Cherry moonshine: 6 recipes

Cherry moonshine with an exquisite almond flavor was invented in German lands as an alternative to drinks based on grain must. Colorless, it also serves as a base for the preparation of various original cocktails, aromatic liqueurs and sweet liqueurs.

Rules for making sweet cherry moonshine at home

German kirsch is distilled through a special copper distiller - alambik, but domestic craftsmen claim that the same high-quality cherry drink is obtained in an ordinary apparatus.

Cherry braga for moonshine

The best drink will come from juicy, sweet, slightly overripe small berries, although any varieties of cherries are suitable for this purpose.

It is important to follow the recommended conditions during the preparation of the product. The fruits are harvested in dry weather, keeping the wild yeast on the skin. Water and berries are taken in a 1: 2 ratio, but some recipes require a different ratio.

Cooking sequence:

1. The berries are sorted out, removing leaves and small debris, but they are not washed.
2. The fruits are crushed under a press so that the seeds are not crushed.
3. If you don't like the zest of kirsch - the almond flavor - they choose bones from the mass.
4. Braga is allowed to stand in glass or ceramic dishes in a warm place, even in the sun, for the first 60–70 hours.
5. When foam appears and a slight hissing is heard, a water seal is installed or poured into a special container for long fermentation.
6. The wort is transferred to a dark, warm room, where the temperature does not drop below 25 ^°C.
7. Fermentation lasts at least 10–20 days, but it is important not to delay the distillation after clarification of the liquid, so that the mass does not peroxide.

The process of distillation of moonshine from cherries

• When preparing for distillation, the mash is filtered through cheesecloth once, without achieving clarification.
• The whole mass is also distilled without squeezing the berries.
• If seeds for flavor are added to the apparatus, the process is closely monitored so that the tube does not clog or explode.
• The first distillation is carried out over low heat with steam, a water bath and direct heating are permissible.
• Traditional kirsch is driven with preliminary boiling of the wort in order to remove hydrocyanic acid in the process.
• The rectification continues until the end of the liquid.
• Raw cheese is diluted to a strength of 20% and a second distillation is carried out, since the first is suitable only for technical needs. It makes up 10-15% of the total volume of alcohol.
• The fortress of the main fraction is 55–40%.
• If the jet is below 40%, there is already a cloudy residue. It is also selected separately and used for the next distillations.

Cleaning, brewing moonshine

The pungent smell and woody taste of the cherry product is removed by cleaning and settling in glass or ceramic vessels. Oak chips are added to the containers or the bottles are closed with corks.

The resulting drink is also poured into small barrels and stored for up to six months or longer, up to 3 years. In the homeland of the kirsch, it is insisted in clay jugs with wooden corks.

How to make sweet cherry moonshine without yeast

According to a simplified technology, the drink is produced without yeast and sugar.

• 12 kg of berries;
• 4 liters of water.

Technology:

1. Prepared and chopped berries with whole seeds are placed for the first fermentation for 70 hours.
2. When the process of foam formation begins, the mass is poured into a container with a water seal for long fermentation and water is added.
3. Clarification of the mash signals that distillation can begin.
4. The mass is filtered through cheesecloth and a secondary distillation is done.

Bitterness and astringency are inherent in the drink obtained in this way. It is used as a raw material for liqueurs and liqueurs. Previously, punch, grog and burnt were prepared on its basis.

Traditional recipe for sweet cherry moonshine with sugar

The taste of moonshine will be brighter if the mash is put on sugar and yeast. This recipe produces a drink similar to the traditional kirsch. In the same way, a product is prepared from wild-growing cherries.

• 10 kg of berries;
• 2.5 kg of sugar;
• 300 g of pressed yeast or 60 g of dry yeast;
• 10 liters of water.

Process:

1. The berries are kneaded to let the juice go.
2. Yeast is placed in 200 ml of warm water and sprinkled with a spoonful of sugar. Fermentation will begin in a few minutes. The mixture is poured over the berries.
3. Add sugar.
4. Install a water seal and place in heat until the end of fermentation. If the gas ceases to evolve, the mash has become light and savory, you need to start the second distillation.

How to make moonshine from yellow cherries

Excess yellow cherries can also be used for distillation. They wait until the berries are fully ripe, it is better to take even overripe ones. Without sugar, the drink is prepared only from dark red fruits, and from yellow varieties it is driven on the basis of sweet mash.

• 8 kg of cherries;
• 1.3 kg of sugar;
• 65 g of compressed yeast;
• 4 liters of water.

Preparation:

1. The berries are crushed with your hands to release the juice.
2. Yeast is diluted, added with sugar to berries.
3. A container with a water seal stands in a place with a temperature above 25 ^°From 8-11 days, until the liquid brightens.
4. Distilled according to the rules 2 times.

Cherry and cherry moonshine

The sweetness of the ripe cherries and the acidity of the cherries complement each other during the fermentation process. 8 liters of moonshine comes out of the specified amount.

Ingredients:

• 10 kg of fruits;
• 2 kg of sugar;
• 200 g fresh yeast.

Process:

1. The seeds are removed from the berries, kneaded or crushed.
2. Yeast is diluted in warm water. Mix berries, yeast and sugar.
3. The first two days, the mash is stirred 2-3 times a day.
4. When fermentation is over, do a double distillation.

Cherry moonshine tinctures

An alcoholic beverage made from sweet berries is often used to make aromatic liqueurs.

Recipe for tincture of moonshine on cherries with honey

The cherry drink has an almond aftertaste, so the berries are pitted.

• 1 liter of cherry moonshine diluted with water up to 40%;
• 1 kg of ripe berries;
• 150 g of honey.

Technology:

1. The berries are crushed.
2. Mix honey, berries and moonshine, tightly close the bottle, put in a bright place for 2 weeks. The bottle is shaken every day.
3. The mass is filtered and bottled.

Homemade cherry liqueur on moonshine

Cherry moonshine is also used for this product, which has almond notes.

• 1 kg of ripe berries;
• 1.5 liters of moonshine;
• 1 kg of sugar.

Cooking process:

1. Pits are removed from the cherries, the mass is crushed in a blender.
2. Mix with sugar and transfer to a bottle.
3. Insist on the sun for 10 days. Every day the bottle is opened and the contents are shaken.
4. The infusion is filtered, moonshine is added.
5. Leave the aroma to pick up for a few more days before tasting.

Improving the taste characteristics of sweet cherry moonshine

The organoleptic qualities of cherry moonshine are preserved only after the second distillation. Other cleaning methods can distort the taste of the drink.

1. The degrees in the moonshine are specified: the total amount is divided by one hundred percent and multiplied by the number determined when measuring the strength of the drink.
2. The distillate is dissolved with water up to 20 degrees.
3. Re-distillation is carried out. Again, the first portion with harmful properties is taken away.
4. The main faction is taken until a decrease in fortress from 40% is recorded. The cloudy precipitate is collected in another vessel for subsequent distillations.
5. Adjust the strength of the drink by adding water to 40–45%.
6. Poured into containers with sealed stoppers, wooden or cork.
7. The taste stabilizes after a few days. They soften the drink by adding fructose at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 1 liter of forty-degree moonshine.

Conclusion

Cherry moonshine is an original drink with a special aftertaste. Storage containers with the addition of oak elements play a significant role in creating the characteristic notes during its preparation. With an excessive harvest of sweet cherries, lovers can try to repeat the recipe of a recognized alcoholic product.

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