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  • Spirit base

    First off, appologies if this is in the wrong area. It's about kits, but about not using a kit *shrug*

    I am thinking of making one of these amaretto liquer kits, but it occured to me you buy the flavouring to add seperately to a base kit. What exactly is the spirit base kit? Is it just good yeast and finings? Can I make my own base up to 20% with sugar, water, nutrient and a good yeast?
    David
    Wine making noob

  • #2
    Best to use vodka, it will give a cleaner finish to the liquer.
    Discount Home Brew Supplies
    Chairman of 5 Towns Wine & Beer Makers Circle!
    Convenor of Judges YFAWB Show Committee
    National Wine Judge
    N.G.W.B.J Member

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    • #3
      SpudtheBinx

      try one of these better and cheaper

      Old-un
      Amaretto
      Yield: One Fifth

      Ingredients:
      1 cup sugar
      3/4 cup water
      2 dried apricot halves
      1 tbsp. almond extract
      1/2 cup alcohol(180 proof)
      1/2 cup water Or
      1 cup vodka
      1 cup brandy
      3 drop yellow food coloring
      6 drop red food coloring
      2 drop blue food coloring
      1/2 tsp. glycerine

      Instructions:
      1. Combine sugar and 3/4 cup water in saucepan
      2. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
      3. Reduce heat and simmer until all sugar is dissolved.
      4. Remove from heat and cool.
      5. In aging container, combine apricot halves, almond extract alcohol, 1/2 cup water, and brandy.
      6. Stir in cooled sugar syrup mixture.
      7. Cap and let age 2 days.
      8. Remove apricot halves.
      9. Add food coloring and glycerine.
      10. Stir, recap and continue aging for 1 to 2 months.
      11. Re-bottle as desired.
      12. Liqueur is ready to serve but will continue to improve with additional aging.
      Variation:
      For a more prominent 'bitter almond' flavour.
      1. Add 4 apricot nuts, *split in half, to basic mixture.
      2. Leave in the liqueur 2 days to 2 weeks, depending upon the depth of flavour desired.
      3. Remove and discard apricot nuts, Continue as directed.
      Please Note:
      Apricot 'nuts' come from within the apricot pit. You may split the apricot pits yourself or obtain them dried at a health food store.
      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Amaretto
      Yield: One Fifth
      Ingredients:
      1/2 lbs. almonds
      2 dried apricot halves, chopped
      2 cups brandy
      1/2 cup pure grain alcohol
      1/2 cup water
      1 tbsp. orange rind
      1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
      1/2 cup water (another)
      2 tsp. almond extract
      1 tsp. glycerine

      Instructions:
      1. Chop almonds
      2. Place in aging container.
      3. Add brandy, grain alcohol and water.
      4. Include some of the bitter white pith of the orange ring when grating. Add orange rind and apricots to mixture.
      5. Stir, cap and age for 1 to 2 months in a cool, dark place.
      6. Stir and test almond flavor after 1 month to determine if additional aging is desired.
      7. After initial aging, strain and filter liqueur.
      8. Combine sugar and 1/2 cup water in small saucepan.
      9. Bring to boil, dissolving all sugar.
      10. Cool.
      11. Add sugar-water, almond extract and glycerine to liqueur.
      12. Bottle.
      13. Liqueur is ready to drink, but will age gracefully.
      ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Amaretto
      Ingredients:
      1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
      1 1/2 cups vodka
      1/2 cup sugar
      1/4 cup water

      Instructions:
      1. Boil sugar and water together.
      2. Cool.
      3. Add all ingredients together.
      4. Shake well.
      5. Mature a few days, and it's ready to drink
      ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Amaretto
      Ingredients:
      2 cups sugar
      2 cups water
      2 cups vodka
      2 cups brandy
      3 to 4 tsp. almond extract

      Instructions:
      1. Bring to boil water.
      2. All sugar
      3. Reduce and simmer for 10 minutes.
      4. Stir occasionally.
      5. Remove from heat and cool.
      6. Stir in remaining ingredients.
      7. Bottle and let sit in a dark place for 30 days

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      • #4
        Originally posted by SpudtheBinx View Post
        First off, appologies if this is in the wrong area. It's about kits, but about not using a kit *shrug*

        I am thinking of making one of these amaretto liquer kits, but it occured to me you buy the flavouring to add seperately to a base kit. What exactly is the spirit base kit? Is it just good yeast and finings? Can I make my own base up to 20% with sugar, water, nutrient and a good yeast?
        As far as I'm aware, you can get the "kit" to make up to 23% abv "spirit base". They are, as I understand, just yeast/nutrient. You make them with water/sugar - the amount of sugar dictates the amount of alcohol.

        Once you make the base, you just add a commercial flavouring - there's quite a few available.

        Hot cinnamon "schnapps" is rather medicinal in taste.

        Of course, you can look into distilling, but in the UK that's a licensable activity. Not a smart move, upsetting HMRC. They have very sharp claws and very nasty teeth. I believe they look rather dimly on the unlicensed production of "excise goods".

        Hence unless you want to try this just for the experience, you'd be better placed buying the cheapest vodka you can find and then just adding the commercial flavourings. The Prestige brand and Ambrosia brand ones come in small bottles and are designed to flavour 1 normal size bottle of voddy i.e. 750ml's, the "still spirits" brand flavourings come in packets and bottles. The liqueur ones flavour 1.125 litres (40 oz's) or 1 and 1 half normal bottles - but you have to use the "liqueur base" as well - which I think you'll find is glucose. The Prestige/Ambrosia ones just seem to use sugar.

        It's all very hit and miss though, some of them are excellent, whereas some of them are not very nice. I haven't yet tried an amaretto/almond one.

        regards

        JtFB
        Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

        Some blog ramblings

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by fatbloke View Post
          Of course, you can look into distilling, but in the UK that's a licensable activity. Not a smart move, upsetting HMRC. They have very sharp claws and very nasty teeth. I believe they look rather dimly on the unlicensed production of "excise goods".

          yes they do!
          N.G.W.B.J.
          Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
          Wine, mead and beer maker

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