Vodka/moonshine drink recipes?

How goes the battle gents? Everyone enjoying their new stay at home life?

A friend of mine brought me his guitar amp to look at about a week ago. He also brought me some homemade vodka & moonshine. Obviously drink tasting comes after amp testing, but I’m looking for some good drinks to mix as I am more of a craft beer & red wine guy.

The moonshine is 83%. I have no idea what to do with that. Clean stuff?

Macerate fruit in it, then use it as a basis for shooters. Pineapple, berries, ginger are good candidates.
Check "rum arrangé".

well covid related
Drink vodka + tonic water and a lime.

tonic water has quinine which is said to help against corona.

Insomniaclown said:

How goes the battle gents? Everyone enjoying their new stay at home life?

A friend of mine brought me his guitar amp to look at about a week ago. He also brought me some homemade vodka & moonshine. Obviously drink tasting comes after amp testing, but I’m looking for some good drinks to mix as I am more of a craft beer & red wine guy.

The moonshine is 83%. I have no idea what to do with that. Clean stuff?

Click to expand...

I have been sheltering in place for decades.
==
You can use 80% ethanol for hand sanitizer....

JR

Cut the moonshine by just a little over 1/2 with the best water you have available and you have vodka.  Roughly 40% abv.... Wether it’s good vodka or not is another question... it’ll take a few min for the water to blend into the alcohol.

I like a vodka gimlet - vodka lime simple syrup ( you can sub honey for simple syrup)

And a vodka martini, esp with 1-2 drops of bitters like peychauds, or lemon or orange bitters, not angostura

My girlfriend and some of her friends like Lacroix & vodka though that’s not my thing...

You could also make bitters with the high proof stuff, probably still watered down a bit...
frankly even if you keep it as high proof moonshine I’d still try to get it to about 120 proof (60%) before drinking....

Theres a distillery around 50 miles west of here in the beautiful town of Clonakility , there now producing a hand sanitiser product ,63% ethanol , hydrogen peroxide and a bit of glycol , it was in use at my local off-license , I joked with the girl behind the counter 'that smells good enough to drink' .

The traditional way of serving the moonshine here in Ireland  is as a hot toddy , simple enough ,add boiling water and sugar .,but you can easily herb and spice it up by replacing the sugar with honey ,a slice of lemon with a handfull of cloves stuck in adds an extra medicinal kick , if you happen to have a little sprig of fresh thyme that adds a little extra magic to it , same exact recipe works with whiskey too of course .The Irish name for whiskey is 'Uisce Beatha' or water of life .

They do say that you should always check the purity of the Poitín (putcheen) ,usually the way its done is to place a drop on a spoon and light it , the flame should burn almost invisible in daylight ,or in lower ambient light slightly blue , impurities will show up as  yellowness around the edges of the flame .

Ive evolved a sort of pagan ritual whiskey blessing when I return from trips to public places lately  ,maybe a 10-15ml measure (1/2 a fluid ounce) I dip my index and middle fingers in it apply either side of my ears ,then a wipe either side of my nose ,followed by a small inhale up the nostrils , whats left is taken by mouth, small sips vaped from the edge of the glass .

The redneck way to drink "shine" is to keep a bottle of it in the freezer to help a quick shot go down easier, or so I hear (don't worry it won't freeze). 

Decades ago my uncle who lived in the smoky mountains of NC where moonshine was a thing, tried to get the state to let him sell it legally in small bottles as a tourist novelty (the state declined). I don't think he made it himself, but knew people who would benefit from legal sales.

Classic old problem from back woods shine is lead poisoning from stills that used old car radiators for condensers. I don't know if your flame test would catch lead contamination.

Nowadays they sell small DIY stills to the adventurous for personal consumption.  Sounds like an OK hobby.

JR

PS: One of my early co-op jobs back in the 60s was as a draftsman at a water still company... They sold commercial water stills to "Old Mr Boston" an inexpensive booze maker in Boston, MA.

Isn't gin all the rage at the moment? You could macerate some botanicals?

