Making the TRUE Absinthe

Todays video is about making absinthe, but also about the myths and chequered history of Absinthe. We explore whats good and evil, talk about the green fairies etc.
Making absinthe is not a walk in the park - its quite a complex process, so be warned.
Anyway the very short version is like this: 4 main steps:
Neutral Spirit. Make an 80% plus neutral spirit.
Maceration - macerate absinthe herbs in neutral spirit.
Distillation - distil it, and collect the clear distillate.
Colourisation - macerate in more herbs to make colour and add even more flavour, filter out the herbs and you got absinthe.
This absinth recipe is an adaptation of Magic-Rat's recipe on the home distiller's forum - so all creds to him. Check that thread out here.
homedistiller.org/forum/viewt...
OK so in more detail:
It starts with some neutral spirit at least 80% (160 proof). I am going to use 3 litres of neutral at 86% ABV.
You are going to need some herbs - most notably wormwood - Artemisia Absinthium.
Fresh herbs are best, but only available Sept/Oct. Dried is all I cant get at this time of year, from specialist herbal tea shops.
For the first stage maceration PER LITRE you are going to need:
- 20 grams grand wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). That's about 2/3 oz
- 100 grams green anise (Pimpinella anisum) that’s about 3 1/2 oz
- 55 grams florence fennel (Foeniculum vulgare - Azorium Group) 2oz
Grind all herbs in a food processor/coffee grinder/herb grinder
Chuck them in the jar with your high ABV neutral, and allow to steep overnight (12-24 hours)
After the maceration, put the whole lot in the still with 3 Litres of water per litre of macerate. Distil in pot still mode, discard 15mls as foreshots and collect half a litre per litre, or a little less, save in a jar. Now collect all of what is left including tails down to about 10% abv, and put it straight back in the still with twice the volume of water. Distil again and collect until you start to detect tails - it should be about 2/3 of a litre per original litre of neutral that went in on the first run. Take this and blend with the reserved liquor from the first run.
Now we get to the colourisation stage.
Grind some more herbs - Per litre that's about:
7 grams wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) 1/4 oz
7 grams hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) 1/4 oz
3 grams melissa Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) 1/8th oz
Talk HALF your distillate, save the rest. Heat a Bain Marie to around 55-60C (130-140F) and put the ground herbs and macerate in it for around 20 minutes. Watch carefully to ensure it doesn’t get too dark green or inky black. If it does, remove early. Cool, then strain/filter off the herbs to get as much out as possible. Put in clear narrow bottles to allow it to sediment out, then pour off the clear green liquor, repeat as necessary until there is no sediment left.
Combine it with the clear half of the distillate. Age for 30 days in a cool dark place. Store in the dark (or it will turn yellow). Don't proof down or it will louche before you want it to. And that's all there is to it.
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Пікірлер: 33

  • @captainmidnite93
    @captainmidnite932 жыл бұрын

    My great auntie from the old country (Galicia) was the medicine woman for the family and distilled potato spirit was the base solvent for her tinctures. She designated me, at 15, to be her under study and she always used the burnt sugar in a spoon as the finish.

  • @planetmoonshine6223

    @planetmoonshine6223

    2 жыл бұрын

    Wow, what amazing heritage.

  • @rollinloudasf
    @rollinloudasf Жыл бұрын

    Awesome video sir. When the lid popped off by itself.. you know them fairies are ready to party 🧚‍♀️❤🧚‍♂️

  • @mothox
    @mothox Жыл бұрын

    Fascinating, thankyou. I have been keenly interested in the history of Absinthe and you gave me more information than what I have found elsewhere. I will make your recipe. Subbed and Cheers 🍻

  • @WeightlessBallast
    @WeightlessBallast8 ай бұрын

    I'll be back. It is difficult to make a consistent absinthe that comes out the same after each maceration/distilling run. Base alcohol quality is important: you might think that the herbs will mask out impurities in the aroma or taste. They don't, so if you are using your own base alcohol, make sure it's the best quality you can make. Next, the herbs just have to be exactly per the (historical) bill, in particular fennel must be Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce, not bronze fennel. Properly dried A. absinthium, which is neither fresh nor stale (I have kept my harvested wormwood in the kitchen exposed to the odours of cooking plus dust, a grave error). Slow distillation, careful and gentle coloration (avoid mint unless you want a drink that tastes only like mint). Just a short comment for starters.

  • @2bmcubed
    @2bmcubed10 ай бұрын

    Thank you! So informative. I have had wormwood and lemon balm grow prolifically in my yard in California. The wormwood is blooming now. The ladybugs love it. Surprised to read it’s only available certain months as mine grows year round. The tea is bitter, but with some lemon and honey, so refreshing. A new home distiller here, but I’ve made hard cider so building on those skills. I always wanted to try to make absinthe, thanks again.

