Stark bitters: homemade recipe

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

In the 19th century, mass production of potato alcohol and cheap vodka from it was widespread in Russia. However, intoxication from the bitter turned out to be unpleasant - consumers suffered from a severe hangover. At that time, Starka vodka became very popular in Eastern Europe. The recipe for this alcoholic drink and its term corresponds to the recipe for "Old Vodka". According to experts, this alcohol is based on spirits infused with pear and apple leaves. Perhaps, because of the similar recipe, “Starka” lovers of strong alcohol could be confused with “Old Vodka”. The tincture was produced in Lithuania, the western regions of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine in the landowners' farms in a handicraft way. The recipe for making "Starkey" has become the pride of many distillers. Judging by the reviews, this strong drink is not forgotten today. The Starkey recipe at home provides for several manufacturing options, which you will learn more about from thisarticles.

Introducing the drink

Starka is a strong alcoholic drink. In accordance with the recipe, it was made from spirits, which, in turn, were obtained as a result of aging bitter rye. This strong vodka was poured into oak barrels, which used to store wine, and then apple and pear leaves were added. According to the recipe, homemade "Starka" can also be seasoned with linden inflorescences. Alcohol for tincture in the distillation cube was double distilled. To make its taste as pleasant as possible, only old barrels were used in the production process, in which wine or port was aged before. This alcoholic drink was infused for almost 25 years. According to experts, it was during this period that strong rye vodka managed to grow old. The name of the tincture is of Polish origin: an aged woman was called a starka. Judging by the numerous reviews of lovers of homemade alcohol, a good tincture can be made from Sam. How to make Starka from moonshine at home?

Recipe 1

According to experts, this method is considered the most popular among experienced winemakers. Made according to this recipe, "Starka" is a cross between wine and bitter. The tincture has a rich dark amber color, a complex aroma and a very pungent taste. The strength indicator is 36 revolutions. You can store the drink for 5 years. According to the recipe, the preparation of "Starkey" at home is carried out withusing the following ingredients:

• One liter of rye moonshine. It is important that the "sam" is double distilled.
• 20 g of oak bark.
• One pinch of vanilla sugar and ground nutmeg.
• Pear and apple leaves (25 g each).
• Dried lime blossoms (10 g).
• Sugar (from 5 to 10 g).
• One lemon.

Progress of work

According to the recipe, "Stark" from moonshine at home is made as follows:

1. First, excess substances are removed from the oak bark. It is placed in a container into which boiling water is poured. So the bark should stand for half an hour.
2. Further, the broth is drained.
3. The bark should be rinsed with cold tap water.
4. Lemon should be washed with warm water using a hard washcloth. After citrus carefully wipe with a towel.
5. So that the alcoholic drink does not turn out to be very bitter, removing the zest, you need not touch the pulp of the lemon.
6. Further, citrus zest, prepared oak bark, ground coffee, dried lime blossoms, nutmeg, pear and apple leaves are placed in a separate container. The contents are thoroughly mixed and rubbed. A wooden rolling pin is suitable for this purpose.
7. After the resulting mass is filled with sugar and "Sam".
8. After completing these steps, the bottle is tightly corked and placed in a dark place.
9. Alcohol should be infused at room temperature for one and a half to two weeks. Shake the contents once a day.

Final stage

After two weeks, the contents of the bottle can be tasted. By this time, the drink should have a characteristic cognac taste and pleasant aroma. Now alcohol is subject to a filtration procedure. For this purpose, you will need gauze or cotton filters. At the end, alcohol is bottled, after which they are hermetically sealed and placed in a cool room. Judging by the numerous reviews, the homemade "Starka" should still stand for a week to finally ripen.

Second way

According to experts, this Starkey moonshine recipe provides for a more simplified technology. Nevertheless, fragrant vodka is obtained, which has a mild, refined taste. The advantage of this alcohol is that it does not give off fusel oils and alcohol. To prepare Starka, a homemade alcohol lover will have to acquire the following products:

• Good vodka (500 ml).
• Lemon (1 pc.).
• Sugar. It will take from 5 to 7 years.
• Oak bark (10 g).
• Natural coffee (4 grains).
• Nutmeg. It must be in powdered form. Two pinches will suffice.