The quality of the spirit will depend on how the ferment proceeded (and what was fermented), how the original fraction (cut) was collected (typically, broader worse, narrower better), whether there was iterative distillation and/or filtering employed.

Personally, I would be a little wary unless I was confident that the distiller had some competence. But I can sometimes overthink things (I'm a chemist). If it smells bad or tastes bad then it probably is bad.

Good vodka on the rocks gives the least hangover.  For mixers martinis are good,  pick your favorite flavor.  The oft maligned appletini is quite tasty,  and a  much stiffer drink than many realize.

I drank half a 70cl of undiluted poitín once , theres a kind of speedyness to the drunk off it , the spirit is so volatile its almost evaporating from within you , you can kinda smell  the fumes off your own breath and that seems to re-circulate into the blood stream directly back to the brain . The banned video for 'Smack my b***h up ' by the prodigy is a bit like how it feels on the shine, surreal almost hallucinogenic . Most likely you'll feel sick for a few days after , even with the good stuff ,the bad stuff and it could be good night Irene, good night  .

I guess the real danger with moonshine is air getting in while the fermentation is taking place ,then its maybe a mix of ethanol and methanol ,that might be the purpose of the flame test I think

Ive seen the mini stills alright ,wouldnt mind trying one . In the olden days a beer was brewed and the left overs would be stilled off as a general purpose cleaning agent ,a cure-all rub , topical disinfectant or for recreational purposes 
( I did also previously mention its use in easing a pigs final hours)

I recall one time I was working up a relatively large scale reaction (for a research lab) and it involved pouring about 3 litres of almost boiling hot (boiling point of 78degC from memory) ethanol solution through a buchner funnel. I couldn't do it in the fume hood (because of the size of the glassware) and I ended up inhaling a lot of the ethanol vapour. Suffice to say I had to go sit down for a while.

Diethyl ether vapour was another one you had to watch out for. A lot of it is used in a synthetic organic chemistry lab (during workups). Very sweet smelling and very volatile. Gives you the giggles. You can hold a small flask of diethyl ether in your hand and watch it eventually boil.

On well, at least we didn't wash our hands with benzene or carbon tet.

Thanks for all the replies! Vodka was my drink of choice when I was young & dumb, so I found it difficult to drink or even smell as I got older. My stomach seems to have forgotten these days. At my ladies Christmas party, her Polish bosses were buying vodka shots all night. To my surprise I had no issues putting them back.

abbey road d enfer said:

Macerate fruit in it, then use it as a basis for shooters. Pineapple, berries, ginger are good candidates.
Check "rum arrangé".

Click to expand...

Thank you sir! Those sound like some tasty shooters indeed. I'm too old for a quick hangover recovery, so I'll need to be careful with these.

pucho812 said:

well covid related
Drink vodka + tonic water and a lime.

tonic water has quinine which is said to help against corona.

Click to expand...

I am a fan of Gin & tonic with a lime, so this will probably be my first port of call. Interesting about the quinine. Once that tidbit gets out tonic water will be as rare as toilet paper and pasta sauce.

JohnRoberts said:

I have been sheltering in place for decades.
==
You can use 80% ethanol for hand sanitizer....

JR

Click to expand...

Once a week I think to myself "I'm going to build a cabin in the woods. Far, far from people". I like electricity & wifi too much haha.

I might just have to mix up some hand sanitizer. Can't find it anywhere still.

Seeker said:

Cut the moonshine by just a little over 1/2 with the best water you have available and you have vodka.  Roughly 40% abv.... Wether it’s good vodka or not is another question... it’ll take a few min for the water to blend into the alcohol.

I like a vodka gimlet - vodka lime simple syrup ( you can sub honey for simple syrup)

And a vodka martini, esp with 1-2 drops of bitters like peychauds, or lemon or orange bitters, not angostura

My girlfriend and some of her friends like Lacroix & vodka though that’s not my thing...

You could also make bitters with the high proof stuff, probably still watered down a bit...
frankly even if you keep it as high proof moonshine I’d still try to get it to about 120 proof (60%) before drinking....

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info on cutting it down. I had no plans on drinking it full strength. Was actually considering just pouring it in my gas tank.

