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There’s no doubt that moonshine, also known as unaged whiskey, packs in a strong punch. Nevertheless, you’ll be able to subdue its potent taste by adding almost any kind of fruit flavoring to it. These include raspberry, lemon, peach, watermelon, strawberry, lemon, or apple.
Learning how to flavor moonshine is actually pretty exciting as it can greatly enhance its taste. When you add flavor to moonshine (whether it’s apple pie moonshine, honey moonshine or vanilla beans moonshine), it will have a taste much closer to commercial spirits.
You’ll be able to craft a variety of drinks, such as whiskey, vodka, bourbon, and a whole lot more.
Table of Contents
- What Is Moonshine?
- Importance Of Using The Right Ingredients And Brewing Method
- How Do I Ensure My Moonshine Is Perfect Every Time?
- How To Add Fruit Flavor To Your Moonshine
- Should I Age My Moonshine?
- Ways On How To Enhance The Taste And Flavor Of Moonshine
- Conclusion
- FAQs
What Is Moonshine?
In simplest of terms, moonshine is the process of turning sugar into alcohol. The process begins with a mixture of fruits, starches, or grains processed to get the most of their sugar content.
Yeast will then feast on these, producing ethanol. Afterwards, the liquid from the mixture will undergo multiple distillation process to the desired purity, proof, and clarity of the distiller.
Some recipes of flavored moonshine need this entire process to achieve the best possible results and subtlety on their flavor. However, you can easily create your own for your party this weekend with our guide on how to flavor moonshine and store it in mason jars.
Importance Of Using The Right Ingredients And Brewing Method
How your end product will smell and taste will depend on the raw materials you’ll use in the crafting process. Also, keep in mind that the brewing technique you choose is one of the most vital parts of producing a flavor-rich moonshine.
Moreover, the character of your moonshine will rely massively on the way you take control of the moonshine distillation process. This includes how you make cuts out of your fermented wash.
How Do I Ensure My Moonshine Is Perfect Every Time?
If you want to make perfect moonshine all the time, make sure to only use a quality moonshine still kit. If you are utilizing a homemade or cheap still kit, the result of your final product can vary a lot.
The reason behind this is because those DIY kits will never provide you with the control you need over the production process. Hence, the result of your spirits will be quite different every time.
As a result, it’ll be harder for you to make moonshine with a unique and distinct taste.
On the other hand, using a high-quality still kit will give you more control over every part of the process, from temperature to the pressure level of the barrel.
Furthermore, applying the exact methods and ingredients will enable you to produce moonshine that has the right moonshine alcohol content level. Likewise, the taste will be perfect every time.
How To Add Fruit Flavor To Your Moonshine
Step 1:
Measure the fruit of your choice. Make sure that its weight is six times more than the water you need for your flavored moonshine recipes.
You may also use juice concentrate. Simply calculate one-fifth of the water’s weight called for in the moonshine recipes by dividing the amount of water by five. Then, measure this amount of juice concentrate.
Step 2:
Use a food processor to puree your fruit and strain any leftover large pieces. For pre-made juice concentrate, make sure to strain it of any seeds, pulp, or large pieces. You want the liquid to be as smooth as possible so use a fine sieve strainer for this.
If your liquid came out thicker, that’s acceptable as well. Just make sure to remove any chunks in there.
Step 3:
Measure the amount of liquid fruit puree or remaining pre-made juice concentrate you have after straining. To know the exact amount of water you need, subtract the amount of liquid puree from the amount of water indicated in your moonshine recipe.
Step 4:
Add your liquid puree or juice concentrate to the measured water. The combination of these will equal the original amount of water required in the moonshine recipes of your spirit.
Step 5:
Follow the instructions on your moonshine recipe, including the ingredients you need to infuse it with to finish crafting your flavored moonshine.
A little tip:
If you want to add flavor to a distilled moonshine, simply add sugar to your fruit puree or juice to the level of sweetness you want. Then, pour that into the spirit. Doing this method will lessen the overall alcohol content since the flavored liquid will dilute it.
Should I Age My Moonshine?
Aging your moonshine can make a tremendous difference in the taste of your spirits. This is the reason why a lot of brewers store their products in barrels for many years before selling them on the market.
Although you can consume any flavored spirit on the very same day of its distillation, plenty of distillers recommend waiting at least a month. Also, storing it in a darker place will enhance its taste further. Following this simple method will make your moonshine more refined.
Ways On How To Enhance The Taste And Flavor Of Moonshine
Fresh wood chips
Using new wood can age moonshine more in comparison to old wood. It is advisable to apply fresh chips to old ones since your spirit will acquire a woody taste from old chips. Moreover, very old chips can affect the flavor of your finished product negatively.
Sweet bourbon essence
Sweet bourbon essence can help intensify and enhance the taste of moonshine. You can filter it in a muslin cloth and then incorporate the sweet bourbon essence into it.
Afterward, you can go ahead with bottling your spirit into 700g bottles. Make sure to store them in a cool, dark place for at a month or even more to heighten its flavor. This will enable you to achieve a bourbon taste that’s both mellow and smooth to drink.
Sugar
If you want to adjust the taste of your spirit, just add around 2 tablespoons of sugar (white or caramelized) per liter of your moonshine. You can add more sugar if you want it to be sweeter. Keep in mind that the taste of your final product will still mainly depend on the preference of your tastebuds.
Conclusion
Moonshine is by no means is the easiest alcohol to make at home. Now that you know how to flavor moonshine, you’ll surely be the center of attention in your up and coming dinner party or other events. Flavored moonshine served in mason jars is a delight to make. You can even try mixing it with exotic fruits like mango to create new refreshing flavor.
FAQs
What can I add to moonshine to flavor it?
To flavor moonshine, you will want to age it with different types of wood. Old wood chips and barrels can have a bad flavor that does not work with moonshine, so it is advisable to use new fresh wood. Moreover, you can also add slices of fruit to a finishing jar of moonshine to help improve its flavor of it.
How can I flavor moonshine at home?
Flavoring moonshine at home might sound like a difficult task as not everyone has a distillery in their basement. However, if you have a small jar of moonshine that you are looking to flavor, you can do so by adding fresh fruit slices straight to the jar and allowing them to stay in there for a while. This works brilliantly with peaches, apples, and pears.
How do you flavor distilled alcohol?
To flavor distilled alcohol, you will need to be creative. The distillation period is the best time to flavor alcohol yet as this has already been distilled, it might be harder. The best way to do this is to add fresh fruit slices to your alcohol. Pour the alcohol into a sealable mason jar and throw in some slices of fresh fruit and allow it to sit for a few days, this will slowly but surely flavor your alcohol.
How do you make smooth-tasting moonshine?
While distilling the moonshine, adding the flavors of vanilla and maple syrup seems to smoothen the flavor of moonshine quite a lot. On top of this, moonshine should be perfectly smooth naturally and not have a ‘bite’. If you are experiencing a bite, you may need to toss more initially to get rid of the heads. A second distill also is known to make the drink smoother.
