First flavoring

The first time you trying distilling something, it is quite likely that your spirit will taste downright bad. You may describe the taste as "wet cardboard" or a wide variety of other things. In any case, flavoring and aging will help.

One of the first things to try in order to improve a spirit is letting the spirit air out a bit. This is as simple as replacing the cork in the bottle with a piece of cheesecloth. You will lose some alcohol to evaporation, but the spirit will most likely taste a lot better.

Next, in order to further take the edge off of foul tasting alcohol, try adding a bit of sherry to it. This will act as a smoothing agent.

Try making a cordial by adding sugar and other flavorings.

Finally if all else fails, try redistilling the spirit if you can't improve the taste.

Go back to the introduction

Go back to making your first distillation