Monday, September 28, 2015

Blackberry Moonshine Update

My "moonshine" is finished!  If you haven't the slightest clue what I'm talking about, first read this post.

After my berries had steeped in Everclear for three weeks, I strained out the berries, and put the liquid back into my half-gallon jar.  Then I added a sugar solution I had made earlier in the day and let cool to room temp (4 cups boiling water and 3 cups sugar).  I put the lid on the jar and sloshed it around a few times for good measure, before setting it back into the cupboard to continue 'processing'.

Two weeks later, time was up!  Unfortunately at that time I had a roaring sinus infection and couldn't taste a darn thing.  But, the trial 'sip' (okay, a medicine measuring cup dipped into the jar) did seem to kick a hole in my cold--seriously, I started to feel better that same night, reminding me of how when DH's father was still alive we'd take a hefty shot of his homemade wine to get rid of a head cold.

My finished 'shine',

When, a few days later,  I'd gotten my sinuses cleared enough to have recovered my sense of taste, I poured out another little slug of my blackberry moonshine.  It was pretty good.  Not overly sweet, like some people reported who had previously used the same recipe I found online.  If anything, it was a tad dry for my palate.  And it didn't taste quite as strongly of blackberries as I had hoped it would; yet it definitely is good enough that I'll drink it! 

True color, just what leeched from the berries--
no food coloring added!

That was about two weeks ago.  This past weekend, I shared some of it with my extended family.  The taste has mellowed somewhat, getting a little less sharp on the alcohol and a tad sweeter. Not quite as sweet as cough syrup, nor as thick, but somewhat like that.  I have the feeling that I'm going to be making more of this in future years (especially since the family I shared it with is all ready hinting about getting my blackberry 'shine for Christmas and birthdays).

Next year, if the berries are abundant enough, I'll make my next batch.  I'm thinking instead of using table sugar in the sugar syrup (like I did this time), I'll get some corn sugar, which is what we use when brewing beer.

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