StillSmart

Hi all, my local shop was clearing some close to sell by date tubs of candied peel at 20p a tub so i thought lets give it a try.i mixed one full tub the size of a small yogurt tub with 800 ml of 40 abv i used 800 ml because the peel retains 50ml. after only five days imho its better than the prestige triple sec flavour,even when paying full price for the candied peel its still far cheaper than the essence.i have Just put five tubs in the freezer for future use
Cheers

That sounds like a good idea Bill. Def give that a go as I like Triple Sec and love Cointreau.

How about the consistency?

AM

Hard to describe Aidan i have done a side by side test with the prestige essence and the one from the candied peel seems to be slightly thicker consistency may be from the candy and it has a fuller flavour and mouth feel

Great tip, I've never been impressed with the essence. Now the only problem is Tequila - the essence for that is poor as well, and the one I tried making from onions once didn't quite work.

Onions?!!? I have heard of using sweet potatoes and Agave syrup (costly!), but not onions. So, er, how did that work out?


Chuck

Jim if you want Tequila get a gun

billmcc wrote:Jim if you want Tequila get a gun

....onions.... well, I read somewhere that they were the nearest thing to an agave which is readily available in the UK. I know you can get the syrup but it is horrendously expensive - in the States you can buy it in buckets from Amazon etc but here it's in tiny bottles and it's not well known.

It was quite a long time ago and I didn't really write it down. I did it with my Airstill and it did have a bit of a tequila flavour as well as a bit of an onion flavour - it'd certainly make interesting experimentation ground for anyone who is bored but I ended up trying other things and forgetting about it. Perhaps I'll do it again if I get a cheap source of onions!

Just saw this thread now Jimmy. What you need is Spanish Onions

Having said that I can't think of a single good reason to make Tequila. Tried it in Spain, Mexico and in my local and they all tasted vile to me.

The again I'm a Bourbon man - what do I know!

AM

BTW Bill, I tried the candied peel since last post on this. I just made up 1lt in a Kilner jar and it's going in with the next stripping run. Not a roaring success but a worthy experiment. And so the quest for a 'Cointreau-esque' substitute continues.

The Still Spirits base for Triple Sec does give a good consistency if a little too sweet while the Triple Sec essence tastes of too much orange jest as if it was scrapped off bitter oranges. Compared to Cointreau the Triple Sec is a bit 'turpintiney' and raw.

If I can get the consistency right I think I can sort out the taste because I'm not looking to copy Cointreau but make a tasty Orange Liqueur alternative.

AM

I'm not a big fan of tequila but I was given a sip of this one http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=6916 and it was so nice I had to buy a bottle. Lots of tequila taste but none of the sharpness that cheaper tequila has.

If you ever get a chance to try some then do so

Thanks for the link Mr C.

Alas, I regret that here in little ole Ireland we don't have such fabulous luxuriously stocked emporia as "TheDrinksShop.com".

I have looked around online and the product you referred to is simply not listed anywhere on the island. This is a common problem in such a small country as ours.

AM

That is a bit annoying I've been trying to get stuff the other way (seadog rum) and I can't get any shop in Ireland to deliver to here !!

Veering slightly back on topic. I started a batch a couple days ago using 500ml 60% neutral (well, as neutral as carbon filtered AirStill product gets, tastes like decent vodka to me), the rind from four Navel Oranges and 2 Tbsp of dried bitter orange peel (got it from my local home brew shop). It is not Triple Sec, but it has a nice Cointreau sort of taste and I think in a week or so it will be great cut down with brown sugar syrup and honey.


Chuck

Aidan sorry mate it was good for me

Nice one Chill, let us know how it turns out - that consistency it a bitch to get right and it doesn't taste right if its too thin.

Bill: No probs mate we all have different tastes and the fact that myfavourite tipple is Bourbon means I have an inherently sweet preference when it comes to alcoholic drinks.

Mr C, sending bottles of any liquid across the short strip of water that is the Irish Sea seems to be a. prohibitively expensive and b. bound to end up broken. I may be making a trip to Liverpool in August and will gladly bring you over a few bottles if there's any way to arrange it!

AM