Blue Curacao / blue Vok

[Doubleuj]

Well Mrs J wants me to make up some blue vok but I'm struggling to find a consistent recipe.
Plus, I've never tried the real (commercial) thing so don't have a good starting point.
From what I've found it's a orange based flavoured spirit with blue food colouring, but, the recipes I've found have been so varied you couldn't call them the same drink
Eg, one was to simply macerate dried orange peel in vodka for 5 days and add colour
and another;
Macerate orange peel for 20 days in a mix of vodka and gin then add 30 odd cloves and sugar/ colour and more.

Has anyone tried this with out essences? Can any blue Curacao drinkers shed any light on the above suggestions in terms of the commercial stuff?
Cheers
WJ

[Minpac]

It's orange flavoured, but from a bitter/sour variety called the laraha.

I found a recipe in Debrevans translation of a french 19th century distilling manual.

Rasped skins of 20 oranges
4 grams cinnamon
2 grams mace
5 litres 85% alcohol
1.750kg sugar
The method is described as: macerate for 14 days, distill over water bath, without rectification.

I'd have to read it all to make sense of that method - I found it on page 119 here:
http://www.bryggforum.nu/download/publi ... revans.pdf

[Doubleuj]

It's orange flavoured, but from a bitter/sour variety called the laraha.

I found a recipe in Debrevans translation of a french 19th century distilling manual.

Rasped skins of 20 oranges
4 grams cinnamon
2 grams mace
5 litres 85% alcohol
1.750kg sugar
The method is described as: macerate for 14 days, distill over water bath, without rectification.

I'd have to read it all to make sense of that method - I found it on page 119 here:
http://www.bryggforum.nu/download/publi ... revans.pdf

Mace? :shock:

[Minpac]

That'd be nutmeg shell, blade mace

[Undertaker]

Well why else do you want to get the missus pissed

Mace?

If the grog dont get you there then whats left?

Cheers Phil

[The Stig]

http://www.bryggforum.nu/download/publi ... revans.pdf

Link not working :angry-banghead:

[Minpac]

Hmm...I got it last night, so if it's gone, I'll upload it somewhere.

try going http://www.bryggforum.nu/download/public/aquavitae/
then clicking on debrevans.pdf.

[Minpac]

The rectification appears to refer to fractional distillation in this book.

So this is macerated for 14 days, then pot distilled.

The methods employed throughout the book all look pretty similar to modern methods for mashing and preparing macerations. The large apparatus diagrams appear to be plated column stills. It's an interesting read.

[Doubleuj]

Well I've tried a simple recipe of macerating orange peel and reakon it's pretty good. Not sure if it tastes like blue vok but still...
What I did was:
Peeled 2 oranges (think they were navels)
Spread the peels on a tray and let them dry for 5 days
Macerate these in 70% tpw neutral for 9 days

IMG_6840.JPG

To make a 500ml bottle at 20% (low I know but that is what Blue Vok is)

Add 140ml of your 70% orange neutral
Make a simple syrup with 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1/8th cup of water
Let this cool and add to the bottle
Top up the rest to make your 500ml.

IMG_6841.JPG

Then I added blue food colouring and voila :happy-partydance:

IMG_6845.JPG

[rumdidlydum]

looks yummy :obscene-drinkingchug:

[Doubleuj]

Ok, I actually tasted blue vok the other day and it tastes more like lemonade than oranges. What I made up above is more like a contreu, still tasty but not a Vok.
Going to make another batch with
140ml of my macerated neutral and top up with kirks lemonade and water.

[scythe]

Why not try macerating some lemonade peel?

[Wobblyboot]

Since they are bitter oranges, try Seville oranges. They almost in season I think. I did read about a substitute of 2 sweet orange to 1 grapefruit peel to mimic bitter oranges :think:

[Doubleuj]

Yeah that's probably the way to go next time but I've got about 500ml of 70% orange peel vodka left so I don't think I'll ever need more, but for anyone else, try the lemonade peel or mix of grapefruit.
What I've made is definitely yummy though, even a shot in a tall glass of actual lemonade mixer is a hit with the ladies :handgestures-thumbupleft: