Vodka flavour

[Admiral Toad]

Thoughts please been making vodka from SS And VS yeasts for a while always adding SS vodka flavour.
Now some folk say it don't taste right but not being a vodka drinker I've got no idea.
I now the citrus is good but do you think I'd be better off just producing from pure VS good finings etc and no ' flavouring'

[mozr]

Vodka is water and ethanol. We are making water and ethanol. In my mind the vodka flavouring is a waste of time.

The essences I suppose try and add some character from grain or potato based washes, but I am not speaking of experience here.

It uses propylene glycol which from what I am reading is an emulsifier and additive so my in some way smooth out the off flavours in the distilled spirit.

I was bought one when I first got my kit, but I have never bothered using it.

I will give it a go to see whether it improves smell and taste.

Moz.

[Almanac]

If you double distill, even with a mini column like the T500, then carbon filter, you'll get a clean product that is essentially Vodka and all you need to add is time - let it age and mature a little before drinking.

In the early stages we all tend to consume/distribute what we make almost as soon as we make it. This is the show-off phase!

Because of the quantity I make, I am now in the happy position where what I make today goes into storage and what I'm currently drinking was made at least 6-9 months ago. By the end of March my drinking stock will all be 1 year old and my first real Bourbon Whiskey will be 18 months on wood in Sept and it will not be officially opened until Christmas 2012. (although I do have a small sampler aging alongside that I taste every three months using a syringe through the cork!)

I know this looks like bragging but it's not, really! The point I want to get across is that AGING makes a huge, HUGE, difference to the spirits we make - even Vodka.

So, my recommendation is to AIM to put some of your output away before drinking it, initially for one month, then 3, then 6, etc. In the meantime you can also drink directly from the still if you want.

When you compare the taste and quality difference in a spirit that has been aged at least 3 months, as against a spirit straight off the still, you'll know what to do next and essences will be something you only occasionally use to help you make complex liqueurs! like Ouzo, Cointreau, Creme de Menthe etc.This is the serious distiller phase

AM

[Jimmy]

The commercial vodka makers each allow a proportion of tails to go into their spirit in order to provide the brand taste. This will obviously depend on what the original wash was made from, and even if you do it at home there is a slight difference between say an turbo and a tomato wash. Allegedly the vodka essences replace these 'unique vodka taste characteristics' to mimic commercial brands. To my mind, trying to make your own spirit taste like commercial vodka is a bit like marrying Angelina Jolie and asking her to dress up like the girl from your local supermarket so she seems more familiar!

However, I have never tried them as I am a cheapskate. Sounds like I'm not missing anything!