Distiller's Brandy Recipe with Mangrove Jack's

To celebrate National Brandied Fruit Day, we teamed up with our friends at Mangrove Jack's to put together a deliciously fruity distiller's brandy recipe using a Mangrove Jack's Craft Series Cider Pouch.

So what is brandied fruit? Well, it's exactly what it sounds like! It's a mixture of fresh fruit, brandy, sugar and spices which is left for around a month before being used as a topping for desserts or served on its own. 

We're all about spicing up our food with our favourite spirits and liqueurs so we felt inspired to make a delicious brandy that we'll use to make brandied fruit, that is if we don't drink it all first!

Our buddies over at Mangrove Jack's make an amazing range of cider kits, all made with the freshest and highest quality fruit which is pressed and concentrated using state of the art evaporators, then cold filled into pouches. This got us thinking, why couldn't we make a great tasting brandy using one of their pouches? So we did, and we're excited to share this quick and easy recipe with you! 

You will need:

• 1 x Mangrove Jack's Cider Pouch (we used their Passionfruit and Peach Cider)
• 1 kg (2.2 lb) Dextrose
• 1 x 20 g (0.7 oz) sachet Gin Distiller’s Yeast
• 150 g (5.3 oz) Distiller’s Nutrient - Light Spirits 

Method:

1. Carefully cut open the cider across the top of the pouch and remove the instructions, yeast, and cider flavouring sachet from the dry compartment.
2. Pour the liquid contents of the cider pouch into your cleaned and sanitised fermenter (30 L capacity) then pour in 3 L (3 US qt) of boiling water. Add 1 kg (2.2 lb) of dextrose and stir until completely dissolved.
3. Top up to 23 L (6 US Gal) with cold tap water and stir well.
4. Check the liquid temperature is between 20-30°C (68-86°F) and then add 150 g (5.3 oz) Light Spirits Nutrient, stirring to dissolve. Add the Gin Distiller's Yeast and secure your lid and airlock.
5. Leave to ferment at 20-32°C (68-90°F) ambient temperature for optimum performance and quality.
6. Once your airlock stops bubbling, this indicates fermentation is complete. This should happen within approximately 7 days, depending upon the fermentation temperature. If using a hydrometer, the gravity reading should have stabilised.
7. Once fermentation is complete you should leave the wash to stand for 2-3 days to allow the yeast and any other solids to settle out to the bottom of the fermenter. 
8. You are now ready to distill your wash to make brandy! Siphon the wash into your still to leave behind any sediment. For a flavourful brandy, we recommend using a pot still such as the Alembic Pot Still. (Note that use of a Column Still such as the Turbo 500 can be used, but the saddles should be removed from the column to prevent the reflux action from rectifying your brandy into a cleaner spirit). Please refer to the instruction manual for your distillation unit for detailed instructions on distilling your spirit. If using our Alembic Pot Still, follow pages 7-10 in the instruction manual. 

Head to your local Still Spirits stockist to pick up your ingredients and get distilling today!

Don't forget to share your creations with us on our Facebook page or tag us on Instagram. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us via social media, leave a comment below, or send us a message directly here.