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Apple Pie Tincture?

happywino

I make a liqueur that I call Apple Pie "Moonshine". Part of the process is to let apple pie spices and cinnamon sticks steep in the essentially finished product (18-25% ABV depending on the batch) until enough of the spice flavors come through enough for my taste.

I use either 75.5% or 95% grain alcohol. As I was shaking the jug for the 7-8th day in a row I got to thinking, there has to be a better way to do this! (Filtering out the spices once it's ready is a particular PITA)

Does anybody have any experience making what I can only think of as a "tincture" using the alcohol and the spices? My thought is to make a high concentrated liquid that I can use a lot like vanilla essence to add the spice flavors to the "'shine"

At first I was thinking just soak a lot of spice in a small amount of alcohol and then filter. Then I got to wondering if I could increase the extraction (and decrease the time) by putting the mixture into a water bath.

Any advice?

Cheers

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happywino

Any suggestions for a starting ratio of spices to solvent?

I reread the bitters recipe and saw that you used regular Vodka, was that a conscious choice over something higher proof (Everclear 151 or 190) or just a "lowest common denominator" choice?

Cheers

happywino

Overwhelming would be fine as I only want to add a small amount to each batch, bitter on the other hand...not so much. I guess it's time I came up with my own whole spice blend and started experimenting. Cloves, cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, allspice, all sounds good...nutmeg on the other hand

"Smack it with a hammer" and put the smaller pieces in?

Brendan_Lee_56950

Yeah, pressure extraction is powerful so ground spices can become overwhelming very quickly and they can over-extract and become bitter. I always use whole spices.

happywino

I hadn't thought about pressure infusion but I have the equipment, do you think (finely) powdered spices would extract well? Up until now I have been using a pre-made apple pie spice powder (freshly ground), now I think about it I guess you are suggesting I use whole spices instead?

ttpoker

You might get some inspiration from the Whipping Syphon classes here on ChefSteps, take a look at the Cherry Cola recepie, they use a small amount of everclear that is infused with flavor, which they then add to the sugar water. Perhaps you can infuse a small batch with pressure or vacuum infusion, and then dilute with the rest of the liquor?
https://www.chefsteps.com/classes/whipping-siphons/#/cherry-cola?

Brendan_Lee_56950

I agree with @anthony pressure infusion may be the easiest way to do this without having to mess around with grinding and filtering.

awdigiulian

You can use a whipping siphon and n2o chargers.