n-liqueur/

https://bishopscellar.com/product/edinb ... inger-gin/

[Bradster68]

We grow a heap of rhubarb and have a fantastic recipe for rhubarb lemonade, it makes a concentrated syrup that is stellar for cocktails with gin or vodka. There are couple good commercial examples as well Edinburgh Gin does a rhubarb ginger gin that is worth looking for, and Shearingham does a liqueur at 25% that is like sipping on a spiced rhubarb compote.. surprisingly good for a low ABV nip!

https://www.sheringhamdistillery.com/rh ... n-liqueur/

https://bishopscellar.com/product/edinb ... inger-gin/

Appreciate those links Quadra .
Iv got a monster patch of barb and have loved it since a kid.ill be giving these a go for sure.

[Bushman]

Quadra, I have been to Edinburgh would like to return the gin sounds delicious. Living just south of the border I bought up to Vancouver Islalnd frequently and will buy a bottle to give it a try. My son also has rhubarb plants so might give this a go this summer.

[NormandieStill]

I made a nice rhubarb and rosemary liquor a few years ago but I can't find my notes or the recipe I worked from. I think various people have recipes for rhubarb and rosemary cordial which should provide the proportions. Then it just needs balancing out with sugar. Another few months before the rhubarb gets going here and I can have another go.

[quadra]

Rhubarb and rosemary sound like fun, I have made a few gins with rosemary as a dominant note and they are great with soda and citrus.
Bushman have a look for Shearinghams Beacon gin, it is the renamed version of their Kazuki gin which won gold at the world gin awards a few years back. It is a juniper and citrus forward gin that gets lots of love at our house. If you are in Victoria they have moved the distillery from Sooke to Langford and it is worth the trip for a tasting flight. Their seaside gin uses kelp and the flavour really works for me.