"Just thought I'd share some flavoring techniques I've had some success with recently.

I've been using neutral spirits from a plain jane sugar-water-yeast mash (don't want to spend a lot of money on grain and such for simple experimentation), from the early-hearts 40-proof, to the late hearts 100 proof. I'm also sectioning into pints or even smaller quantities for experimentation purposes. Pretty simple tho; I'll soak a handful of Jolly Rancher candy (I've had the most success with the green apple and the watermelon flavors) for a few days or until dissolved. Heat a SMALL amount of water in a saucepan and dissolve some sugar into it, making a thin syrup consistency. Mix with the spirits, pour through a coffee filter, and chill in refrigerator.

I know this is probably nothing extremely groundbreaking, but I've had a lot of fun with it, and have gotten many thumbs up from tasting volunteers!!


Travis"

"I've also tried it I took a jar (quart) of 100 proof
And put in 40 grape jolyranchers in it but when
They desolved I proofed the jar again it read
Nothing but by taste I could still taste the liqueur
Why would this be and if there is a right way what
Would it be ....... HELP PLEASE"

"You can probably get the same flavor from the various acids and dextrose. I've never tried this with spirits, but I do this with my applewine when I use store bought juice ...

To get the the ""apple"" flavor you can dissolve some malic acid and dextrose ... perhaps in a small amount of clear apple juice and add it to your spirit. Apparently, an apple jolly rancher is little more than malic acid and corn syrup (plus artificial flavoring that you may/may not want).

If you're looking for some grape notes, a tiny bit of tartaric acid, dextrose, in some white grape juice.

I also like some citric acid as it suits my own palate ... some people don't like it.

In any case, you can get tartaric, malic, and citric acid pretty cheap at most LHBS. I prefer using dextrose rather than sucrose. IMO, sucrose tastes like ... well ... sucrose & I can always tell it's in the wine. I've found that dextrose just seems to blend in without altering the existing flavors.

Like I mentioned, I've never tried this with spirits, but I would be surprised if it didn't work. Just use very small amounts when you're experimenting (I wouldn't start with anything more than 1/16 tsp of acid or 1/4 tsp dextrose per liter of spirit) and maybe 1 tbl of juice. It's supposed to be just a pleasant/interesting flavor barely lingering in the background after all ... you don't want your spirit tasting uncivilized! "