Brandy from Sugar Distillate at Home.

Brandy from Sugar Distillate at Home.

Let's consider how to refine the distillate to a state where it can be comparable to brandy. Of course, the resulting beverage will not be brandy in the full sense of the word. Frankly speaking, even what is sold in stores under the name "brandy" is not truly brandy in the full sense of the word.

Brandy is a strong alcoholic beverage produced by distilling wine material from the Trebbiano grape, aged in oak barrels for at least two years, and exclusively produced in the French provinces of Charente and Charente-Maritime.

Everything produced using the same technology but not in this region, for the most part, does not have the right to be called brandy. For such aged grape spirits, there is a common name - "Brandy." But for the sake of convenience, we will use the term "brandy."

In theory, to make brandy from distillate, we need to make grape mash, distill it, and let it age in barrels or on oak chips. In practice, a beverage similar in taste and quality to mid-priced brandies can be obtained from sugar distillate.

How to Make Brandy from Moonshine The first and main step is to purify the distillate base. To get a good product, it is necessary to pay close attention to the quality of the raw material. Precipitate the mash before distillation. The less yeast we use, the better the taste of the moonshine. The presence of a refractive lens, which allows filtering out impurities, is highly welcomed. Double distillation with intermediate and final purification is mandatory! Purify the obtained product with charcoal. When using our refractive lens, there is no need for re-distillation.

Dilute the distillate to 44-45%.

So, a well-purified product is ready. The brandy color and aroma will be obtained through infusion.

Classic Brandy Recipe from Sugar Distillate.

We will need the following ingredients for a 3-liter batch:

• A cup of crushed walnuts. Honestly, I didn't weigh it, but a cup is a cup.

• A heaping teaspoon of good loose tea (not tea bags).

• A teaspoon of caraway seeds without a heap.

• A tablespoon of vanilla sugar for baking.

• 5-6 dried cloves with stems (spice - not to be confused with flowers).

• Several crystals of citric acid.

About a few crystals of citric acid. As an option, wash your hands. Shake off the water, but do not wipe. Dip the fingertip into citric acid. The crystals that stick to the finger dissolve in three liters - that's enough.

Essentially, tea here is solely for giving the brandy its color. However, you can experiment with tea as well. A very interesting taste result was achieved when I added Earl Grey tea with bergamot.

So, put all the above ingredients into a jar with three liters of distillate, close tightly, and infuse for a week to a month in a dark place. After that, strain through several layers of cheesecloth or cotton fabric, pour into bottles, and that's it – brandy is ready from moonshine! It turns out a drink that not every taster can distinguish from a good, branded original!