Recipes for cognac from oak bark are very diverse and they are designed for different amounts of raw materials.
Sequencing:
The technology for making cognac from oak bark at home is quite simple. Vodka must be poured into a three-liter jar, add sugar previously melted in a tablespoon and mix thoroughly. After that, you need to place oak bark and vanillin in a jar, cork with a lid and send for infusion in a dark, cool place for 30 days.
An indicator of the readiness of this home alcoholic drink you can count its color. Homemade cognac, infused with oak bark and burnt sugar, will have a pleasant caramel color, which will become even more intense with each extra day of infusion.
At the end of the infusion, you need to strain the drink 2-3 times through several layers of gauze, pour into bottles and cool. After that, you can start tasting cognac at the festive table.
Recipe for homemade cognac from moonshine on oak bark
You can also cook homemade cognac from moonshine on oak bark. This recipe is well-deservedly popular among a large number lovers of homemade drinks. Preparation of tincture in Latgalian style is one of the most common ways of refining moonshine “for cognac”. This recipe was invented in Latvia, namely in the historical region of the country called Latgale. There are many variations in the preparation of this drink, but there is a so-called classic recipe cognac from moonshine on oak bark, which has been tested by many generations and always gives a good result.
Ingredients:
- 3 liters of purified moonshine of double distillation, diluted to a reading of 50 degrees;
- 2 tbsp. l. oak bark (dry);
- 3 heads of cloves;
- 1/5 whole nutmeg or nut powder on the tip of a knife;
- 1 crushed coriander seed or 1 g ground coriander
- 3 art. l. Sahara.
Sequencing:
Before preparing cognac, oak bark must first be soaked for 15-20 minutes in hot boiled water, then dried and only then used to make a drink. Sugar must be dissolved in 50 ml of water and make caramel syrup.
Next, you need to place soaked oak bark, sugar and all spices in a 3-liter jar, pour moonshine, mix thoroughly and send to a dark place with room temperature for insisting for a period of 2 to 4 weeks. If you infuse the drink in a warm place, for example, near the battery, then the infusion period will be reduced to 10-12 days.
After the infusion process is completed and the drink acquires a rich brown color and a pronounced aroma, the tincture must be filtered. First, you need to clean the tincture from large particles of bark, and then again from smaller ones, through several layers of gauze and finally through filter paper. The purified drink should be put for a month in a dark place for further infusion, after which it will be possible to start tasting.
Recipe for homemade cognac from alcohol on oak bark
Another drink that has been tested over the years is home-made cognac made from alcohol on oak bark “in a rustic way”. The method of preparing a drink according to this recipe is similar to the previous one, but there are much more ingredients.
Ingredients (main):
- 3 liters of alcohol diluted to 45-50 degrees;
- 4 tbsp. l. oak bark or oak chips 6 pieces 10 cm long 4x4 cm thick;
- 3 art. l. Sahara;
- 15 dried rose hips;
- 4 things. black peppercorns;
- 1 tsp high-quality large-leaf black tea;
- 1 branch of St. John's wort.
In addition to the main ingredients, you can also use additional components such as:
- 1 st. l. raisins;
- 1 PC. prunes;
- 1 PC. vanilla in a pod (about 3 cm);
- 15 g of oregano;
- 20 g thyme.
Sequencing:
First you need to prepare caramel syrup from sugar dissolved in a small amount water. After that, all the ingredients must be placed in a three-liter jar, poured with diluted alcohol and sent to infuse in a dark place for a week. It is recommended to pre-soak oak bark and wild rose in hot boiled water for 15 minutes, dry it and only then use it to make a drink.
After 7 days, you need to remove vanilla and prunes from the jar and insist the drink for another two weeks, while the jar must be shaken every two days. After 3 weeks, the drink should be filtered through several layers of gauze, bottled and sent "to rest" for another week in the cellar or refrigerator. If sediment appears again after resting, the drink should be filtered again.
As can be seen from the information above, the recipes for cognac from alcohol or vodka on oak bark are simple and very diverse. Drinks obtained by any of these methods are very aromatic and pleasant to the taste. At the same time, remember that the longer they are stored after straining, the better their taste will be.
Alcohol, infused with oak chips, has a noble color, does not require special preparation costs and is quite pleasant to the taste. The preparation process is quite simple, can be carried out at home and usually does not require much time.