I'll be honest, I've never tried a Martini, so now might be the time. That Vodka Gimlet sounds quite nice as well. Never had Lacroix, but I'm assuming it's sweet and covers the alcohol taste?

Tubetec said:

Theres a distillery around 50 miles west of here in the beautiful town of Clonakility , there now producing a hand sanitiser product ,63% ethanol , hydrogen peroxide and a bit of glycol , it was in use at my local off-license , I joked with the girl behind the counter 'that smells good enough to drink' .

The traditional way of serving the moonshine here in Ireland  is as a hot toddy , simple enough ,add boiling water and sugar .,but you can easily herb and spice it up by replacing the sugar with honey ,a slice of lemon with a handfull of cloves stuck in adds an extra medicinal kick , if you happen to have a little sprig of fresh thyme that adds a little extra magic to it , same exact recipe works with whiskey too of course .The Irish name for whiskey is 'Uisce Beatha' or water of life .

They do say that you should always check the purity of the Poitín (putcheen) ,usually the way its done is to place a drop on a spoon and light it , the flame should burn almost invisible in daylight ,or in lower ambient light slightly blue , impurities will show up as  yellowness around the edges of the flame .

Ive evolved a sort of pagan ritual whiskey blessing when I return from trips to public places lately  ,maybe a 10-15ml measure (1/2 a fluid ounce) I dip my index and middle fingers in it apply either side of my ears ,then a wipe either side of my nose ,followed by a small inhale up the nostrils , whats left is taken by mouth, small sips vaped from the edge of the glass .

Click to expand...

Hot Toddie!! Haven't had one of those in forever. I remember it was great for when I had a cold though. I think I usually made them with rum though, so I'll have to try again with some of this moonshine.

I did light some up on a spoon this AM which was fun. My lady was still sleeping, so also no need explain why I was using our cutlery to burn booze! Made videos of it burning with the lights on as well as with just a little light coming through the blinds. In the light you could see a faint pale blue colour to the flame. In a darker setting, the flames started pale blue, but after a few seconds there was definitely orange on the edges. Also the occasional orange flare.

I like your pagan whiskey ritual! I just wash my hands like a surgeon and then moisturize to avoid split finger tips. I might have to start taking a little whiskey too just to calm my nerves when I get home.

JohnRoberts said:

The redneck way to drink "shine" is to keep a bottle of it in the freezer to help a quick shot go down easier, or so I hear (don't worry it won't freeze). 

Decades ago my uncle who lived in the smoky mountains of NC where moonshine was a thing, tried to get the state to let him sell it legally in small bottles as a tourist novelty (the state declined). I don't think he made it himself, but knew people who would benefit from legal sales.

Classic old problem from back woods shine is lead poisoning from stills that used old car radiators for condensers. I don't know if your flame test would catch lead contamination.

Nowadays they sell small DIY stills to the adventurous for personal consumption.  Sounds like an OK hobby.

JR

PS: One of my early co-op jobs back in the 60s was as a draftsman at a water still company... They sold commercial water stills to "Old Mr Boston" an inexpensive booze maker in Boston, MA.

Click to expand...

Cool story John! That's very interesting. I know my friend's equipment is all the proper stuff, so I'm not worried about lead poisoning. Home beer & wine is pretty common here, but home distilling is 100% illegal. I'm not sure how he acquired all the equipment, but as long as he doesn't blow up the neighbourhood I don't see a problem with it haha.

john12ax7 said:

Good vodka on the rocks gives the least hangover.  For mixers martinis are good,  pick your favorite flavor.  The oft maligned appletini is quite tasty,  and a  much stiffer drink than many realize.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, I haven't tasted it yet, but it did smell "clean" for lack of a better word. Might be nice over ice. Appletini's sound just dangerous! You ever notice how "girlie" drinks are all sweet & fruity but just packed with booze?

Squeaky said:

Isn't gin all the rage at the moment? You could macerate some botanicals?

The quality of the spirit will depend on how the ferment proceeded (and what was fermented), how the original fraction (cut) was collected (typically, broader worse, narrower better), whether there was iterative distillation and/or filtering employed.

