The Art of Blending Distillates

[Artemis]

Giving the weight of the herbs themselves doesn't really translate into how this kit works.

I'd be surprised if the weights of herbs that went into a distilled absinthe recipe translate into a mixture of individual herbal extracts based upon those weights (proportions). that would yield anything like a one to one correspondence between the mixed product and the distilled product, and that's leaving the coloring herbs, which are a whole different monkey, aside. It might be interesting to start with a protocol intended for mixing extracts. See, for example (but don't copy and post it anywhere, please), page 14 here:

 

http://www.oxygenee.com/Fritsch-English.pdf

[OMG_Bill]

Thank you for posting that.

[Ian Hutton]

If anyone has perfected a recipe that they would like recreating in a larger amount let me know and I can get it made up for you. I just need to know the ingredient and the amount used.

[AFO]

I do have to ask, how does one know what ratios to use? Is the concentration of each distillate written on the bottles? Like for wormwood, 1g/10ml sort of thing (made up numbers btw, just wondering how one knows how to tailor the ratios for existing recipes)

 

Edited August 17, 2012 by AFO

[Jack Griffin]

It's kind of guesswork. It would be far more helpful as I mentioned before, if these measurements were giving in liquid form, to experiment with various recipes. The dry weight in grams of the herbs simply doesn't translate! As far as the trinity, it's not all too hard to get close by thinking about each's role in what you desire to be more forward. The others however, are going to be far less in the mix. I suppose without

direct liquid measure suggestions, we're on our own to figure it out and see... It makes it kind of fun, but could lead to strong flavors if one isn't careful with the hyssop, coriander, angelica, etc.... Take notes!

[AFO]

So this is more about mixing by taste than an attempt to give people the ability to recreate recipes... thats cool too

 

[Jack Griffin]

I'm not sure about that, I think the goal was to have a good guide to help us...frankly, I'm as confused as the next guy, and will simply make the best guesses I can. I still haven't tried yet, as several friends went in on it, and we're doing this as a party in a week or so. If anyone has liquid measurements that worked great, please share!

Edited August 18, 2012 by Scott M.

[Ian Hutton]

I'm not sure about that, I think the goal was to have a good guide to help us...frankly, I'm as confused as the next guy, and will simply make the best guesses I can. I still haven't tried yet, as several friends went in on it, and we're doing this as a party in a week or so. If anyone has liquid measurements that worked great, please share!

 

I hear what you are saying. The recipes provided with the kits were for indication only, so you'd know what actual plants were used and in what proportions. The old distiller's manuals all give recipes for 'absinthe par essences' which are given in grams but would be measuring liquids and these may be a better way of assessing the amounts to use. I will dig some out and post them.

[Jack Griffin]

Thanks Ian!

[Zman (Marc Bernhard)]

The recipes provided with the kits were for indication only, so you'd know what actual plants were used and in what proportions.

 

My kit did not come with any recipes...

[Ian Hutton]

The recipes provided with the kits were for indication only, so you'd know what actual plants were used and in what proportions.

 

My kit did not come with any recipes...

 

Sorry about that, I'll send you a pdf.

[Joe Legate]

If I may be a wee bit persnickety, could I ask you to avoid quoting the previous post? It's a little weird.

 

It's described in the Forum Rules:

3. Spell-check, use the shift key (capitalize), refrain from chat-speak; don't quote the previous post.

 

 

Also, please refrain from quoting the previous post. This has the effect of repeating the last thing someone says to you in a conversation before your own response (echolalia).

 

If you want to respond to a particular part of a longer post, then you should delete the unnecessary parts. When quoting any lengthy post, chop out the unnecessary bits and delete as many line breaks as possible. It makes the thread much easier to read.

It's not a big deal but it makes the reading much more pleasant.

[Père Ubu]

What are you, a college professor?

[Joe Legate]

And a WS Mod.

[Ian Hutton]

I've agreed to go quietly. There will be no trouble, nothing to see here folks, just move along.

[Jack Griffin]

Ian, We had our party last night. I had seven guests, all who have had a decent range of experience with absinthe. They were curious and excited to smell, taste and experiment with the distillates. First, we passed around a small glass with about 1/2 ounce in it, so people could smell each distillate. Then I prepped each one at 2:1, into shot glasses to taste, about 1/4 ounce of each.

 

We mixed up a Pontarlier style using just the trinity, and it was simply delicious. After that, we experimented with a more wormwood forward blend, which was also really good. My favorite however, was one where we added a very small amount of genepi, angelica, hyssop and corriander into the mix.

The distillates are of very high quality, and it was a great opportunity for people to develop their palate. Thanks!

[Ian Hutton]

Hi Scott, I'm glad that it worked out for you and your group, it certainly is an educational experience encountering the single botanicals. If you get a favourite blend let me know and we can bottle it for you.