How to make cognac from moonshine at home

Good cognac has an exquisite aroma, tart aftertaste and of course, high pricing. People buy an amber-colored drink at exorbitant prices, unaware that cognac can be made from moonshine at home. With thorough processing of raw materials, the final product will come out no worse than the storefront, while you will get a lot of pleasure from the manufacturing process itself. Connoisseurs have developed several basic recipes that do not require much time and money. Consider the most popular of them.

Walnut Cognac

• moonshine - 2.8-3 liters.
• potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) - 1 pinch
• black long tea - 25 gr.
• walnuts - 10 pcs.
• vanillin - 1 pinch
• dried cloves - 3 gr. (approximately 8 buds)
• citric acid - 1 pinch
• caraway seeds - 1 pinch

1. Pour the moonshine into a transparent glass container, add potassium permanganate. Carefully monitor the amount, scoop a little sodium permanganate on the tip of the knife and pour into the drink.
2. At this stage, you need to prepare the nuts, because you only need internal partitions. Crack the shell, pull out the kernels. Get the partitions, their total number should be about 1.5-2 tablespoons.
3. Add to the moonshine and potassium permanganate long tea, buds of cloves and those same partitions of walnuts. Mix well with a wooden spatula.
4. Add cumin, vanilla sugar and citric acid, mix again. Close the container with a lid, wrap it with cling film so that the composition is well infused.
5. Place the vessel in the pantry or dark cabinet away from radiators, gas / electric stove. Make sure that there are no sudden changes in temperature at the place of insistence, the optimal mode ranges from 23-25 ​​degrees. Wait at least 10 days, the infusion should acquire a characteristic amber hue.
6. At the end of the term, prepare dry bottles (preferably glass), insert a watering can in the neck. Fold the gauze or bandage in 6-8 layers, put cotton wool between them to get a full filter. Put it on a watering can, fix on the edges and strain the infusion into the bottle.
7. Put in a dark place for another two weeks to get a full drink with a pleasant aroma and exquisite taste.

Oak Bark Cognac

The classic recipe for brandy involves the use of oak chips. There are 2 main technologies that require careful preparation of raw materials before using them. To do everything right, consider an action algorithm.

1. Take a dry log or oak chock. It is preferable to choose a component from a thick branch or trunk.
2. Chop the wood along the fibers so that the alcohol penetrates the bark by about 2 mm. The optimal size of chips is considered to be the proportion of 4 * 5 mm. 9-10 cm wide.
3. After preparing the raw materials, place the chips in cold filtered water, wait at least 12-14 hours.
4. At the end of the period, drain the settled water, then prepare a new solution for soaking. Pour 4.5 liters of clean cold water into a container, pour 20 g. baking soda, mix until the granules dissolve.
5. Place chips in the solution, leave for 14 hours, strain the raw materials. Prepare a pot that can hold a colander in size. Pour 4 liters of water into a container, bring to a boil, place a colander with chips and steam them. Keep water out of the feed.
6. Stew oak bark over low heat for about 11-13 hours, periodically adding water.After a certain period of time, the liquid will be painted in a brown shade, so the water must be poured and replaced with a new one.
7. After steaming, remove the chips from the colander, place on a cotton cloth folded in several layers. Send to dry in fresh air, the time of complete drying ranges from 10-12 hours.
8. Preheat the oven to 145 degrees, put oak chips on the grill (wire rack), warm the raw materials for 3.5 hours. After the time has passed, turn off the oven, take a break of 12 hours and repeat the procedure. At the second stage, a characteristic caramel and vanilla aroma will appear, after which again place the chips in the oven for 3.5-4 hours, and then wait 12 hours.
9. After several days of preparation, the final stage begins - frying. Preheat the oven to a temperature of 200-210 degrees, put the oak bark on a wire rack and fry. Remove the chips at the moment they begin to smoke.
10. The main raw material is ready, so we suggest considering 2 main recipes for making cognac based on oak chips.

Oak bark cognac with coriander

• chips of oak - 60 gr. (about 3 tablespoons)
• moonshine - 3 liters
• cloves - 5 buds
• ground nutmeg - 1 small pinch
• ground coriander - 0.6 g.
• granulated sugar (preferably cane) - 85 gr.