Personally, I would be a little wary unless I was confident that the distiller had some competence. But I can sometimes overthink things (I'm a chemist). If it smells bad or tastes bad then it probably is bad.

Click to expand...

Is Gin still the thing? I remember a few years ago there were a ton of boutique Gins available. At the time I really wanted a Gin advent calendar at Christmas, but never got around to buying one. I usually just stick to my Bombay Sapphire or London Dry, Tonic & lime. That's my go to hair of the dog drink.

I can say that the Vodka smells like Vodka. As I mentioned, it has a "clean" scent to it unlike Smirnoff, which is nasty. My friend is still alive, so I assume it's afe for human consumption

Tubetec said:

I drank half a 70cl of undiluted poitín once , theres a kind of speedyness to the drunk off it , the spirit is so volatile its almost evaporating from within you , you can kinda smell  the fumes off your own breath and that seems to re-circulate into the blood stream directly back to the brain . The banned video for 'Smack my b***h up ' by the prodigy is a bit like how it feels on the shine, surreal almost hallucinogenic . Most likely you'll feel sick for a few days after , even with the good stuff ,the bad stuff and it could be good night Irene, good night  .

I guess the real danger with moonshine is air getting in while the fermentation is taking place ,then its maybe a mix of ethanol and methanol ,that might be the purpose of the flame test I think

Ive seen the mini stills alright ,wouldnt mind trying one . In the olden days a beer was brewed and the left overs would be stilled off as a general purpose cleaning agent ,a cure-all rub , topical disinfectant or for recreational purposes 
( I did also previously mention its use in easing a pigs final hours)

Click to expand...

I just had to google "Poitin". One of the search suggestions was "Poutine", so now I'm hungry. I also now know the Irish word for hangover is " Póit", which makes perfect sense haha! That sounds like some dangerous stuff I must say. The closest I've ever actually drank was Bacardi 151, but that shot didn't make it past the back of my throat.

I'm not a young buck anymore, so a hangover recovery for me is at least 3 days. I am much more controlled because I know what awaits me should I go "Frank The Tank".

Looks like there are lots of uses for moonshine aside from killing brain cells!

Squeaky said:

I recall one time I was working up a relatively large scale reaction (for a research lab) and it involved pouring about 3 litres of almost boiling hot (boiling point of 78degC from memory) ethanol solution through a buchner funnel. I couldn't do it in the fume hood (because of the size of the glassware) and I ended up inhaling a lot of the ethanol vapour. Suffice to say I had to go sit down for a while.

Diethyl ether vapour was another one you had to watch out for. A lot of it is used in a synthetic organic chemistry lab (during workups). Very sweet smelling and very volatile. Gives you the giggles. You can hold a small flask of diethyl ether in your hand and watch it eventually boil.

On well, at least we didn't wash our hands with benzene or carbon tet.

Click to expand...

Wow! I bet you had to sit down for awhile after that. You've reminded me of a friend of mine when we were in high school. We learned in chemistry class that mixing bleach & ammonia gave you hydrochloric acid. He went home, took a bucket of bleach into the backyard, and proceeded to pour in ammonia with his face directly over the bucket. He was knocked unconscious from the chlorine gas, and woke up a little while later not feeling so great.

Sometimes I wonder how we survived childhood, but then again, we didn't eat tide pods or try to snort condoms.

Insomniaclown said:

Is Gin still the thing? I remember a few years ago there were a ton of boutique Gins available. At the time I really wanted a Gin advent calendar at Christmas, but never got around to buying one. I usually just stick to my Bombay Sapphire or London Dry, Tonic & lime. That's my go to hair of the dog drink.

Click to expand...

Gin has not been a thing for me since my 18th birthday when I consumed a whole bottle myself and proceeded to get sick to my stomach... Since then gin has lost any attraction.  Our body programs us to reject previous poisons our gut reacted to by projectile vomiting.

Several years ago I started an old folk remedy for arthritis to soak golden raisins in gin and consume several daily. Anecdotally it seems to help ( not clinically proved), certainly didn't hurt and harmless... so now I get several drops a day of gin.  Soaking in sweet raisins improves the flavor profile IMO. 

