Apple Pie Moonshine

First off, you will need a very large stock pot.  I believe the one I'm using is something like 2.5-3 gallons and you can see how full it is.

1 gallon apple juice
1 gallon apple cider
3 cups sugar
8 cinnamon sticks

Combine all the above ingredients in the large stock pot. Stir well.  Bring the pot to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.  Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature (very important unless you want to burn your house down).  Add 1 liter of Everclear.

Jar or bottle up.  Be careful, this is very potent stuff.

Comments

[Dominic Bender]

Out of curiosity, how exactly is it potent? I mean sure it is alcohole and sugar, bound to do it's magic quickly, my question is rather whether it is meant to ferment or ready to be consumed like that. Maybe I'm just too used to fermenting things myself... Either way, it sounds delicious.

[jwgottabass]

The way I make this it is indeed "potent" and if you don't age it, it tastes as potent as it is. If you let it age for 1-2 weeks, you can barely tell there is any alcohol in it at all, taste wise. But I don't think the sugar ferments.

[Paesan]

Its strong stuff and will knock you on your rear if you aren't careful. It doesn't have a very strong alcohol flavor which makes it kind of dangerous if you start chugging. No this recipe is meant to be consumed as is....however I was told there is something that can be added to it to ferment it for a couple months.

[XaqFixx]

The addition of high proof spirits will slow down or prevent any fermentation, so you have to add the everclear (or Moonshine, or strong whiskey) at the end of the process, not the begging.
If you want to ferment something you have several great options:
You can ferment apple cider, apple juice, and sugar (or Honey) by adding some form of brewers yeast (Champagne and Ale yeasts work well but impart different flavors. Wyeast even makes a cider yeast)
Fermented unfiltered pressed apple juice is Cider (or Hard Cider in the US), when you add a fermentable sugar you have apfelwine,using honey instead of sugar makes cyser.
After fermentation is complete you can freeze distill it and make traditional applejack this process is called 'Jacking' or you can make brandy by evaporative distillation and aging for at least 2 years in Toasted French Oak barrels. (commercial Applejack is just unaged Brandy, similar to Eau de vie).

Let me know if you have any questions about the fermented apple beverages, I would love to help.

[sumowelder]

How can i get the finished product to a higher proof? I can only by 151 proof Everclear. Should i add 2 bottles? Im trying to get it over a 100 proof.

[Fenpuss]

You would use less juice and cider. Or more EC. I'm not sure why you would want it that high in this.

[Justinr999]

100 proof is 50% alcohol. There are two gallons of juice/cider. Your everclear is about 75% alcohol. One gallon is about 3.79 Liters. So if you used 1 gallon of your everclear:

1 gallon * .75 everclear alcohol content = .75 gallons of alcohol per gallon of everclear

.75 (1 gallon EC) / 3 gallons total liquid =25% (50 proof)

1.5 (2 gallons EC) / 4 gallons total liquid = 37.5% (75 proof)

2.25 (3 gallons EC) / 5 gallons total liquid = 45% (90 proof)

3 (4 gallons EC) / 6 gallons total lquid = 50% (100 proof)

Note:
1 liter = .264 gallons
4 gallons EC / .264 liters = 15.15 liters of everclear (this is expensive)

I keep mine around 80 proof, but have access to 190 proof everclear.

[zacker]

I heard others say to do just that... double up the everclear. good luck!

[debvelio]

I make this recipe with 190 proof everclear, wouldn't my "moonshine" be more than 190 proof after fermentation?

[Fenpuss]

There is nothing consumable more than 190 proof.

[SolangeS1]

Hi

I only have access to 45% (90 proof) shine. How should I alter this recipe?

Thanks

[Justinr999]

This is delicious, but the alcohol content according to the recipe is only 11%. However, alcohol can easily be tripped ;-)

1 Liter alcohol = .264 gallons

.264 gallons X .95 (alcohol content of strongest everclear) = .251 gallons alcohol content

2 gallons cider/juice + .264 gallons everclear = 2.264 total liquid volume

.251 total alcohol / 2.264 total volume = 11% alcohol by volume, or 22 proof

By comparison, vodka is 40% alc. vol.

It won't ferment because there is no yeast (alcohol is basically yeast urine). If you want to ferment, you add cider yeast, but beware that you will also create another type of alcohol (in addition to the stuff you want) in the process. It doesn't cause blindness as rumor has it, but is disgusting. If you add yeast then plan on distilling, unless you're just going for bubbles, but that's another topic.

[johnc27]

How exactly is this moonshine? The everclear is made for you.

[zacker]

yeah its not "Shine" so to speak, its more like store bought Apple Pie "Shine like" drink...lol I guess its just fun to call it that. who knows.lol

[zacker]

ok, can this be made without adding the 3 cups of sugar? or is the sugar that important to the recipe. also I want a clear drink so I wouldn't want to use the cider, just apple juice... will this work? doesn't the juice have enough sugar in it already? I thought one would just take strait apple juice and mix it with the Everclear and throw a stick in the jar and let it sit for a week or so... or would that just be a waste of time to make? lol

[CurtN2]

Not potent at all! Calculates out to less than 11% abv. Less than wine.

[Firefighter13x]

So I followed these steps, did everything exactly like it says. Used 190 proof everclear and it's not strong at all. I drank a 2 cups to see how potent it was and didn't feel anything. What did I do wrong?

[kfields4210]

[chris.yanda.9]

Do you put the ever clear in after it cools or while it is cooking ??

[Paesan]

After is it at room temp, otherwise you are likely to have a fire.