How to make an alcoholic drink?

As in the previous case, you should start with the preparation of citrus: the lemon is thoroughly washed and wiped dry. When removing the zest, be careful not to catch the pulp.

Further zestcut into thin strips. Oak bark in a separate deep bowl is poured with boiling water. It is processed no more than 10 minutes. After this time, the broth is drained, and the oak bark is substituted under cold running water. Oak bark, lemon peel and nutmeg, placed in a glass bottle, are covered with sugar. Whole coffee beans are also placed here. Now the above ingredients can be filled with bitter.

At the end, the glass container is hermetically sealed. For this purpose, judging by the reviews, a nylon cover is suitable. The mixture will be infused in a dark and warm room for 10 days. In order for the drink to turn out with a beautiful amber hue, the bottle needs to be shaken once a day. At the end, the tincture is filtered through gauze. As experts advise, it is better to subject the products to double filtration. The Stark should ripen in a cool place for 4 days.

Version 3

The technological process is practically the same as the previous cooking method. Due to the fact that in this case other components will be required, the taste of the finished alcoholic beverage will be different. Judging by the numerous reviews, Starka has much in common with aged cognac in terms of taste. In addition, light shades of citrus are inherent in the tincture. To cook it at home, the home craftsman will have to purchase the following components:

• Quality vodka (3 l).
• Sugar (20 g).
• One lemon.
• 50g oak bark.
• 2 g vanillin.
• 7 g ground nutmeg.

About the procedureworkmanship

First of all, in a lemon washed and cut into very thin slices, you need to remove all the seeds. Next, the oak bark is processed in boiling water for 15 minutes, and then washed with cold water. After the bark, along with the chopped lemon, is placed in a bottle, into which all the other ingredients are poured. Now the alcohol base is added to the mixture and mixed thoroughly.

As in the previous methods, the container is hermetically sealed and placed in a cool room. The waiting time is two weeks. Judging by the reviews, if necessary, it can be extended for a few more days. The bottle is shaken daily. Double filtration of the tincture is carried out by means of gauze or cotton wool. After completing these steps, the alcoholic beverage is ready to drink. As experts advise, it is better to wait a couple more days for the tincture to fully ripen.

About the long-lasting drink

According to connoisseurs of quality alcohol, the tincture made according to this recipe has a bittersweet taste, a wonderful rich aroma and a beautiful color. The only disadvantage of Starkey is that it takes a very long time to withstand. This alcoholic drink is prepared on the basis of one liter of double-distilled rye moonshine, 60 ml of cognac, 110 ml of port wine and a liter of alcohol. It is desirable that its strength indicator be not lower than 70 degrees. The drink is seasoned with pear leaves (20 g), apple (50 g), fructose or sugar syrup (10 g).

How to make spirit tincture and vodka?

Preparing "Stark", namely tincture for alcohol, according tothis recipe needs to adhere to the following sequence of actions:

• First, thoroughly wash and dry the leaves. Then they fill a glass jar.
• Next, alcohol is poured into the container.
• The sealed jar is put in a cool place for one week.
• At this stage, the finished infusion is filtered using cotton or gauze filters. Ready-made products are best stored in the refrigerator.

Similarly, Stark vodka is made at home. First, an alcohol infusion is prepared based on leaves from apple and pear trees. For this purpose, you need 300 ml of alcohol. Then “Sam”, port wine and cognac are poured into a separate glass vessel. Next, the mixture is seasoned with vanillin and ready-made apple-pear alcohol infusion. The drink should be in a hermetically sealed glass container in a cool room. In the first 7 days, the contents are shaken daily. According to experts, this recipe provides for a long exposure. In order for Stark to turn out to be of the highest quality, it will have to stand in the cellar for at least 10 years. After this time, the infusion is filtered using a cotton or gauze filter, and then bottled.

In closing

Of course, home-made Starka is in no way related to elite alcohol. Nevertheless, it has a rather pleasant taste. In addition, without various concentrates and dyes, with natural ingredients, this alcoholic drink is not dangerous. To those wholikes to experiment, we can recommend trying to create your own tincture recipe. In order not to transfer raw materials, it is better to work with small volumes.