9 - Techniques for flavouring and colouring spirits Flashcards
How may spirit flavourings be categorised?
Natural
Other
How are natural flavourings often termed?
Botanicals
To what is the term ‘botanicals’ generally taken to refer?
The vast array of fruits, herbs and spices used by distillers
How do distillers tend to use botanicals in their recipes?
The recipes are precise and the ingredients are weighed out
What are the principle techniques for extracting flavour from botanicals?
Maceration
Re-distillation
How may a distiller use natural flavourings without working with botanicals?
They can buy pre-prepared botanical flavourings
Summarise maceration
The botanicals are placed in the chosen alcohol
If the alcohol is highly rectified, it may be diluted with water
What are the limitations of using maceration?
It can only extract a broad range of flavours
Besides flavour, what else may maceration be used for?
Extracting colour and bitterness
What is a tincture?
A spirit that has been flavoured by maceration
Describe the process of flavouring by redistillation
A diluted neutral spirit is placed in a pot still with the botanicals
Congeners start to rise up during redistillation
Flavour can be controlled by taking a specific cut
What is a distillate?
A term sometimes used for a spirit flavoured by re-distillation
List the three other ways in which distillers can control style using redistillation
Botanicals can macerate for a short period of time for a richer, fuller style of spirit
Botanicals can be placed in a botanical basket in the lyne arm
A vacuum still can be used, wherein the boiling point is lower and botanical flavours are less spoiled by heat
What is vapour infusion?
A name for the botanical basket method of producing a lighter style of spirit
Why are vacuum stills less common than other types?
They are very expensive and their products are often sold by the owners
