Bilberry Whiskey

[PJMCBear]

I've just made some Bilberry whiskey and I was wondering about storage.

Whilst I know I need to keep it for about 3 months before I remove the fruit pulp to prevent it tasting woody, should I be keeping in a darkened area?

How about gases? I've just loosely screwed on the bottle lids to allow the gases to escape. Do you think that will be enough?

 

[Toddy]

If you've used enough whisky there shouldn't be any fermentation, and you won't want the gases to escape 'cos that'll be the whisky

I've just made sloe whisky, and though I'm not much of a drinker, it's lovely
Let the fruit steep in a sealed jar/ bottle, shake often, I keep mine in the kithcen on the worktop and give it a shoogle when I go by. It's at least Autumn by the time I'm doing it so it's not sunny anyway, but I do store the finished bottles in a cool pantry.

Match, British Red and some of the others are likely to have good advice.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[chrisanson]

Am listening very carefully
Chris

 

[bikething]

You found bilberrys at this time of year???

I've got a bottle of blackberry whisky i made in october tucked away in a cupboard. I filtered it through a double layer of coffee filter over the christmas break - just letting it stand for a month or two

 

[ArkAngel]

OOOHHHHH i like the sound of this

I LOVE whiskey, is there a link to another thread about how to make it or can someone enlighten me on here?

 

[Toddy]

Uhmmm, don't know, though I think Biddlesby made some bramble stuff.
I just half fill a big jar with fruit, then cover with enough soft brown sugar to sift down and fill the spaces, then pour over it all with gin or whisky up till the jar is over three quarters full. Shake well until the sugar looks dissolved. Leave for three months or so then strain through two layers of kitchen towels in a sieve (helps it you cut them into circles, no drips )
Bottle, label, and leave somewhere cool and forgotten for, ooooh, as long as you can manage really
It's usually a happy finding

Cheers, (literally)

Toddy

 

[British Red]

I've made a few (oww there goes a rib laffin) spirits in my time. Strangely, I have blown a bottle or two from gasses. As Toddy says, all you are doing is flavouring raw spirit so there is no way fermentation should happen. I rather suspect the gas you do get is occasioned by the breakdown of the fruit ratehr than any fermentation. Ideally and airlock and a demijohn is the way to go (only a poistive build up of pressure will cause venting - this prevents the horrible thought of alcohol evaporating).

Now given all you are doing is flavouring - its not as critical as fermentation. My suggestion is to flavour your spirit with fruit and then, after three months (shaking every day for a fortnight and then every week), run the spirit off first through a seive, then through a coffee filter. Then, and only then add sugar in the form of a pound of sugar dissolved in a tiny amount of boiling water (sugar syrup). Mix in a little at a time till you find the right flavour for you

Red

 

[Singeblister]

I just left my sloe Gin on the work top and gave it a shake as I went by , as stated above , let me know when its done Paul I will pop round for a taste and bring you some of the Gin

 

[PJMCBear]

Cheers everyone. I think I'm going to enjoy this.

Bilberries were picked last year and frozen. We had such a bumper crop I got fed up of turning them into tarts & cakes. As they are a little old now I thought I'd used them up in whiskey.

Singleblister, I'll give you a shout when it's ready and we can do some testing.

 

[PhilParry]

surely (although it might be ever so slightly illegal/immoral?) you could actually use the bilberry's to ferment a "beer" and then distill into Whiskey?? I'm talking purely theoretically of course!

Phil

 

[British Red]

Any fermenting product can be distilled to concentrate the alcohol. Its strictly illegal in the UK as you say not to mention dangerous from an explosion and poisoning (through bringing over the wrong distillates) point of view. In my head you would get more of a Slivovitz or vodka type spirit though since whisky comes from a fermented grain rather than fruit.

Umm apparently

Red (ohh its legal in New Zealand though - huzzah)

 

[Minotaur]

Wkii says : -

Whisky, or whiskey, refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in oak casks. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize (or corn).

When or where distilled spirits were first produced is unknown, but most scholars believe that it was between A.D. 800 and A.D. 900 in the Middle East.[1]

surely (although it might be ever so slightly illegal/immoral?) you could actually use the bilberry's to ferment a "beer" and then distill into Whiskey?? I'm talking purely theoretically of course!

Phil

I go with British Red distillation of acohol is illigal/licensed. There was a big debate on Frugal about the information, because it is available and used for a vareity of uses i.e water and oils, but as was decided there I would not post it because the most obvous use for it, is to make acohol.

However, did the Vikings not freeze beer to create a spirit?

As for the Moral question most European spirits where invented by Monks.

 

[Toddy]

What's the legality of ice brewing?
I have (all in the past y'know) ice brewed the homemade cider from windfall apples, and the resultant liquor is potent stuff. It tasted smooth and sweet, and lets just say it was ahellof a ceilidh


Cheers,
Toddy

 

[gregorach]

Good question there Mary - I know I've often stuck beer in the freezer to chill, only to end up doing impromptu freeze-distillation...

 

[PJMCBear]

Half fill a 70cl bottle with fruit, 1.5oz sugar, small piece of cinnamon, a clove and fill with whiskey. Store for 3-4 months, giving a shake daily for the first 2 weeks, then once a week.

After prescribed time filter out fruit and rebottle. Store for another month and it can then be shared, although it's supposed to get better if you leave it for a few months.