Moonshine is the most “natural product” that is suitable not only for consumption in its original form, but also for preparing a wide variety of tinctures, including medicinal ones. To make them, various gifts of nature are used: dried fruits, spices, dry herbs, berries, etc. Please note that as a result of simple manipulations you can get a very decent, tasty and aromatic drink that can compete with its counterparts of “aristocratic” origin. In order to get such an impressive result, you need to use a carefully prepared “base”, that is, moonshine that has gone through a repeated purification process.

Refining moonshine is an activity bordering on haute cuisine. You can intelligently combine various ingredients to get individual bouquets. Russian moonshine liqueurs with bitter “warming” flavors are famous. All kinds of seasonings are the best way to enrich drinks with spicy and fiery tones. You can sweeten moonshine using syrups. The easiest way to prepare:

• Boil 1 kg of sugar in 1 liter of water. You definitely need to remove the foam.
• Then let the syrup brew for 2 weeks, because the composition may contain sediment, which during this period will concentrate at the bottom of the container and, naturally, must be removed. Honey is also used as a sweetener for moonshine.

When adding syrup or honey to a drink, the alcohol must be heated so that gases begin to be released. When gas separation ends, the drink can be considered ready for further action - filtration. It can be done using coal. Purified moonshine is bottled and infused for 3 days at a temperature of 3-4°C. A delicious sweet drink is ready!

Based on the type of effect, additives for moonshine can be divided into the following groups:

• taste;
• aromatic;
• chemicals for cleaning;
• natural adsorbents;
• dyes.

The division is somewhat arbitrary, since many plants and chemicals affect taste, color and smell simultaneously.

Flavoring and coloring substances are added in different ways:

• poured in dry form (chopped herbs, wood chips, ready-made additives in the form of powders);
• in the form of infusions or decoctions;
• in the form of essences and aromatic oils;
• during distillation (dry additives must be placed in a steamer, liquid additives can be poured into the mash).

Changing the color of moonshine with natural dyes

The appearance of a drink subjectively affects the perception of its taste. Psychologists have proven that with the right color scheme, alcohol can seem tastier than it actually is. Ladies are especially sensitive to the color of alcohol. The problem of transparent moonshine can be solved with natural dyes, the best recipes for which we will consider further.

Black tea

The simplest method, which has virtually no effect on the taste. For 3 liters of moonshine, just add 1 tablespoon of high-quality black tea (not from a bag), stir, tightly close the jar with a lid and leave for 3-5 days in a dark place.

Every day the shade will change, starting from cognac light brown and ending with a rich black color. Lovers of beautiful smells can infuse moonshine with dry tea with the aroma of barberry, bergamot, or add a clove bud along with the brew.

Orange (lemon) peels

The specific smell of poorly purified moonshine is removed, and a pleasant sourness appears in the taste. The addition of lemons makes the moonshine light green, and the addition of oranges makes it slightly yellow with a golden tint. Only pre-dried peels are suitable for refining, preferably without white pulp, which gives bitterness. Recipe: put the peel of one medium orange or two lemons on 3 liters of moonshine, leave for 10-14 days in a hermetically sealed jar at room temperature.

Prunes

A great way to flavor moonshine with cognac, adding interesting flavor notes to the drink that are found in Armenian cognacs. For a three-liter jar of moonshine you will need 100 grams of prunes; after 7-10 days of infusion, the moonshine will change color, a pleasant aroma will appear and the taste will soften. The exposure duration can be changed at your discretion.

Nuts and partitions

The simplest solution: add 15 walnuts to 1 liter of moonshine for 7 days, then strain through cheesecloth. The taste and color of the drink will change beyond recognition. The recipe for moonshine with pine nuts is somewhat more complicated; it requires preliminary evaporation of the nuts, removing excess resin, then aging for 30 days. But the result is worth it, if there is a sufficient amount of fruit (150 grams of nuts per liter of moonshine).

Caramel (burnt sugar)

A well-known method for making fake cognacs and whiskey. To paint moonshine a pleasant yellow color, you need to heat a tablespoon of sugar over the fire until brown, then add the finished caramel to 1 liter of moonshine and stir until completely dissolved.

Instant coffee

Quickly changes the color of moonshine and eliminates the unpleasant odor. New notes appear in the taste. It is enough to add half a teaspoon of coffee per liter of moonshine. After coffee, you can no longer dilute the drink with water, otherwise it will become cloudy, and filtration will not help, only distillation.

St. John's wort

Colors moonshine light brown. Tincture recipe: add 1 tablespoon of dried St. John's wort per 1 liter of moonshine, stir, close the jar tightly and place in a dark place for 7 days. Shake once a day, then strain through cheesecloth.