Do-it-yourself oak chips for moonshine
The main material is oak, from which chips are prepared. Among the wide variety of species, Caucasian (Krasnodar oaks) are the most valued. They have specific characteristics (physical and chemical), which are highly valued by world wine experts.
Chips should be split along the wood fibers with a length of about 10 cm and a thickness of up to 2 cm. Then it is dried naturally in the sun and wind. You can also use artificial drying. This method is preferable, as it allows you to take full control of the entire process and significantly reduce the drying time. The dryer, made in the form of a plastic shelf with a fan, does a good job of this. After drying, the oak chips are ready for further processing.
Next comes the soaking process. For this, the chips are placed in a container with cold water for one day. It is recommended to change the water every 6 hours. In the process of the last soaking, a little soda should be added to the water (1 teaspoon per 5 liters of water).
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When this stage is over, oak chips are washed very thoroughly in rather cold water and put on steaming (up to 2 hours). To do this, you can use a strainer (metal) placed on top of a pot boiling with water. This process can be replaced by pouring boiling water over the chips, which will significantly reduce the time.
At the end of the process, the chips are again washed with very cold water, after which they are dried for 12 hours. At the same time, they are periodically mixed to achieve uniform moisture removal. Dried oak chips are placed in an oven and heated at a temperature of about 150-160 ° C for three to four hours. During warming up, a very pleasant spicy vanilla aroma appears.
Next, it is fried (preferably on the grill) to give it a dark color. This must be done with special care so that the blanks do not catch fire and do not overcook. When the desired shade is reached, the oven turns off and the door is left open. This process is easy and does not take much time.
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You can use prepared oak chips to infuse moonshine several times. The consumption of oak material is usually from 20 to 40 g for every 10 liters of alcohol having a strength of 70 °. A drink infused with oak chips should have a straw color. If the shade is darker, then technological process was violated.
Roasting oak chips at home
After the soaking and boiling procedures, oak pegs are well washed and dried. Dry blanks that have got rid of moisture should be laid out in a fairly even layer on a baking sheet and placed in the oven. A microwave oven can also be used for this purpose. The temperature for frying is recommended to be set within 150-160 ° C, and the process itself is carried out for 2 hours.
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You can do it in a slightly different way, which can save a lot of time. Without waiting for complete drying, the chips are placed in an electric oven, the lower and upper heating is turned on at a temperature of 150 ° C. The final drying time is 20 minutes.
During this process, it is necessary to turn the wood chips over a couple of times for better drying. Upon completion of drying, the temperature rises to 200 °C, and calcination is carried out for 15 minutes. A small light smoke signals the end of the process. Carefully monitor the condition of the chips - in no case should the appearance of fire and charring of the edges be allowed.
As a result of roasting, the pegs acquire a characteristic color (brown). Heat treatment converts some of the tannins into vanillin and some other compounds. The sugar present in the wood caramelizes. Chips browned in this way should be stored in a dry, well-ventilated room. The presence of high humidity can have a detrimental effect on wood.
The cask is a very important part of cognac production. Without a good, proper barrel, cognac is already chatter. Usually cognac spirits stand in old, repeatedly used barrels, but sooner or later they wear out, and you have to buy new ones.
Cognac itself is a drink of very strict rules. The requirements are so harsh that some winemakers give up everything, start making moonshine, and end up drinking themselves. Those who age buy barrels from this factory: they are made from especially valuable oaks, undergo long-term natural processing, and all this combines centuries-old traditions. Not in a basin to withstand cognac, in fact!
It is the barrel that gives cognac its unique taste, and it is by insisting in it that the drink acquires those very favorite by tasters, but incomprehensible to the rest, notes of vanilla with the bitterness of kacius.
1. The company is called Vicard, it is located in the city of Cognac, and it is a family factory, like many businesses in France. In this case, this is already the sixth generation of coopers. 
2. There are several Bondar productions in the region, but this is the largest, and it can be said that most cognac houses keep their spirits in these barrels. 
3. Are you wondering where the kick starts? The barrel starts from French oak, which is cut down with great respect, reverence, and only with special permission. You can’t take any kind of oak: for noble drink only a venerable old oak will do, their age is, on average, about two hundred years old !! 
