How to make cognac from moonshine at home

Good cognac has an exquisite aroma, tart finish and of course, high pricing. People buy an amber-colored drink at an exorbitant price, unaware that brandy can be made from moonshine at home. With a thorough processing of raw materials, the final product will be released no worse than the store, 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 ones.

Walnut Cognac

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

1. Pour the moonshine into a glass transparent container, add potassium permanganate. Watch carefully for the amount, scoop up some sodium permanganate on the tip of the knife and pour it into the drink.
2. At this stage, you need to prepare the nuts, since you only need internal partitions. Split the shell, pull out the kernels. Get partitions, their total number should be about 1.5-2 tablespoons.
3. Add to moonshine and potassium permanganate long leaf tea, carnation buds and the same partitions of walnuts. Mix well with a wooden spatula.
4. Pour 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 in the place of insistence there were no sudden changes in temperature, the optimal mode varies from 23 to 25 degrees. Wait at least 10 days, the infusion should acquire a characteristic amber shade.
6. At the end of the period, prepare dry bottles (preferably glass), insert a watering can into the neck.Fold gauze fabric or bandage in 6-8 layers, put cotton wool between them to get a full-fledged filter. Put it on the watering can, fix it 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 brandy

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

1. Take a dry log or oak chock. It is preferable to choose a component from a thick branch or stem.
2. Split the wood along the fibers so that the alcohol penetrates into the bark by about 2 mm. The optimal size of the chips is considered to be proportions of 4 * 5 mm. width, 9-10 cm. length.
3. After preparing the raw material, place the chips in cold filtered water, wait at least 12-14 hours.
4. At the end of the period, drain the separated water, then prepare a new solution for soaking. Pour into a container of 4.5 liters of clean cold water, add 20 grams.baking soda, mix to dissolve the granules.
5. Put the chips in the solution, leave for 14 hours, strain the raw materials. Prepare a pan that can fit a colander in size. Pour 4 liters of water into a container, bring it to a boil, place a colander with chips and steam it. Make sure that the water does not fall on raw materials.
6. Tomite oak bark on a slow fire for about 11-13 hours, periodically pouring water. After a certain period of time, the liquid will be painted in a brown tint, so water must be poured out 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. Warm up the oven to 145 degrees, put oak chips on the grill (grill), warm the raw material for 3.5 hours. After the expiration date, turn off the oven, take a break at 12 o'clock and repeat the procedure. At the second stage, a characteristic caramel and vanilla aroma will appear, then 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 - roasting. Heat the oven to a temperature of 200-210 degrees, put the oak bark on the grill and fry.Take out the chips at the moment when they start to smoke.
10. The main raw material is ready, so we suggest to consider 2 main recipes for the preparation of cognac based on oak chips.

Oak cognac with coriander

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

1. Pour into the wide capacity of the brew, it should be double distilled. Dilute it to 50 degrees.
2. At this stage it is necessary to prepare the most common syrup. Transfer to another small capacity of 270-300 ml. moonshine, add sugar and wait until the crystals completely dissolve.
3. Place oak chips, cloves, 1 pinch of nutmeg and coriander on a knife tip in a glass jar (as an option, 3-liter jar) of oak chips. Pour in syrup, leave for half an hour. After that, add the main part of the moonshine.
4. Shake the jar, cover and leave in a dark place. The exposure time varies from 14 to 30 days. It is impossible to insist brandy more than a month, otherwise the alcohol will pull out too many tannins from the chips, which will spoil 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. Upon completion of the infusion, the composition will acquire an amber shade and characteristic odor. After that, it is necessary to skip over 7 layers of gauze with cotton several times or use ready-made filters.
6. Next, we pour cognac into bottles, cork, put in a dark closet or cellar (temperature 23-26 degrees). We insist about 5-6 months.

Cognac from oak bark with wild rose

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

1. Banish moonshine several times and bring it to 45-50 degrees. Pour some product into a separate vessel to prepare the syrup: add brown sugar, wait for the granules to dissolve. The composition should get a light amber shade.
2. Put a good leaf tea in a 3-liter jar, do not choose cheap analogues, they can be colored.Add oak chips, rosehips, peppercorns, vanilla pod to the leaves. Pour the mixture with syrup, wait about half an hour.
3. After the expiration date, mix the composition with the rest of the moonshine, cover with a lid, wrap the jar with a dark towel. Put in a closet or pantry, insist 7 days.
4. Take the vanilla pod out of the jar, close the lid, shake and put it back in a dark place for 15-30 days. When oak chips are in the container, the infusion cannot be over-exposed. Throughout the duration of exposure periodically shake the jar.
5. The readiness of the drink is indicated by a dark shade and a pronounced aroma. At this very moment it is necessary to fold the gauze into 7 layers and strain. You can put the cotton between the layers so that no small particles remain.
6. Put brandy in a cool dark place for 4-6 months. During this time, tannins will soften, the aroma will not be too cloying, and the flavor components will come together. In cases where a precipitate has formed after aging, it is necessary to filter the drink again.

Cognac based on coffee

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

1. Combine ground coffee (about 3 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 in the rest of the moonshine, mix again and cover. Put in the pantry or dark closet for 2-4 weeks (not longer). After the expiration date, prepare the filter: fold the gauze and place the cotton between its layers.
4. Strain the infusion, pour into bottles or leave in the bank for another 2 weeks. At the end of the term brandy must be re-filtered, if a precipitate appeared at the bottom.

Important!
Upon request, 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 women who are not averse to drink a glass of brandy on holidays.

Connoisseurs of amber drink in one voice say that the main and fundamental recipe for cognac at home is considered to be technology using oak bark.However, after many years, the technique is improved, so you can safely give preference to brandy based on walnut or coffee. The main thing is not to disturb the exposure time, to bring the drink to the desired state.

Video: how to make homemade brandy