Remember that St. John's wort is a medicinal plant with a strong sedative (calming) effect. You should not drink more than 300 grams of this tincture at a time.

Food colorings

Not a bad option for those who urgently need to tint their moonshine. With the right dye, you can get any color without affecting the taste and smell. The main thing is to create a natural shade and follow the instructions on the label exactly. Not all food colorings are compatible with alcohol; you need to check with sellers before purchasing.

Delicious moonshine recipes

How to make good, tasty homemade moonshine at home? Here are some recipes to help you complete your collection.

Making moonshine “Green tea”

1. Pour two hundred grams of tea (green) with water. Tea, by the way, must be fresh and of the highest quality. This tea is needed to dilute seven and a half liters of moonshine (double).
2. Squeeze the tea leaves there (through the cloth) and let it sit for eight days. When these days fly by, add another hundred grams of the same tea and two and a half liters of water.
3. There are three steps left to do: distill, sweeten, filter.

Homemade moonshine “Clean Rice”

1. You need to take two hundred grams of rice (crushed), four hundred grams of raisins (large and boiled in water), one bottle of malaga and sugar syrup (as much as you want).
2. Add two hundred grams of brewer's yeast (white) and four hundred grams of water.
3. Leave this “mixture” to ferment for four days. After that, add six liters of spring water (soft) and twelve liters of double moonshine.
4. Distill so that you get only nine liters of moonshine.
5. Take another vessel (any), “throw” vanilla into it (four teaspoons) and a little seventy-degree moonshine (triple).
6. Leave for four days and filter. To the moonshine that you have already distilled, add vanilla tincture and a few drops of oil (rose).
7. Take oak bark (six hundred grams) and galangal root (five grams).
8. Put them (root and oak bark) in a bag (canvas). Place the bag in a container with moonshine and seal the container tightly.

Moonshine "Sage Fairy"

1. Just pour some ready-made moonshine over fresh apples. All apples must be thoroughly soaked in alcoholic liquid.
2. Afterwards, “subject” them to insistence for a period of six months. If you have the patience to wait for the result for a whole six months, you need, after exactly this period of time, strain the liquid, pouring it into a saucepan.
3. Add sugar to taste and place the pan with the liquid on the fire. Let it boil three times. Watch as carefully as possible to ensure that the moonshine does not suddenly decide to burst into flames.
4. Leave the liquid to infuse in some cool place.
5. It should be kept cool until all the grounds settle to the very bottom.
6. Then, strain what you get, adding water (calculation: two and a half liters of water per ten liters of moonshine).
7. After that comes distillation and filtration.

Making moonshine “Khlebushki”

1. Make a choice: millet, barley, corn, peas, rye or wheat.
2. Pour the selected “component” with warm water and let it germinate, making sure that the grain does not sour.
3. When the grain germinates, it needs to be dried and ground into flour, adding little by little to boiling water.
4. Don't forget to stir.
5. When the liquid is very reminiscent of jelly, cover it and let it brew for twelve hours.
6. After that, add one kilogram of peas (dry).
7. Leave to ferment for ten days.
8. Then distill it.

Homemade moonshine “Rozochka”

1. Take rose petals, mash them and put them in some container. Sprinkle them with salt.
2. Next, you need to spread the cloth (wet), cover it with a circle with pressure and leave for eight days in a cool place.
3. When the rose petals begin to rot, stop the infusion period.
4. Place everything into a cube and fill with water (1:1). Then stir and distill.
5. All that remains is to add a little sugar and filter.

Making homemade moonshine “Svekolochka”

1. Take beets. Rub it. Pour water over the beets and boil (several hours).
2. Then drain the liquid into a container. And again - fill the beets with water, boil for the same time and drain.
3. In general, this “stage” needs to be done three times.
4. Add yeast to the liquid (calculation: one hundred grams per ten liters).
5. Leave for fifteen days until foam forms.
6. The final “stage” is the distillation.

Moonshine "Lavender"

1. Take one hundred grams of lavender flowers. You will also need cinnamon (twenty-five grams) and cloves (twenty-five grams).
2. Chop cinnamon, lavender and cloves and mix.
3. Pour twelve liters of moonshine with this mixture and let it brew for a week.
4. Afterwards, put a slice of bread with honey “on the surface” into the tincture.
5. Perform the distillation over low heat.