JR

I found the earlier comment about gin still being a thing hilarious! I live in the provinces in New Zealand and we finally got a gin bar a few weeks ago. I feel for the owners actually.

JohnRoberts said:

Gin has not been a thing for me since my 18th birthday when I consumed a whole bottle myself and proceeded to get sick to my stomach... Since then gin has lost any attraction.  Our body programs us to reject previous poisons our gut reacted to by projectile vomiting.

Several years ago I started an old folk remedy for arthritis to soak golden raisins in gin and consume several daily. Anecdotally it seems to help ( not clinically proved), certainly didn't hurt and harmless... so now I get several drops a day of gin.  Soaking in sweet raisins improves the flavor profile IMO. 

JR

Click to expand...

Your Gin is my Vodka. Too many nights in my late teens, too many hurting mornings. Finally one morning I woke up not feeling great, kicked over a cup that was pure vodka, and the smell alone sent me running to the bathroom. That was just over 20 years ago, and I have t really touched the stuff unless it’s mixed

Squeaky said:

I found the earlier comment about gin still being a thing hilarious! I live in the provinces in New Zealand and we finally got a gin bar a few weeks ago. I feel for the owners actually.

Click to expand...

You’re a New Zealander! I should have read that under your name. I lived in Wellington for 2 years (2010-2012 I think? I’m bad with dates). Now that’s some good beer. Emerson’s, Mac, Monteiths, Stoke so good! Not to mention the incredible winery’s.

Oh right, this isn’t a beer and wine thread.

I live about 300km north of the windy city, which is probably about how far I have to drive for decent yum cha. We are lucky in NZ in that we have the climate for growing excellent hops. Our hops are well-recognised (I recall that Sierra Nevada used them for a limited edition) but Europe is still the main source of a lot of the barley? Not sure about that.

Unfortunately, a trend over here is for a craft label to make some great beer, get some purchase in the market, and then sell out to a major. Even Emerson's did it!

We can get it back on track by noting that 42 below vodka started in Wellington in someone's back yard (42nd parallel).

The home distilling of spirits is legal in NZ as is growing your own tobacco (if you were so inclined). Contrasting liberties in a country that is currently so heavily policed.

Cheers,

Nick

Squeaky said:

I live about 300km north of the windy city, which is probably about how far I have to drive for decent yum cha. We are lucky in NZ in that we have the climate for growing excellent hops. Our hops are well-recognised (I recall that Sierra Nevada used them for a limited edition) but Europe is still the main source of a lot of the barley? Not sure about that.

Unfortunately, a trend over here is for a craft label to make some great beer, get some purchase in the market, and then sell out to a major. Even Emerson's did it!

We can get it back on track by noting that 42 below vodka started in Wellington in someone's back yard (42nd parallel).

The home distilling of spirits is legal in NZ as is growing your own tobacco (if you were so inclined). Contrasting liberties in a country that is currently so heavily policed.

Cheers,

Nick

Click to expand...

I definitely remember the hops. Many different varieties and a lot of the craft beers had prominent hops flavours in their beers. I’m not a huge hops guy though. More of an Amber ale/honey lager type.

That’s the way of the craft brewers when they get popular. I just always hope that the big boys who take over don’t compromise on the product, but it happens all too often.

You don’t want to grow your own tobacco? But why not? Lol. I’m not patient enough for home brewing/distilling. My dad tried making beer for awhile. I think he had one batch that was semi ok.

My buddy sent me a picture of his setup to share with you guys. I didn’t tell him how brutal y’all can be though

If you wanted to make a punchy apple flavoured drink you could try freezing down a bottle of cider ,a lot of the water will turn solid ,
the alcohol will be concentrated along with the flavour into a smaller volume . Suppose you freeze it then decant off 1/2 the volume ,you'll have doubled the strenght,  1/4 the volume x4 the strenght etc  you will end up with something between 12% and 24% , now you can mix in some of the 'pure drop' from the still to make an apple liqueur . The market is awash with horrible green apple drinks full of sugar and synthetic crap , do your tastebuds a favour try the real deal.