4. These oaks are bought at a special auction, a cubic meter of wood costs from 600 euros and more. And the company needs 15 thousand cubic meters annually for production. 
5. Where can you get so many old oaks? For this, the French are incredibly grateful to the British. The fact is that since the 16th century, the British planted a huge number of such oaks for use in building their fleet for numerous wars with France. The wars are long over, but the oaks remain. The English sell them at exorbitant prices at auctions, and the French make barrels, prepare cognac infused with English oaks, and quietly grin to themselves. 
6. Almost the entire territory of the plant is occupied by such oak boards stacked in pallets, here they are called lamellae. Just think about these figures: ten hectares are reserved only for aging wood. According to the coopers themselves, this is the largest such vault in the world. 
7. Aging is very important to the process of creating a barrel, so the tree "lives" on the street for a long three years. It is not closed with anything, it is constantly in the sun, in the wind, in the rain and snow. As planned, the tree lives its own life, gets wet from showers and dries in the spring sun, absorbs moisture and gives it away. Pallets with wood differ greatly from each other in color: the lightest ones were cut quite recently, while the dark ones have been here for a long time. 
8. In order to make lamellas from tree trunks, they also need to be moistened. There is no way to wait three years, so portable sprayers are installed. 
9. Let's go inside. 
10. A factory is already felt here: some ingenious machines and devices. It is on them that the lamellas are cut. 
11. Our plant guide shows how many lamellas will be obtained from such hemp. Figures: out of five cubic meters of oak bought at the auction, only one cubic meter of wood suitable for lamellas is obtained. And raw materials cost 600 euros per cubic meter, as you remember. In the process of production, it becomes even more expensive: a cubic meter of lamellas, if I may say so, already costs 3,000 euros. Precious piece of wood! 
12. And now with a knife on her, without a twinge of conscience! 
13. The process is semi-automated and almost jeweler: in order not to make a mistake, the operator monitors everything with the help of video cameras installed on the machine and controls it with a joystick: saw here, don’t saw here. 
14. After slicing, one more control to see if there is a marriage. 
15. Well, then - for drying, for three years. 
16. I did not notice the production of hoops there, perhaps they are bought somewhere. 
17. Somehow they look like bear traps. 
18. The next process - the barrel must be assembled from lamellas. For this, they also came up with a separate machine. And the holes on the inside of the wood are not through, they are drilled just a few millimeters, but this is the know-how of the enterprise: the range of aromas is better revealed. 
19. I don’t think it’s necessary to explain exactly how the assembly process takes place, everything can be seen in the picture. With his legs wide apart, the man takes and collects the barrel. 
20. Then you need to “tap” it with a hammer, fitting the lamellas tightly to each other. 
21. Our barrel is almost ready, but it only seems. Processing an already assembled barrel is only half the battle. 
22. Now it needs to be burned. Under the barrels are gas burners. 
23. Burning time for each barrel - from 15 minutes to two hours. This process is necessary for the maximum disclosure of the aroma emanating from the tree. They say that the factory can make barrels with 15 different flavors to order, including chocolate, almond and citrus. No extracts are added, the fire creates smells similar to our sense of smell. I cannot verify this, but there is no reason not to trust it. 
24. It seems that everything is ready, but this is only the middle of the process. In the third workshop of the plant, barrels are "finished", literally and figuratively. 
25. There are half a dozen ingenious machines and devices here, I don’t even know what exactly they do with barrels and why. 
26. Although here it is clear: this is a test drive. The barrel is placed on something that has wheels, and then they shake, turn, rumble heartily. And inside the barrel is filled with water. So they check everyone! For do you imagine a scandal if bicentennial alcohol is poured into it, and the tub leaks? 
27. The plant makes 45 thousand barrels a year. Only 10 percent of them go with cognac, the remaining 90 are wine. 
28. Finishing touches... 
29. The barrel is closed on both sides, leaving only a hole with a tap or plug in the middle: it is through it that alcohol will be poured, and from there it will someday be born again. 
30. Each barrel is made for its client. At the end of production, here, on a laser printer, the customer's logo is burned out. As you can see, the best cognac houses. I will tell you about three of them in a separate post. 
31. Warehouse for finished products. 
32. Well, that's all. Did you like it? 
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