Dual Use Items, & HONEYBRANDY

[aggienaut]

   I had been trying to decide what to bottle brandy into for distribution to friends and associates. With two one gallon jugs of the stuff and at least three more on the way, I will soon have a preposterous amount of hard alcohol. At work I noticed th glass bottles the molasses for the rum had come in, and the labels easily washed off.
   "You should put corks in them!" suggested Jeremy. Where am I going to find corks?
   "Oh I have a bag of corks in my car! offered Dave. Who just has a bag of corks in their car?! Apparently he found them while cleaning out the back of his pantry the other day or something.

   The other day mum asked me if I had a hydrometer (to measure the gravity of the water in the salt water fishtank?), why yes I do! (from brewing).
   Dad was heating up a vat of honey today to filter and bottle. "You don't happen to have a floating food-grade thermometer Kris?" Why yes I do! (=
   When I needed to bottle some brandy the other day I looked around and found a clean new beer bottle and bottle cap and bottled it, capping it with my capping tool.
   Ran out of honey bears for honey bottling, thats alright, we have mason jars from mum's jam jarring! (these could also be put to some use brandy bottling)

>   So my brandy is good, but doesn't have much flavour, especially compared to "real" brandy (though I actually prefer it to such). I'm standing there looking at the jugs of clear brandy (hey all hard alcohol comes out clear, the colour comes from barrel aging, or dye for cheaper operations), next to all the jars of dark honey and... a genius idea strikes me! Honey + brandy = Genius!
   So some experimentation later I came up with a delicious, sweet, flavoursome honeybrandy formulation (from home made honey and home made brandy!!) and bottled it into a mason jar. I think I'm really on to something here.

   Tomorrow I leave for the Bay Area for the week. If you're in the area drop me a line my plans are still pretty open. Like some crazy homecrafting santa I will have an arsenal of: (1) jugs of homemade brandy, (2) honeybears, (3) a jar of apricot flavoured brandy, (4) a jar of honeybrandy. If you really play your cards right I might let you try some of these things (and/or have some of (1) or (2)).

all (4) related pictures

Comments

[tigrkittn.livejournal.com]

I am very, very sad to be on the wrong side of the country right now. Also, honeybrandy?? ZOMG brilliant. Want!

Have an awesome trip- I will be watching for updates!!

ETA Pictures!

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Note I just added a pic! More coming within the half hour hopefully, possibly, maybe! (=

[phoebe82.livejournal.com]

Have you ever tried mixing wine with 7up/Sprite? It's great!

[y0ur-c0nscience.livejournal.com]

MMM honeybrandy sounds great.

[doodlemaier.livejournal.com]

Removing the rashing ring converts that apparatus into a pot still which will transfer more of the character of whatever base used to make the brandy, as well as providing a less volatile distillate. I've recently finished a gallon of mead brandy which I have aging in a cider jug over a handful of toasted oak cubes that I had originally meant to use in aging said mead, which may or may not've been a failure, in and of itself (the heat filter does not care either way). It's not "the (only) right way to do it" as I am constantly reminded, but in lieu of having a place to stash an oak barrel for many years it's certainly puts a fine brandy within reach of the small-scale personal use distiller.

Also, I called my bee guy this evening. Naturally I caught him on the road reading directions for an event he was late to. So, I'll have to call again tomorrow. Grrr. . .

Skill and persistence in your travels, & happy new year.

~Doodle