Several delicious recipes for moonshine tinctures

It is worth mentioning that literally anything can be infused with moonshine. The only question is what you will get as a result of your experiment. It is likely that the result of the applied imagination and effort will be the appearance of a new exotic drink. Well, while you are looking for a suitable idea, try the following recipes for moonshine tinctures, a detailed description of which you will find below.

"Hrenovukha"

Horseradish is a seasoning that is usually consumed in the winter season, which is facilitated by its warming properties. Fans of homemade preparations know that this plant is suitable not only for food, but also for making horseradish - a potent alcoholic drink made from horseradish and moonshine. The main secret of making such a product is compliance with the proportions and infusion time. So, you need to mix 2 liters of fusel milk, 100 grams of coarsely chopped horseradish root, a little ginger, fresh lime and natural honey. Everything needs to be cut, since pureed ingredients make the drink cloudy and unassuming. Sometimes the recipe for horseradish tincture with diluted alcohol or moonshine is supplemented with currant or cherry leaves, red pepper and other additives. Infuse the mixture for at least five days. Remember, the longer the bottle sits, the stronger the crap becomes. You need to drink it after straining, diluting it with the juice of sauerkraut or fresh cranberries.

We insist on oak

Moonshine tincture made from dried oak bark has a pronounced cognac hue and a distinct spicy taste with woody notes. Let’s say more, this oak bark liqueur is in many ways superior to industrial cognac, it has such a refined and “expensive” taste. There are a lot of recipes for making this version of moonshine tincture, because each amateur adds those ingredients that are more to his taste and habits. We offer one of the most delicious and popular recipes, simple to execute.

So:

• In a 3-liter jar of moonshine you need to put 50 grams of oak chips, 15 grams each of honey, St. John's wort and oregano;
• We also put 20 allspice peas there, and add cloves, coriander and vanilla sticks at our discretion;
• The minimum period for infusing oak bark into moonshine is 3 days, but it is better if the mixture is left alone for several weeks.

Cranberry tincture with personally made moonshine attracts with its rich color and unique aroma of wild berries. This drink is equally liked by both women and men, which is facilitated by its lightness and unusual aftertaste. The most basic recipe for cranberry liqueur is as follows:

1. You need to mix 800 grams of granulated sugar and a similar amount of crushed cranberries, and this must be done thoroughly and until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. The mass is filled with 1.5 liters of moonshine, with a strength of at least 40-50 rpm.
3. It is possible that you will want to reduce the sugar content in the drink or completely get rid of the sweetness.
4. It's okay, the tincture will not suffer from this. The cranberry liqueur is infused for at least 2-4 weeks, after which it is filtered through several layers of gauze. If you notice the formation of a cloudy sediment, there is no need to worry, it is of exclusively natural origin.

Rowan flavored drink

Rowan tincture with personally prepared moonshine is made using berries that have already survived good frosts. Before you start preparing the drink in an oak barrel, you should dry the rowan a little in the oven or stove. The moonshine used is regular sugar, plum, pear or apple, the main thing is that its strength is 70 revolutions. Experts in homemade tinctures recommend infusing rowan tincture for at least a year, but if you can wait a few years, then the rowan tincture will be worthy of participation in an exhibition of elite alcohol.

To do this, several prerequisites must be met:

• Add honey or sugar;
• cool the original mixture and leave it in a cool place for the first time;
• filter through dense matter;
• pour into an oak barrel and send to the cellar.

Using prunes

Prunes, which give the drink a mild taste and unusual color, will help you make an original, tasty and healthy drink from ordinary moonshine. Before you make a prune tincture from your own home-made moonshine, stock up on the fruits themselves, which can be purchased in a store or prepared on your own. If you have to buy a store-bought version, do not choose large and light brown fruits, which have already lost the lion's share of their taste and aroma.

So:

1. To begin, crush 1 piece of allspice and 1 clove with a rolling pin.
2. Pour the resulting powder into a half-liter jar of moonshine, add 4 pitted prunes, 3 black peppercorns and a couple of grams of vanillin.
3. Cover all this with a lid and shake well, then leave for 10 days in a cool and dry place.
4. As soon as the infusion period has expired, the drink will need to be strained and poured into beautiful containers that can be placed on the table. They can be stored in the refrigerator, but not longer than one year. The tincture goes well with cold cuts, savory dishes and different types of cheese.
   

Quick additives to moonshine

When deciding what to add to moonshine, you need to decide what it is for. If you want to mask an unpleasant odor, you can add dry or dried berries and fruits to alcohol. To obtain healing tinctures, you need to soak herbs, spices and herbs in alcohol for a long time. Liqueurs are sweet alcoholic drinks of medium strength, in which fruits and berries set the main tone. Choose and get down to business.

