Amaro - General Filtration/Stability Questions

[tbagnulo]

Hello all.  We're starting an herbal liqueur project (basically an amaro/fernet) and am wondering if anyone has any tips on insuring shelf stability.  Also, any tips on filtering?  Hoping to have a final product visually similar to Fernet Branca, Jager, etc.  No cloudiness and no sediment.

We are starting with our gin base (13 botanicals) and macerating the following additional botanicals for varying times:

Gentian Root
Vanilla Beans
Galangal
cloves
Rosemary
Cinnamon Stick
Mint Leaves
Sage
Saffron
lemon balm
allspice

After maceration, we plan to filter, sweeten, proof, then bottle.

Any tips at all on creating a non cloudy/no sediment product (or any tips at all) is appreciated.

Cheers all!
 

 

[Dismal]

Touching this in hopes that someone will chime in.  

[Stumpy's]

After blending everything, try some powdered bentonite to settle (ideally in a small conical) and then rack off the top of the sediment after a week or so. Filter what you rack off through a 1 micron depth filter prior to sending through your final filter on the bottling line.

[Foreshot]

We've been working with several filtering methods. We use cheesecloth to get rid of the large bits. Then we have a canister filter at 5 microns then a small plate filter at .5 microns. Works well for us.  We're small so keep that in mind if you're trying to filter more than 100g at a time. We filter when we remove the botanicals and again with the plate filter only for bottling. For non amaros/liqueurs it works great and we have a perfectly clear product. We haven't used it on our limoncello yet. We plan on it next week. I've been testing it but I'm having problems with that clogging up every filter I have due to the pulp from the juice in it. I have a bag filter on order but it's not here yet.

Our canister filter is like this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JIRHRBK/

Plate filter: https://www.amazon.com/Buon-Vino-Super-Jet-Filter/dp/B0064OG4WE - I wish we would have gone with the 6 plate version though.

[FijiSpirits]

I have often thought of trying a centrifuge with a slow feed rate to clear out particulates. I’ve not heard of anyone else doing this in the distillery industry but it’s done for waste oil processing in the biofuel space all the time. 
 

you could try heating the product prior to centrifuge to move out solids and sub zero cooling to coagulate oils. 

[tbagnulo]

Awesome.  Thanks for the input all. We'll  keep everyone posted on our progress.

[Bier Distillery]

I'd love a small centrifuge that didn't break the bank.

Biofuel uses them and are affordable, but almost definitely not food or alcohol safe.

[Tim C]

On 10/8/2020 at 12:21 PM, Stumpy's said:

After blending everything, try some powdered bentonite to settle (ideally in a small conical) and then rack off the top of the sediment after a week or so. Filter what you rack off through a 1 micron depth filter prior to sending through your final filter on the bottling line.

I can vouch for this process.  Very similar to what we use on our production Amaro.  Use of a finning agent is crucial.  We use a product called "Sparkolloid".

[LuckyGuy]

Given that Ouzo is re-distilled, has anyone tried doing the same with Amaro?  I'm thinking about giving it a shot.  Would be crystal clear, obviously.

[glisade]

Many amari are re-distilled then colored. We have one that is re-distilled. In some ways, you can control the flavor better, like re-distilled gin. Think fruits to roots. Some of our liqueurs are also re-distilled then I use one botanical after distillation to try to create the color I want without introducing too much extra flavor or use something with a complimentary flavor.

[Dismal]

It will depend on the liqueur and the botanicals.  For example, the bitter flavor components in Amaro don't come across in distillation.  Check out this article: https://www.bostonapothecary.com/deconstructing-campari/.  Check out that whole site.  Many great experiments around re-distilling liqueur and infusions vs distillation.  

[LuckyGuy]

On 8/25/2021 at 12:36 PM, glisade said:

Many amari are re-distilled then colored. We have one that is re-distilled. In some ways, you can control the flavor better, like re-distilled gin. Think fruits to roots. Some of our liqueurs are also re-distilled then I use one botanical after distillation to try to create the color I want without introducing too much extra flavor or use something with a complimentary flavor.

Awesome.   I'll definitely try this, then.

[johnnyrains]

On 8/25/2021 at 1:18 PM, Dismal said:

It will depend on the liqueur and the botanicals.  For example, the bitter flavor components in Amaro don't come across in distillation.  Check out this article: https://www.bostonapothecary.com/deconstructing-campari/.  Check out that whole site.  Many great experiments around re-distilling liqueur and infusions vs distillation.  

This site is amazing!  Thank you for sharing it.

[Dismal]

My pleasure.  I've learned a ton from that site.  Enjoy!