1. Pour moonshine into a wide container, it should be double distillation. Dilute it to 50 degrees.
2. At this stage, you need to prepare the most common syrup. Pour into another small container 270-300 ml. moonshine, add sugar and wait until the crystals are completely dissolved.
3. Place oak chips, cloves, 1 pinch of nutmeg and coriander on the tip of the knife in a glass jar (as an option, a 3-liter jar). Pour in the syrup, leave for half an hour. After that, add the main part of moonshine.
4. Shake the jar, cover and leave in a dark place. The exposure time varies from 14 to 30 days. At the same time, brandy should not be infused for more than a month, otherwise alcohol will pull out too many tannins from the chips, which will ruin the taste and aroma. You can also put the vessel on the heating devices, thereby reducing the time to 10-12 days, but this is an extremely wrong way of infusion.
5. At the end of the infusion, the composition will acquire an amber hue and a characteristic smell. After that, you need to pass it through 7 layers of gauze with cotton wool several times or use ready-made filters.
6. Then we pour cognac in bottles, cork it, put it in a dark cabinet or cellar (temperature 23-26 degrees). We insist about 5-6 months.

Oak bark cognac with wild rose

• moonshine - 3 liters
• oak chips (length 9-10 cm, width 5 * 4 mm.) - 7 pcs.
• granulated sugar (cane) - 50 gr.
• rosehip berries - 15 pcs.
• black pepper (peas) - 4 pcs.
• black long tea - 20 gr. (1 tablespoon)
• legume vanilla (length about 2.5-3 cm.) - 1 pc.

1. Drive moonshine several times and bring it to 45-50 degrees. Pour a little product into a separate vessel to make syrup: add brown sugar, wait for the granules to dissolve. The composition should be a light amber hue.
2. Put good loose tea in a 3-liter jar, do not choose cheap analogues, they can be colored. Add oak slivers, rose hip, peppercorns, vanilla pod to the leaves. Pour the mixture with syrup, wait about half an hour.
3. At the end of the time, mix the composition with the rest of the moonshine, cover, cover the jar with a dark towel. Put in a closet or pantry, insist 7 days.
4. Remove the vanilla bean from the jar, close the lid, shake and place again in a dark place for 15-30 days. When oak chips are in the container, the infusion cannot be overexposed. Shake the jar periodically for the duration of the exposure.
5. The readiness of the drink is evidenced by a dark shade and a pronounced aroma.It is at this moment that it is necessary to fold the cheesecloth into 7 layers and strain. You can put cotton between the layers so that no small particles remain.
6. Put cognac in a cool dark place for 4-6 months. During this time, the tannins will soften, the aroma will not be too sugary, and the taste components will come together. In cases where a precipitate has formed after aging, it is necessary to filter the drink again.

Coffee-based cognac

• ground coffee - 70 gr.
• brown sugar - 100 gr.
• moonshine - 3 liters
• ground cinnamon - a teaspoon without a slide
• vanillin - 1 small pinch
• cloves (stars) - 14 pcs.

1. Combine ground coffee (about 3 tbsp. Tablespoons) and brown sugar in one composition, add cinnamon, vanillin, cloves.
2. Place the prepared mixture in 300 ml. moonshine, close the lid and shake. Wait for the sugar crystals to dissolve, the mixture should be homogeneous.
3. Pour the rest of the moonshine, mix again and cover. Put in a pantry or dark closet for 2-4 weeks (no longer). At the end of the time, prepare the filter: fold the cheesecloth and place cotton wool between its layers.
4. Strain the infusion, transfer it to the bottles or leave it in the jar for another 2 weeks. At the end of the term, cognac must be filtered again if sediment appears at the bottom.

Important!
If desired, 4 pcs. Can be added to the drink. bay leaf. In this case, you will get a mild exquisite taste and light aroma. The recommendation is extremely relevant for ladies who are not averse to drinking a glass of cognac on holidays.

Connoisseurs of amber drink unanimously claim that the technology with the use of oak bark is considered to be the main and fundamental recipe for cognac at home. However, after many years the technique has improved, so you can safely give preference to cognac based on walnuts or coffee. The main thing is not to break the exposure time to bring the drink to the desired state.

Video: how to make homemade cognac