So, what can you add to moonshine, as they say, without worrying too much:

1. Honey or syrup. A great way to give moonshine a pleasant flavor. Sugar syrup is boiled in a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water. Add according to taste and mix thoroughly. If there is a need to further purify the drink, add 3-4 tablets of activated carbon into a three-liter jar. Settling takes 3–4 days; after straining, the alcohol is ready for consumption.
2. Tea or coffee. Dry tea leaves and instant coffee effectively interrupt the spirit of moonshine and give the drink a new color. You will need 1 heaped tablespoon of tea per three-liter jar, leave for at least 5 days. Coffee needs 1.5 teaspoons, alcohol will be ready immediately.
3. Black or chili pepper. A chili pepper can add some spice to the drink - you only need one per liter of moonshine. Be sure to remove the seeds from the pod so that you don’t have to pour out the too spicy infusion. Black pepper cleanses the drink well and makes it beneficial for the digestive system. Enough 10 peas for a half-liter bottle. Both peppers require a week of aging. The color of the moonshine will not change significantly.

In general, you can add almost any spice to pure strong alcohol: whole cinnamon, saffron, cumin, bay leaf, dried and fresh ginger, star anise, whole or ground nutmeg and others.

How to get rid of fusel oils?

The worst thing about moonshine is fusel oils. Everyone can see for themselves that they exist: just light the moonshine in a spoon (if it doesn’t burn, it’s a bad product). After the alcohol burns, an oily liquid remains at the bottom. These are harmful fusel oils. How to get rid of them?

1. First: adhere to the production technology, do not increase the temperature, constantly change the cooling water.
2. Clean the finished moonshine from fusel oil using potassium permanganate. Throw 2-3 g of potassium permanganate powder into a three-liter jar. Wait for the sediment to settle. Carefully drain the moonshine. For this purpose, household water filters of the “Springhead” type are used. If not, you can simply strain the moonshine through a vessel with charcoal. A good substitute can be obtained at home. Light a birch fire. When the firewood burns out, but the heat is still very strong, fill a clay pot with coal and blow off the ash. Close the pot tightly with a lid. Wait for the coals to go out. Remove them from the pot, cool, and grind (not very finely). Can be used as a filter. You can throw it (at the rate of 50 g per liter) into moonshine. Let it stand for three weeks. Shake the container every day.
3. Filter. Take the time to do this and make sure that the taste improves and the amount of impurities decreases.

So, you already have a manufactured, purified product. It is already ready to eat.

Homemade moonshine does not need additional advertising. Ease of production and accessibility, low cost of the necessary components - all this contributes to the fact that an increasing number of Russians are interested in methods and recipes on how to make it at home tasty and suitable for a feast with friends.

Making moonshine with your own hands is quite simple:

• sugar or starchy products pour warm water th in a certain ratio;
• are added yeast to convert mash components into alcohol;
• the finished mash is distilled through a moonshine still for separating alcoholic beverages;
• homemade alcohol is possible clear, give practically any taste and aroma.

Knowing the basic principles of how to brew moonshine, you can easily prepare a high-quality alcoholic drink.

For the moonshine distillation process The following equipment is required:

1. for running or bulk water, the design of which is significantly different. The distribution network presents various models of units at almost every taste and budget client.
2. Alembic, which can be used as steamers, cans, pots, buckets, equipped with a lid in which it is necessary to drill a hole for a tube that discharges alcohol vapor into the coil. The preferred material is stainless steel, but enamel cookware is also possible. The container must withstand heat and not oxidize.
3. Connecting tubes, preferably copper or stainless steel.
4. When distilling moonshine with a jug, it is ensured cleaning and flavoring finished product.
5. Container for sealing mash(glass bottles, plastic or metal containers are used).
6. Water seal, impervious to oxygen. You can use a simple rubber glove that fits over the neck of the bottle.
7. Wooden spoon to stir the mash.

Tools also needed:

1. alcohol meter to measure the strength of the resulting product;
2. thermometer to regulate temperature requirements;
3. saccharometer to control the amount of sweet product in the mash.

note! Properly distilled homemade moonshine quality is not inferior, and sometimes even surpasses factory-made alcoholic drinks.

Composition - what ingredients are used in moonshine brewing?

At home, you can brew moonshine from products containing starch or sugar. During fermentation, these components turn into alcohol. The distillation of alcohol and the yield of the final product depends on the amount of processed components and the strength of the drink.

Fermentation is provided by yeast of natural or artificial origin. “Wild” yeast fungi are found on the surface of unwashed fruits and berries collected in sunny weather. They ensure slow fermentation of the product. You can also use malt, produced from sprouted grains, hops.

