Alcoholic beverages are an integral part of human life (at least on holidays). And I would like to drink high-quality products, and not throw away considerable funds, so that later I suffer with a stomach. Therefore, lovers of spirits are increasingly thinking about how to make good cognac at home from vodka, instead of wasting money on dubious "cocktails" produced under this name.
Skeptics of such aspirations can be understood. In principle, it is wrong to call even industrial drinks cognacs : only cognac released in the French province of the same name has the right to bear the name. However, our people have already developed the tradition to call it any strong aromatic brown drink. By the way, many have already insisted on cognac at home from vodka. The feedback from the experimenters is very positive. People approve homemade drinks much more often than purchased ones.
Foundation basis
If you are planning to make cognac at home from vodka, first of all, you need to take care of the main ingredient. Ideally, experienced craftsmen recommend using medical alcohol: it is characterized by high purity. On the other hand, it must be bred according to all the rules, which can create certain difficulties. So, we will make cognac at home from vodka, which requires the observance of very simple rules.
- The drink is taken quality, from a trusted manufacturer.
- Vodka is required pure, without the addition of any eggs, birch buds and other things - such additions can unpredictably affect the taste.
When brandy is made at home from vodka, recipes often require the use of oak bark. No one forbids buying a pharmacy. But keep in mind that boxes often contain musty trash. It is better not to be too lazy and go to the nearest oak tree, from which you can borrow several branches or remove a little exfoliated bark from the trunk.
Cognac at home from vodka: recipes from traditional to exotic
Let's start with an option that can be considered classic. Three liters of quality vodka are poured into a large container. Two tablespoons of sugar are melted in a pan until caramelized and sent to the bottle. Three spoons of oak bark are poured there (large chunks must be chopped), a little vanilla (not sugar of the same name!), A half spoonful of nutmeg and three buds of cloves. The bottle is tightly corked and hidden somewhere in a relatively cool and dark place. Ideally, this brandy must be kept at home from vodka for at least a month (or better longer). And in general, the longer the aging, the more positively it affects the taste and aromatic qualities of the expected final product.
Fragrant Cognac
A bewitching smell is almost the main advantage of such drinks. We can offer the manufacture of cognac at home from vodka, which results in a very fragrant drink. True, it will take several approaches to the process.
- 15 walnuts are chopped. Partitions are removed from them.
- The resulting raw material is poured with 3 liters of vodka and aged for three days.
- The workpiece is filtered, the partitions are thrown out, and two tablespoons of oak bark, half a spoonful of lemon balm, tarragon, high-quality black tea of large leaf, three peppercorns and as many broken parsley, plus a spoonful of lemon or orange zest are poured into the vodka.
A couple of weeks of insisting, and homemade cognac is filtered and packaged in beautiful bottles.
"For the ladies"
Making cognac at home from vodka can give a drink that will appeal to the representatives of the weaker sex, despite the fact that it turns out to be strong. Lemon is scrolled with zest through a meat grinder (seeds are selected), poured with three liters of vodka and infused for three days. After straining, one-third of a spoonful of caramel (all the same molten sugar) and instant coffee are introduced. Do not forget to pour a spoonful of crushed oak bark. The term of infusion is from 10 days to two weeks.
Soft cognac
It can also be called a ladies' version, although sweet lovers will like it more, since it resembles liqueurs in this characteristic. It is still attractive that such cognac at home from vodka will be ready in three days. Three liters of vodka are poured into six prunes (for the quickest return of aromas they can be cut in half), a dozen clove buds, two tablespoons of good tea (with or without a slide - to solve the winemaker), a bag of vanillin and half a glass of sugar. The bottle is tightly corked, shaken well and placed in the dark. Shake it daily. You can start testing immediately after filtering.
Coffee cognac
The drink has a very rich taste, which is combined with a rich and delicate aroma. To make cognac at home from vodka according to this recipe, you will need from three to five tablespoons of ground coffee of your favorite variety. It is poured with half a liter of boiling water, hermetically closed and left for a day in a dark and not hot place. As a result, we have a very strong and well-brewed coffee. Three liters of vodka are poured into it, mixed, and the bottle returns to its previous place for three weeks. Then a thick syrup is boiled from half a glass of sugar and full - water, which is added to the almost ready brandy. It remains to wait 2-3 days, strain and enjoy the taste and aroma.
Cognac from beer and juice
If you use this recipe, you get a drink that is very close to the original French. True, vodka is not enough here; alcohol will be needed. To begin with, juice is squeezed out of grapes with his own hand. It should turn out a liter. The berry variety is not particularly significant, although black varieties are recommended. Juice, a liter of fresh, preferably dark, beer and a quarter liter of medical alcohol are poured into a large bottle. For fermentation, sugar (kilogram) and fresh yeast (100 grams) are poured. For the right color, you still need to add half a glass of granulated coffee. The mixture will roam for three weeks, in the dark and cool. When the bubbles cease to stand out, the cognac is filtered into pretty bottles and offered to guests.
Nutmeg Cognac
Wine or champagne are often made nutmeg - and these drinks will forever conquer aesthetes and gourmets. With the independent preparation of brandy, you can make this drink with your favorite taste. To do this, rubbed oak bark (only not into dust!) At the rate of one and a half tablespoons for each liter of vodka, ground nutmeg (half a spoon), vanilla powder (we take it to your taste; the initial sentence is gram) per liter) and clove buds. After placing all the ingredients, vodka is poured, the bottle is clogged, shaken and sucked up where there is no access to sunlight, and the temperature never rises much. To withstand nutmeg cognac at home from vodka you need at least a month. But if you have patience for a longer period, you will get an even more intense and pronounced aroma of walnut.