One of the best things about learning how to make moonshine is adding flavors that are going to really elevate the taste of the moonshine. The best part is that when moonshine is flavored, it resembles commercial spirits on a much closer level. You can produce moonshine with different products like bourbon, whiskey, vodka, and many more. All these have undergone some kind of flavoring and a lot of aging to achieve the final product.
The ingredients that you use and the brewing methods can impact the taste of the moonshine. The taste and smell of the finished product also depend on the raw materials that have been used in the process. One of the most important parts of making a flavor-rich moonshine is the production method that you have used in the process. The character of your final product will rely on how you have taken control of the distillation, like making cuts out of your fermented wash.
Use a Quality Moonshine Still Kit to Make the Perfect Spirits Every Time
If you’re using homemade or cheap still, your results are going to vary by a lot as these DIY kits are never going to give you much control over the production methods, and your results are going to be different every time, which will make it harder to create spirits with a distinctive taste. With a quality still, you are going to have more control over everything from the temperature to the barrel pressure. You can apply precise ingredients and methods to produce spirits with the perfect alcohol level every time.
Aging Moonshine Can Enhance Its Taste
Aging your spirits will make a massive difference in the taste of your spirits. That’s exactly why so many brewers tend to store their products in barrels for several years before they tend to sell it on the market. Even though it is a fact that flavored spirit can be consumed right on the same day that it is distilled, a lot of distillers will suggest that you have a distinct advantage if you are going to let the spirits sit in the bottle for a month or store it in a dark place, which is going to enhance its taste. By following this simple technique, your wines and bourbons are going to be more refined and sweeter in taste.
Aging Moonshine with Wood Chips
If you’ve created a scotch whiskey, you should let it age to make your product more scotch like. If you want to create excellent bourbon, you can allow your neutral spirit age in oak chips for around 15 days, and use 15 grams of oak chips in one liter of spirit. If you’re worried about acquiring the taste of the wood in your finished product, you can taste a sample of the spirit you have aged at 10 days and then see how it tastes, and then you can do the same thing after an interval of 1 or 2 days. With this method, you will find that the taste of your bourbon is going to be perfect by the 15th or the 16th day.
In case you want to make dark rum, then you can change the technique that we have mentioned above, by soaking the spirit in oak chips at 10 grams per liter of spirit for a period of 15 to 20 days. You must then wait for around 10 days before you can take out a sample using a shot glass so that you avoid consuming all of it. That is going to help you gauge the flavor ahead of time.
You should know that leaving it for a long time can cause a woody flavor, and that’s why you must make a wise judgment here. After you have been satisfied with the flavors that the oak chips are giving to your drink, you can then start to remove the wood chips and start filtering the spirit to get rid of splinters.
How Commercial Brewers Flavor Spirits
Spirits that are produced commercially are stored in wooden casks so that the taste of the spirits is enhanced. Most commercial brewers tend to allow their products to sit for a minimum of 1 year, while others may choose to age their products for several years to increase both the taste and the price of the product. The type of wood that you’ve chosen for aging the spirits can also affect its taste.
For example, scotch whiskey is generally kept in sherry cask to combine the different flavors of sherry, sugars present in the wood, along with the distinct flavor of the whiskey. As a result, the product comes out more unique and flavorful than before. If you look at commercial whiskey products, you’ll know that their age is about 3 to 8 years, and some even go to 12 years. You may also start to wonder why your spirit soaked with oak chips to get that aging only takes a few days instead of a few years.
The answer to that question depends on the surface area of the oak wood chips that have come into contact with the spirit. In essence, the surface area of the oak chips is far greater than that of the barrel, which is why the exchange of flavor is more rapid.
Using Fresh Wood Chips is Best for Enhancing Taste
You should know that newer wood can age the spirit more than older wood does. Therefore, it is recommended that you should use fresh wood chips instead of the old ones because that will allow your spirit to have a woody taste if the chips are old, and that can negatively affect the flavor of the finished product.
Sweet Bourbon Essence Can Also Enhance the Flavor
If you want to intensify the taste even further, you should filter it in a muslin cloth and then include the sweet bourbon essence into it. Once you’ve done that, you can proceed with the bottling of the product into 700gram bottles, which can then be stored in a cool and dark place for a month or even more. Once you’ve done that, you can achieve the bourbon that is smoother and mellow to drink.
Avoid Using a Carbon Filter
You shouldn’t filter it by using a carbon filter for removing the chips as that will only remove most of the flavor, and you’re going to lose all your efforts. It is highly recommended to use a tea towel or muslin cloth in this case so that you can retain all the flavors that you would like to keep. You can also try a coffee filter, but that is going to be a slower process compared to the muslin, but it is more effective as well.
Adding Sugar Can Adjust the Taste of your Moonshine
To add the final touches to your moonshine, you should add 5 teaspoons of caramelized raw or white sugar per liter of your spirit. You can then add additional sugar if you want to make it sweeter because the final product is going to greatly depend on your taste buds.