• prepare a saturated sugar solution (2 kg of sweets per 1 liter of water);
• boil down with slow heating to half the volume of liquid;
• Citric acid is added to prevent crystallization.

The method promotes cleaning the mash from living microorganisms, the activity of which can worsen the taste of an alcoholic drink. In addition, yeast reacts faster with sugar prepared in this way.

How to prepare mash for moonshine?

It is believed that it is better for a person to drink a drink containing alcohol 38-42% , but often the recipe calls for much higher:

• Georgian (chacha) from 70°;
• tinctures – from 45°;
• – from 70°;
• – up to 75°.

Important! To obtain such a high-quality drink, double or triple distillation (distillation) of the mash is required.

There are a lot of recipes on how to properly brew moonshine, but every craftsman, by slightly changing the ingredients or procedure, gets a new flavor bouquet every time.

Water required medium hard, it is better to use bottled one, which is sold in retail chains. You can use spring or well water.

How to put on tap water:

• collect the required amount of liquid into a clean container;
• stand, covering the neck with gauze, for at least a day at room temperature;
• heat to 35-40°С, dissolve in it the required amount of sugar according to the recipe;
• fill the mash vessel 3/4 full so that when foaming the liquid does not overflow;
• add yeast;
• install a water seal, cover the container with a thick cloth that retains heat.

The drink is checked according to the following criteria:

• the liquid has become transparent, sediment has collected at the bottom of the container;
• a clear alcoholic aroma has appeared; a match lit above the surface does not go out;
• the mash became bitter, gas bubbles stopped being released.

The liquid should be carefully drained from the residue and poured into the distillation cube.

How to make moonshine?

When the mash is ready, the problem arises of how to properly distill the liquid to obtain a high-quality product.

Must be observed following conditions:

• not used for food first 50 ml moonshine, called " head" The product is used for technical purposes;
• liquid below 40° (“tails”) add to the next portion of mash to increase the yield of the finished drink;
• The middle part is used for drinking "body", which contains fewer harmful impurities.

At what speed to distill moonshine is determined individually. Primary requirements:

• the liquid should flow in a continuous stream;
• the final product is cold;
• no additional alcohol vapors escape from the coil;
• no loud gurgling can be heard in the distillation cube.

Usually, after the mash boils, the heating is reduced by half.

Finished Product Cleaning

The rules on how to distill moonshine to make a drink of good quality are supplemented by the obligatory requirement of homemade alcohol. The following methods are used for this:

• filtering liquid through several layers of gauze;
• disinfection, activated;
• cleansing the drink with chicken egg whites and kefir.

Can combine all methods in turn.

It should be remembered that good moonshine is obtained only from high-quality raw materials. It is better for novice moonshiners to adhere to generally accepted requirements when brewing homemade alcohol. Masters of their craft, as a result of constant experiments, create new ones, which over time become public property.

What makes people make moonshine on their own when there is a huge amount of alcoholic beverages in all stores?

First of all, this is its low cost: a drink prepared at home will always be three to four times cheaper than the official version. In addition, a significant part of consumers are distrustful of low-priced vodkas, suspecting them - unfortunately, not unreasonably - of low quality, therefore they prefer drinks prepared at home.

The process of preparing moonshine at home has become significantly simplified in our time: bulky moonshine stills, which took up a lot of space, have gone into oblivion - they have been replaced by compact units, with the use of which you can get what you need for home consumption of a high-quality drink.

In this case, activated carbon is used to purify the distillate, which, thanks to its porous surface, absorbs molecules of harmful impurities that simply get stuck in it. You will learn how to correctly use this method from the articles “” and “Proper cleaning of moonshine with activated carbon.”

Applications of bentonite

The use of this mineral, which is essentially clay, allows for high-quality cleaning of the mash. The process technology is simple: the required amount of bentonite is ground, then dissolved in hot water and poured into the drink being purified. After a day, you can simply drain the purified mash from the sediment. All the intricacies of this process are described in the article “How to properly clean mash using bentonite.”

Cleaning moonshine with soda

This is one of the simplest cleaning methods, during which ten grams of soda are added to one liter of moonshine, after which the moonshine is allowed to settle for twelve hours. After this time, the drink is simply drained from the sediment into another container.

Using potassium permanganate for cleaning

For this process, three grams of potassium permanganate should be added to three liters of moonshine. After this, the bottle with the drink to be cleaned is closed and placed in a steam bath, where it sits for fifteen minutes. At the end of the process, the sediment is removed.

