StillSmart

Another Kiwi Distiller post I'd like to share with you. This ones from P3trPan.

P3's made up a free standing frame from a stainless welding rod. The frame sits inside a jar with a litre of 94% ABV and holds a piece of something that he wants to flavour his neutral with.

He started his experiment with a green lemon and has since moved on to rose petals ( in a tea strainer) and other things.

I've tried the lemon and it is really good. Subtle but definitely lemon.

Apart from being a great and easy way to experiment on a whole range of things it has really brought home to me the safety issues around storage of high % ABV

Simply suspending fruit a couple of inches away, the alcohol becomes coloured and flavoured. Enough said.

The French call it liqueur du pendu. The fruit usually sits just above the booze in some sort of hammock like affair, but I think a stainless frame sounds like a neater way to do it.

I've done it with both orange and lime and you are right - the deathly grey color of the fruit after just a few weeks gives you some respect for the power of high proof alcohol.

I tried this with apples... Really nice.

I use a rice ball we had kicking around.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 19&alt=web

Found a shallow vessel world's better prehaps something to do with the amount of surface area of the alcohol.

wormwood wrote:The French call it liqueur du pendu. The fruit usually sits just above the booze in some sort of hammock like affair, but I think a stainless frame sounds like a neater way to do it .

Aha ! A name for it at last thanks W.

Mash wrote:I tried this with apples... Really nice. .

Whole? Peeled?

Sounds good Mashy I'll give it a go

Use a sweet apple I cut it in half but kept the cut sides upward so it doesn't drip into the alc. Onto the cut side sprinkle some cinnamon. As it wets from the juice it also releases flavour.

Apple vodka is niiiiiiiiiiicce.

I didn't know is was called "liqueur du pendu" more research now me thinks

Just found this here
They do have loads of fantastic food & drinks.....but also some that need to be passed by.

One time in a restaurant we ordered "Les Recettes de Pieds de porc"....ok we knew we were ordering pork...that was the easy bit...but I couldn't for love nor money work out the "Pieds" part...when the dish arrived the penny dropped....pigs trotters....

Generally have something similar on the go like this - presently have some macadamias and loquats in process.

packapoo wrote:Generally have something similar on the go like this - presently have some macadamias and loquats in process.

Aha ! I was visiting P3 talking about this yesterday and said I'd read about some legendary macadamia infused vodka. What's the deal? As simple as it sounds? One fresh unsalted macadamia nut suspended above ? What's the deal Ppoo

Not wishing to go too far off topic,as this is suspension and not maceration being discussed here, any quartered lemons that I macerate are grey lumps after a couple of weeks.
They have lost all lemonness to the spirit.
This suspension business opens new doors.
Intriguing.

@ Mr FS,
Don't fret too much my friend.
Try this link, viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3118
If you are going to blow your brewing shed up at 32°C, then you probably already did at 18°C.
Sleep easy.

Robert.

There was, I thought on this board, a discussion covering the broader procedure here.
I know I've read it somewhere and picked up enough to know it works well, this suspension method.

Has to be the easiest and best method I've come across for limoncello, no risk. All citrus in fact.
Berries....straw/blue/rasp/black all give pretty fail-safe results. I'll be trying peaches in a few months.
Macadamias? Work in progress presently - I'll run out of spirit to use before I run out of nuts - bumper crop. Have never tried spirit as volatile as you nominate MrFS, working on 65% only presently.
A handful suspended in a muslin/cheescloth/chux bag over a quantity (known) of spirit sealed in a jar, placed in the back of a cupboard for a few weeks. I'm NOT seeing the spirit change I expected to see but as the volatile oils in the nuts are of a lighter nature then I generally work with, not to say it hasn't happened.
Also been running loquats presently, season has ended now so no going back. A surprisingly tannic fruit so exposure to spirit is critical, 5 days seems to work well with sweetening by castor sugar then cutting to 40%.

I wonder if there is a gin process here. Easy gin perhaps but suspended not immersed?

Now that is an interesting idea worth trying!

My thinking being a flavours would be cleaner and there would be no need for another distill.

We may have found a use for my kale neutral!!

I want to try this too this week. We can compare notes. My guess is that the juniper and citrus will dominate and the dried herbs will be very much in the background with the coriander somewhere in the middle. That sounds like an excellent martini for Christmas!