Cognac is a noble drink that is quite difficult to make at home. Homemade cognac recipes based on the use of ordinary ethyl alcohol as a raw material make it possible to obtain only a crude fake. Only by making a real cognac distillate, you can enjoy a fragrant bouquet without fear for the quality of the alcoholic drink consumed.
What is cognac distillate?
Cognac distillate is made from dry white grape wines of certain varieties with the obligatory observance of all the rules of distillation and aging. Only with strict observance of all production conditions, cognac will acquire its characteristic coloring, bouquet and taste.
Consider the stages of the distillate manufacturing process:
- The preparation of wine materials, including the cultivation and collection of grape varieties with a minimum sugar content.
- Getting grape juice and making wort from it.
- Fermentation of grape must.
- Primary and secondary distillation of the resulting wine with the separation of the middle fraction.
The efforts spent on production will pay off, because the cost of 1 liter of cognac distillate, made independently, is significantly lower than the price of cognac in the store. The result of the correct passage of all stages will be home-made cognac, which is pleasant to drink on your own or treat friends.
Cognac distillate or cognac alcohol - which is better?
Nothing is better; these are different names for the same product. According to the latest national standard (GOST), cognac distillate is introduced instead of cognac alcohol existing in the legislation until 2012.
It should be noted that the description of the production technology of cognac alcohol is identical to the standard for the production of cognac distillate.
Failure to comply with production technology requirements increases the amount of harmful substances, including fusel oil, which is part of cognac distillate, the hazard class of which is defined as the third.
Grape varieties for the production of cognac distillate
Cognac distillate can be obtained only from certain varieties of sour grapes. Their distinguishing feature is their low sugar content. In France, for these purposes, varieties Folle Blanche, Colombard and Uni Blanc are used, which stand out for their particularly intense and persistent aromas.
So which grape variety to choose for the preparation of your cognac? It should be the fruits of white, less often pink varieties with transparent juice without a nutmeg aftertaste. Isabella, grown everywhere in the south of Russia, is not suitable as wine material for cognac production because of the low yield of the product.
The Institute of Wine and Viticulture recognized the most suitable varieties:
- Grushevsky white;
- Kunlean;
- Bianca
- Swim;
- Aligote;
- Scarlet Tersky.
These grape varieties at the stage of technical maturity possess the desired sugar content and acidity, as well as are characterized by thermal stability and increased juice content necessary for the production of wort by the method of runoff.
Preparation of wine materials for cognac distillate
Sort the harvested grapes by removing spoiled fruits. Grapes cannot be washed because of the yeast cultures on the skin that are necessary for fermentation. For juice, crush the grapes with the seeds.
Pour the resulting juice with the pulp into an enamel vat and pour a small amount of sugar if the berries are not ripened slightly. Within two weeks, natural yeast forms on the surface and the fermentation process starts. If fermentation is not too active, add wine yeast. Close the container tightly and place in a warm place. Remember to mix once a day.
After 1-2 weeks, measure the strength of the young wine with an alcohol meter. If it shows 11-12%, drain it by filtering the pulp through cheesecloth. Long exposure of wine is not recommended because of the possibility of the appearance of a Madeira flavor.
Primary distillation
Cognac distillate is produced from young white wine by double distillation. Pass the wine material resulting from the fermentation through a distiller to produce raw alcohol. At the stage of the first distillation, it is very important to be able to competently separate the middle fraction from the head and tail.
The primary distillation will be a crude distillate with a strength of 25-30% and bard.
It is permissible to leave the middle fraction together with the tail for re-distillation. In this case, it is necessary before the process of re-distillation to lower the strength of the crude alcohol, diluting it with clean water.
Secondary distillation
Improving the quality of the product is achieved by re-distillation, during which it is also necessary to separate the fractions and cut off the central ones.
The head fraction has a sharp unpleasant odor and has a strength of about 80-85%. About 3% of crude alcohol is spent on its production up to half an hour of working time.
The central fraction, which is the sought-after cognac alcohol, is cut off as the pungent odor weakens. The cut-off is also based on the strength of the product: the start of selection is 78%, the end is 58%, in order to avoid distillate tail tones.
As the strength of the produced product decreases from 50% or less, the tail fraction cutoff stage is suitable. The third fraction has a significant volume and often takes from 40 to 50 percent of the total amount of crude alcohol. The tail can be left for further distillation.
Secondary distillation and isolation of the middle fraction will result in a high-quality cognac distillate - a colorless transparent liquid with a touch of ethyl alcohol and a pronounced wine aroma, suitable for further aging.