Popular moonshine recipes

There are a huge number of recipes for making moonshine, and each practicing moonshiner has his own tricks and features with which he prepares his “signature” drinks. You will have them too, but for now we suggest using the “classic” recipes for preparing this noble drink.

Top 6 popular moonshine recipes

Moonshine from jam

If you master this method of making moonshine, then you will never have any excess jam left - it will all go into use. Details of how to make excellent moonshine from homemade jam are outlined in the article “How to make moonshine from jam”.

Homemade cognac made from grapes

Wheat moonshine

This is one of the most popular recipes for making a homemade drink, which, when prepared correctly, will have a pleasant bready taste. And you will learn how to do this from the article “How to make classic moonshine from wheat.”

Wheat moonshine without yeast

A distinctive feature of this drink is its high taste, and you will learn how to prepare it correctly from the article “How to make moonshine from wheat without yeast.”

Moonshine chacha

Do you want to cook something exotic, like chacha? This is not difficult if you carefully read the article “How to prepare chacha at home” - everything is described in detail there.

Mead

If you want to prepare a drink that our great-grandfathers indulged in, and which is rightfully considered primordially Russian, then carefully read the article “How to make mead” - and you will certainly be able to surprise your guests and enjoy it yourself.

Moonshine aging

If you want to learn how to distill not ordinary booze, but a high-quality drink that will delight you with its taste and aroma, then keep in mind that it should be aged in an oak barrel specially designed for this purpose. How to select and prepare these containers is described in detail in the article “How to prepare oak barrels for moonshine” posted on our website.

Let's consider moonshine brewing as a creative process, an opportunity to make high-quality homemade alcohol. Let's now try to learn new moonshine and master them in practice.

Moreover, some people like high-potency tinctures, for example, St. John's wort or wormwood. Others prefer sweetened or even sweet alcohol, such as liqueur or cordial.

Let's talk about types of drinks that are familiar to some, and others will discover a new recipe that will later become their favorite. And there will be something to surprise guests.

Remember! The main rule: for preparing strong liqueurs, as well as low-degree drinks, use only purified moonshine. Preferably double distilled or obtained using. Otherwise, harmful impurities and flavors will interfere with the development of the bouquet of the finished product.

All alcoholic tinctures are conventionally divided into the following types:

1. Bitter. They are prepared with herbs, aromatic plants, spices: horseradish, tea, hibiscus and other ingredients. They are called bitter because no special sugar is added to them. Only a sweet note is possible due to the product used to make the tincture. There cannot be more than 2% sugar.
2. Semi-sweet. No sugar is added to them, although its content may be about 6%. We are talking about tinctures that use berries, or berries and herbs (seasonings). Sweetness depends on how much sugar is in the berries used.
3. Sweet. We are talking specifically about tinctures (liqueurs) to which sugar is added. Its level is about 20%.
4. Very sweet- liqueurs. They contain 30% sugar, or even more.

It should be remembered that you should not make drinks too sweet. And even if you like liqueurs, then do not forget: they are insidious, they can “knock you out of the saddle” more easily, and even harder after “too much”. Therefore, liqueurs are consumed in small doses or used for cocktails.

Plants better release beneficial properties and essential oils into alcohol, which has a strength of 45° or more. That's why it's better to make them with moonshine rather than with store-bought vodka.

How to make moonshine?

First of all, let's look at the recipe for moonshine prepared with alcohol yeast, since it is the base on which delicious alcohol is subsequently produced.

It is prepared with alcoholic yeast, since using bakery yeast will reduce the yield of the finished product.

Let's take the ingredients for the mash based on: for 10 liters of water – 2.5 kg of sugar, 100 g of yeast(alcohol). We don't add anything else. We dilute sugar in warm water, in a separate container - yeast with a pinch of sugar and see that it fits.

Add to the sugar solution and set for fermentation, making sure to cover the vessel with a lid, but not airtight. The mash is kept in a warm place until it overheats and becomes bitter in taste, without a sweet aftertaste. Typically, a brew made with alcoholic yeast becomes ready for distillation within a week, maximum 10 days.

Moonshine should not have a pronounced odor and, if possible, it should be freed from foreign impurities and taste. Therefore, double distillation with cutting off the “heads” and “tails” during the secondary process is necessary. Using the rectification method, you can get by with just one distillation.

Quick recipe

You can make moonshine in a day, for which you will need:

• sugar - 5 kg;
• pressed yeast - 500 g;
• fresh milk – 1 l;
• peas – 1 kg;
• water – 15 l.

