I was thinking about making some profound blog article about how creating any stuff not only hardware, software or
art is nice and anyone can find a niche for themselves. Well, there you have it, until I finalize proper analysis of my
writing habits and goals I don't think I want to write things like that. Instead, let's talk about alcohol.
Last year I did not do much. No brewing, no nothing really. The only thing I made was cherry
nalewka: wiśniówka. Two kinds of it, both using the same
resources. As always I used cherries from my own trees. Last year they were resting and did not produce as much fruits
as in e.g., 2020. As for those that were available, seems the overall weather wasn't too nice on them, as quality, at
least in my taste, could improve a lot. Still, I'm not an expert, I just know what I like.
As alcohol base I used rectified spirit 95% and a nameless vodka 50%. They were mixed together aiming at around 70%.
I decided to make two kinds: one with maceration done first and the other one with sugar-first. For macerated-first
I also used cherries without the pits. I forgot to add leaves to the first stage which made the taste lack the
almond-like part which usually comes from the pits and maybe hydrogen cyanide (yes, don't drink too much if pits are
used). It has a bit of a bitter aftertaste, but this compares to my regular impression of cherries. This year I plan to
experiment with ratios and not forget about leaves.
As for the sugar-first portion, it's OK, the quality is very consistent. However, it's not as aromatic and I always
end up wondering whether it is a real tincture or not, since it may ferment this way and does not go through proper
maceration.
To store them, I used some left over bottles from craft(-ish) beer. They have dark glass which is nice looking and it
blocks sunlight at least partially. It's good because nalewka may oxidize otherwise (not in the same degree as first
stage). For labels I used a piece of paper and rubber bands.
I did not calculate or measure alcohol content due to technical limitations. Taste says maybe around 60%, most likely
below.