  • @snappingbear
    @snappingbear Жыл бұрын

    This is one of, if not the best moonshine video I have ever seen and I subscribe to most of the channels that "chase the craft" of home distillation. I am going to try making this but acquiring the herbal ingredients might be the biggest challenge. Anyways, well done your videos are always interesting and informative.

  • @kezzler9556
    @kezzler95564 ай бұрын

    Enjoyed your video. From what I have read, pernod absinth is the closest to the original taste, if you want to try and mimick the taste.

  • @suttHunterz
    @suttHunterz2 жыл бұрын

    I love the freedom unit comment! From us but grew up in Canada so I know both… love watching your videos you have given me a few really good ideas! I’ve been doing this for a few years now… can’t wait to go legal and start being able to actually make something back

  • @planetmoonshine6223

    @planetmoonshine6223

    2 жыл бұрын

    Cheers Nicholas, yeah it's great fun making big batches and selling to a grateful public. So far I only do that with beer.

  • @IgorFranca
    @IgorFranca Жыл бұрын

    Awesome! Thanks!

  • @deanparker5548
    @deanparker554810 ай бұрын

    I used vacuum distillation, and the flavor was outstanding. I think because I was able to distill at a temperature around 138 f, saving some of the botanicals with the lower temperature.

  • @margiemurphy3216
    @margiemurphy3216 Жыл бұрын

    Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder! 😉

  • @vegscrogbloom2077
    @vegscrogbloom20772 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much for doing the absence sorryI didn’t get back to you but I never tried any off the shelf absences just what I’ve made the interesting part is the black and the yellow I knew if the green and the red maybe next time do one of the others yellow black or red

  • @planetmoonshine6223

    @planetmoonshine6223

    2 жыл бұрын

    I believe they use hibiscus 🌺 for the red, they are in bloom right now here in Spain. Not sure About the others.

  • @suttHunterz
    @suttHunterz2 жыл бұрын

    Made my first batch of elderberry tincture medicine whatever… very similar process.. love the freedom unit comment, from the states but grew up in Canada as weLl so know both units of measure! Thank you for the vids

  • @planetmoonshine6223

    @planetmoonshine6223

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yeah looking at my video analytics more than 98% of my viewers are in US. I grew up with imperial units until I was 12 years old, since then it's been metric. I think in metric these days.

  • @user-rx8dw1wb4r
    @user-rx8dw1wb4r Жыл бұрын

    Artemisia absinthium is not used in the final coloring/flavor step. It will result in an absinthe that is unnecessarily bitter. Artemisia pontica (Roman wormwood) is the proper wormwood for this step.

  • @planetmoonshine6223

    @planetmoonshine6223

    Жыл бұрын

    Yeah, that is true and I would have used it if I could have bought any from anywhere in the world that would ship it to me in smaller quantities. Even though spain is apparently a producer it's almost impossible to buy here.

  • @user-rx8dw1wb4r

    @user-rx8dw1wb4r

    Жыл бұрын

    @@planetmoonshine6223 Send me a private message and I'll see about sending you some.

  • @willowgalan2942

    @willowgalan2942

    4 ай бұрын

    I REALLY want to grow some of my own to make my own absinthe, could you possibly send me some too?

  • @tonybletas431
    @tonybletas431 Жыл бұрын

    Had absinthe too many times and must confess it did nothing to improve my painting or poetry, much less see any green fairies flying about. It did get me shit-faced for extended periods, so I’m thinking it did exactly what it was supposed to do.

  • @Ian-bq7gp
    @Ian-bq7gp Жыл бұрын

    I had some from the farm from val de travers in nw Switzerland. It tastes awful but it is still found like potene in ireland. I hate it. Drink the pom or apple moonshine or plum moonshine.

  • @andrewmeiklem5098
    @andrewmeiklem5098 Жыл бұрын

    Cannabis user here. I never Dream unless i have an absinthe before bed. otherwise, i don't dream.

  • @eleven9286

    @eleven9286

    Жыл бұрын

    Same here, never tried absinthe.. how much do you drink to have an effect on your dreaming? Also, what if consciously having the thought of "Im going to drink absinthe before bed and I am going to dream" is what is actually helping you dream? Know what I mean?

  • @andrewmeiklem5098

    @andrewmeiklem5098

    Жыл бұрын

    @eleven9286 red absinthe. It's the wormwood. Must keep one's mind elevated enough to dream. Red absinthe should be a shot with lemon soda (solo here in Australia). You won't need more then 2 glasses. 1 might even be enough lol

  • @andrewmeiklem5098

    @andrewmeiklem5098

    Жыл бұрын

    Had a tolerance break last week so will be interesting when I have a drink tonight lol

  • @keithagee8972
    @keithagee8972Ай бұрын

    Mistletoe is a fungus.

  • @eleven9286
    @eleven9286 Жыл бұрын

    "It makes a beast of a man, a martyr of a woman, and a degenerate of an infant" WHY WOULD AN INFANT DRINK ABSINTHE?? Lol that guy from 1988 was a bit nuts, eh?