Mix sugar, yeast and water as in the previous recipe. Add milk and peas and leave in a warm place for a day. After which the moonshine is distilled from the milk.

Tomato

A liter of tomato paste is diluted in 30 liters of water, 10 kg of sugar is added, and 0.5 liters of beer are added. It is distilled when it has fermented.

Moonshine from tomato paste is of good quality, but its yield is 7–8 liters, which is not the best option when using 10 kg of sugar.

From glucose

To make moonshine with glucose, follow the same proportions as for sugar. You can use dry yeast, of which 50 g per 10 liters of water is enough.

Moonshine made from mash prepared with glucose is particularly soft when compared to sugar. It has fewer “heads” and “tails” and harmful impurities. Even a single distillation gives a fairly high-quality product.

"Gastric"

In order to make moonshine with mint, more than one recipe has been invented. We will consider the one that is popularly called “stomach”, since in reasonable doses it helps against ailments associated with the gastrointestinal tract: upset stool, flatulence, heaviness in the stomach, etc.

This is not just mint moonshine, but also containing other beneficial ingredients. Mix 400 g of herbs: mint, sage and anise, add 100 g of chopped ginger. Pour the mixture into 12 liters of first-distilled moonshine (without selected heads and tails). Leave in a dark and warm place for 21 days, shaking (stirring) daily. Then we carry out the second distillation.

Secondary distillation is carried out by distillation; a distillation column is not used for this, since it removes the final product not only from the smell and taste, but also from the beneficial healing substances contained in such moonshine.

Pearl barley Borodino tincture

It got its name because it smells like Borodino bread and even has its taste.

Make a tincture of pearl barley, adding cumin and coriander seeds. For 3 liters of moonshine 50° strength, take half a glass of pearl barley, pour it into a dry frying pan and fry.

When the color changes, half is poured out, and the rest is fried to a coffee tone. Coriander and cumin take 10 grams.

Grind the pearl barley and spices coarsely (in a coffee grinder) and fill the jar with moonshine. After a week of infusion, strain. If necessary and desired, tint with burnt sugar, dilute with distilled water to 40°.

Zubrowka

The famous tincture with the smell of herbs, as if you were in a meadow, under a stack of hay. It is better if the zubrovka is homemade, because in this case you know for sure that it is infused with the herb of the same name - zubrovka.

For a three-liter jar of moonshine you will need 3 – 6 blades of grass (depending on their size). The plant can be bought at markets, from herbalists, just make sure that it is green and smells pleasant of the meadow. Cut into pieces and place in a jar of alcohol for two weeks.

To make the taste softer, add sugar - up to 3 tsp. and juice of one lemon. Zubrovka is one of the best tinctures that recommended for use outdoors- for barbecue, fish soup, lard.

Elite grain drinks

Some moonshine recipes involve the use of grain and are considered elite. This is moonshine from oats, wheat, rye etc. We will look at how to make moonshine from buckwheat.

First, let's make porridge: take 1.5 kg of buckwheat, add water and heat it to a temperature of 60 - 65 ° C and simmer for about 1.5 hours. Then just bring it to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add 4 grams of enzymes A and D to the porridge that has cooled to 60 degrees, mix and let it brew for another hour and a half.

Then we make the wort from 16 liters of water, 4 kg of sugar and 500 g of pressed yeast. After fermentation, which lasts about 5 days (watch out!), we turn the strained mash into moonshine.

By the way! French buckwheat whiskey, produced in small batches, is prized among connoisseurs. You can make the drink at home. To do this, buckwheat moonshine (traditionally made from raw, not fried buckwheat) is aged for a couple of years in the basement in an oak barrel.

Pumpkin

To make pumpkin moonshine, peel the vegetable from skin and seeds, then either pass it raw through a juicer, or boil and mash. Add another 10 liters of water, 2 kg of sugar and 200 g of pressed (30 g of dry) yeast to 10 liters of the resulting puree (juice).

It is better for the mash to be in a glass bottle with a medical glove on it. At the end of fermentation it is distilled. In pumpkin moonshine, you can hear the slight smell of this vegetable, and in the aftertaste you can feel a hint of pumpkin seeds.

Juniper

To make moonshine with juniper, you need to stock up on berries. You can either buy them on the market or prepare them yourself if juniper grows somewhere nearby. One and a half kilograms of berries are poured with 8 liters of first distillation moonshine. They infuse for two weeks and distill until they get ¾ of the original volume - 6 liters.

By distilling moonshine with juniper berries infused in it again, you will get almost real moonshine, which is made in this way on an industrial scale.

