Dillution and Addition of Sugar

OK -- I started the infusion on 26 September.  Yesterday on 10 October I began the second phase of the aging process: Dillution and Sugaring.

Yes, I did let it go for a few more days than initially planned -- 14 versus the 10 prescribed.  I'm sure it will only add to the smoothness of the finished product.

So the idea here is to add a simple syrup to dillute the raw brandy to the desired strength.  I looked around on the internets to see at what strength commercial orujo de hierbas is typically offered.  I saw proofs that ranged from 60 to 70, so I chose to make my finished product 65 proof.

The math is straightforward, and I present it here for your erudition:

1. The initial strength of the marc was 44% alcohol by volume, or 88 proof.
2. So if I have 375ml of marc there is (0.44*375ml) or 165ml of alcohol to work with.
3. I want the finished liqueur to be 65 proof, which is 32.5% alcohol by volume.
4. Some algebra is required here:

165ml alcohol / (375ml + W) total volume =  32.5 % alcohol / 100%


Solving for W we must add 132.69ml of water per 375ml of marc to arrive at 65 proof

Since I was going to be dosing both batches at once, I measured out 266ml of water and put it in a tiny saucepan.  I warmed the water a bit to aid in the dissolving of sugar, but this step was probably not necessary.

And I added sugar.  I cannot tell you exactly how much to be honest.  I would have to estimate I probably used roughly 1/4 of a cup of sugar.  This was very unscientific of me, but that's the way it goes.  The original recipes called for a 1:1 ratio of water in milliliters to sugar in grams.  That seemed too sweet to me.  So I kept adding sugar to the water until I thought it was a good syrup but not overly sweet.

The next step was to evenly divide the simple syrup into the two batches of hierbas. Look first at what has happened over the last 14 days to Recipe "A":

Noteable diminution of colour and vibrancy...

After adding the syrup, it was time for a second tasting.  Below are the two batches, Recipe "A" on the left, and "B" on the right:

First off, the colour of the "B" batch has benefited greatly from the addition of 15 saffron strands some 3 days into the aging process.  And then the tasting...  "A" has progressed apace, developing a very delicious round herbal flavour. The level of sugar and resulting alcohol level was perfect.  I have high expectations for this batch.  Batch "B" was surprisingly good.  The initial sharpness lent to the infusion from the whole lemon slices was tamed after nearly two weeks aging.  While still somewhat acid forward, the other flavours present in "B" are beginning to make themselves known.  I am pleased with the progress of both.

Another 10 days or age or so, and it will be time for decanting and filtering.  Stay tuned.

Completed Infusion and First Impressions

Here is Recipe "A" immediately after mixing.  Note the vibrancy of the herbs.

Precisely three days after the infusion was begun, my old pal Johnny Iguana was over to dine.  As he was the source of much of my inspiration for this project, we took a bit from each recipe to see how they were progressing.  Below a photo of the two:

Recipe "A" is on the left, "B" on the right.  Note that the original "B" recipe did not call for saffron, rendering the resulting infusion very pale in colour.

We tasted the two and they were markedly different:

• Recipe "A" was the more balanced of the two.  Only three days old, this recipe definitely had more depth in flavour, and an overall more rounded character.
• Recipe "B" was quite a bit more hot and sharp than "A".  The predominant flavor (apart from the brandy) was the lemon, which if you will recall, was added in the form of three thin slices of whole lemon.

Following this tasting, I made a command decision to add saffron to the "B" recipe as well, so that the neon yellow I have come to associate with hierbas would be present in the finished product.  This is reflected in the recipe listed above.


Our curiosity sated, some initial impressions made, and a small tweak behind us, we moved on to other tasks as the hierbas rested.

My Recipes

The collected ingredients

Having found two recipes, I adapted them to make two 375ml batches of hierbas from my single bottle of brandy.

Here they are:

RECIPE "A"


To 375ml of orujo, marc or grappa add:

 Three leaves each:

• Mint
• Bay Leaf
• Sage
• Basil

• Lemon (1/3 of the peel only)
• Rosemary (1/3 sprig)
• Cloves (2 whole)
  
• Fennel Seeds (7 whole)

• Green Tea (1.5 Tsp)
  
• Lemongrass  (1/4 cup chopped) (NB: substituted for for 3 leaves of lemon verbena which was unable to find)
• Camomile (1 Tsp)
• Cinnamon Stick (1/2 inch, broken up)
• Saffron (approx 10-15 threads)

RECIPE "B"

To 375ml of orujo, marc or grappa add:

• Rosemary (1/2 sprig)
• Thyme (2 small sprigs)
• Coriander Seed ( 1 tsp crushed)
• Oregano (1/2 tsp)
• Star Anise (3/4 whole star, crushed)
• Anise Seed (1/2 tsp)
• Mint (6 leaves)
• Camomile (1 tsp)
• Nutmeg (grated, pinch)
• Cinnamon (1 cm of stick, crushed)
• Peppercorns (black, 4 crushed)
• Lemon (3 thin slices of whole fruit)
• Saffron (15 strands)

MATURATION

The original recipe "A" called to age the infusion for 10 days, then dillute with sugar water to the desired proof, and age another 10 days before filtering and serving.  I will apply the same aging schedule to both recipes.

The Booze

Orujo de Hierbas is an herbal infusion of orujo which is also referred to as aguardiente, marc or grappa.  According to Wikipedia:

Orujo is a liquor obtained from the distillation of the pomace (solid remains left after pressing) of the grape. It is a transparent spirit with an alcohol content over 50% (100° proof). Its name comes from the expression "aguardiente de orujo" (pomace eau-de-vie).

So the first step was locating an appropriate base for my hierbas.  I was able to locate a Basque product from the French side of the border called  Marc d'Irouléguy from Etienne Brana.  Sam's Wine in Chicago sold it for approximately US$26.  Whilst it is not Spanish in origin, this product's Basque heritage gave me comfort that the finished product would not be too far afield of actual Spanish orujo.

Other options were limited.  I did see that Binny's offered an actual Spanish orujo from Fonte do Mino for a few dollars less.  Something else to try in future batches.

Thus having secured the base of my hierbas I was ready to tackle adaptation of the recipes.

Recipe Origins

I scoured the internets, searching in both English and Spanish for recipes (recetas en Español) for orujo de hierbas.  I found two, both in Spanish.  Thank goodness for Google language tools...

The first was posted on the Spanish language version of Yahoo! Answers.  Gracias a Agusti para la ayuda.  This recipe will henceforth be referred to as "RECIPE A".

The second I can no longer find.  This recipe was for a 15 liter industrial sized batch, which I adjusted down to fit my needs.  It shall be referred to as "RECIPE B".