Tinctures on berries and fruits

You can safely make tinctures with the berries you have. This way you will get healthy moonshine.

For example, a tincture of chokeberry or hawthorn reduces blood pressure, and a tincture of garlic, as well as grapefruit and lingonberry, helps the body fight viruses during periods of epidemics.

It works if you take tinctures in moderation.

And they are made like this: a handful or two of the raw materials we need (preferably crushed) are filled with moonshine and infused - from two weeks to several months, then strained and filtered.

In addition, you can make spring vitamin tinctures from dandelions or nettles. They are not only tasty, but also healthy.

Pomegranate

It is considered an assistant in strengthening blood vessels, normalizing blood pressure, improving blood counts, and treating inflammatory and cold diseases.

It is made either from juice (the grains are ground, for example, through a metal sieve), or from grains together with juice, or even together with the skin. In the latter case, astringency will be noticeably felt. Ratio: per liter of moonshine – 3-4 fruits. You need to insist for at least 3 weeks.

Barberry

The barberry tincture has a pronounced “candy” taste, slight sourness and a pleasant color, depending on the color of the berries: yellow, burgundy, bluish. For a liter of moonshine, take 3 tablespoons of berries and 1-3 tablespoons of honey, to taste. Sugar is not very suitable for this recipe.

Apricot with almonds

Apricot moonshine infused with almonds is very tasty. Moonshine is obtained in the usual way, like any fruit moonshine. Then, to 4 liters of product add crushed 200 g of almonds, 4 g of coriander and cinnamon, 100 g of apricot kernels and 600 - 800 g of sugar (to taste).

Leave it covered for a week, add half a liter of boiled water, filter, bottle and seal.

Pistachio

The drink, amazing in taste, aroma, and cognac color, is made from pistachio shells, which are pre-fried until dark. You should take shells from unsalted pistachios!

For a 3-liter jar of moonshine you need half a glass of fried shells. Leave for two weeks, strain, add sugar to taste, usually half a glass.

On kiwi

This drink can easily be confused with lemon liqueur (see: ), although it has its own taste. Kiwi liqueur will be yellowish, and its degree of sweetness will depend on how much sugar you add (per 0.5 liter - from 50 to 200 g).

For 0.5 liters of moonshine you will need 4 kiwis with skins, chopped in a blender, a little lemon, orange or grapefruit zest (the choice of citrus fruit will affect the taste). Mix everything and seal. Keep it warm and dark for a month.

Strain, squeeze, add sugar, or even better, sugar syrup. If it is too strong for you, add boiled chilled water.

Experiment, add your own ingredients, change the proportions. And, of course, share these recipes and your own experiences with friends on social networks or in the comments below!

Moonshining is an activity popular all over the world. There is not a single country where they do not know about strong homemade alcohol and do not drive it away.

A delicious moonshine recipe becomes a national treasure, as happened with Scotch whiskey, American bourbon, French cognac, and Mexican tequila.

The list would be immense if we listed all the folk moonshines.

We will help you master distillery secrets and learn how to prepare traditional distillate, as well as master new types of high-quality and tasty product. You will learn a lot about what your favorite drinks are made from in our homeland, in Britain, America, and Asia.

How to make good and correct moonshine

Study materials on how to make the right drink according to GOST (R 56368-2015). According to the law, the only Russian strong alcoholic product is considered to be only moonshine prepared.

This is covered in articles about:

• creation on enzymes and malt in compliance with the rules of germination, creating a mash, maintaining the necessary pauses;
• methods of germinating grains, green and dried from cereals to obtain an aromatic drink;
• on grain and cereals, differences in the setting of the mash;
• , so popular in America, but also available in Russian spaces.

Find out how to put in mash and get the best alcohol out of,.

We offer interesting moonshine recipes from familiar products that seem to have nothing to do with alcohol:

• dried fruits

In addition to the moonshine classics, innovative technologies and ingredients unusual for Europeans are discussed in an article dedicated to Chinese ones.

What else is moonshine made from?

And, of course, we did not ignore the question of how to create masterpieces of taste, known since ancient times, at home:

• (analogue of chacha);

Learn the rules (bark) for creating drinks similar to brandy, cognac, and whiskey.

We will tell you what the correct one should be, how to calculate the proportions of sugar, water and yeast. You will learn why the second stage is needed and how to carry it out according to the rules. Why is it necessary to clarify the mash and clean the finished product, and what substances are used for this.

Get information about what homemade alcoholic drinks are brewed from today, study the rules and recipes for home distilling, proposed by folk experts. Use them in your practice, leave your comments and rate the proposed articles.