Vodka Recipe
Make Vodka Recipe in just 24h . Get the full recipe with step-by-step instructions at pekinthechef.com.
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Ingredients
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Base mash and fermentation
Distillation and finishing
Method
Base mash and fermentation
- 1
Prepare mash
Heat 12 liters of water to about 72°C. Add the 5 kg of grain slowly while stirring to avoid clumps and hold the mash at 65–68°C for 60 minutes to allow starch conversion. If using unmalted grain, add the alpha‑amylase at mash start and stir well. After 60 minutes, raise temperature to 75–78°C for 10 minutes for mash-out, then cool the mash to 30–35°C.
- 2
Convert remaining dextrins
At 55–60°C (or per enzyme instructions) add the glucoamylase to ensure conversion of dextrins into fermentable sugars. Hold for the time recommended on the enzyme label (typically 30–60 minutes) while maintaining temperature and gentle stirring.
- 3
Strain and transfer
Strain the mash solids from the liquid (wort) using a mash tun, strainer, or cheesecloth. Rinse solids with 2–3 liters of 75–80°C water to collect maximum sugars. Cool the combined wort to 20–25°C before pitching yeast.
- 4
Pitch yeast and ferment
Aerate the cooled wort by splashing or oxygenate with a small oxygen dose. Sprinkle or rehydrate and pitch 15 g of high alcohol tolerant distillers yeast and add 2 teaspoons of yeast nutrient. Ferment at 18–25°C in a sanitized vessel with an airlock until gravity stabilizes (typically 5–10 days for strong ferments). The goal is a fully attenuated wash with final gravity near 1.000 or lower and alcohol by volume around 8–12% depending on sugar yield.
Distillation and finishing
- 5
Prepare wash for distillation
After fermentation finishes and solids have settled, siphon off the clear wash into the distillation boiler, leaving behind heavy lees. Filter through a coarse filter if necessary to avoid scorching during distillation.
- 6
First distillation (stripping run)
Heat the wash slowly in a pot still or column still. Collect the distillate until you have collected most of the alcohol (stripping run typically yields 'low wines' ~20–30% ABV). Do not overheat; maintain a steady gentle boil. Stop the run when the temperature or hydrometer readings indicate diminishing alcohol in the heads/tails.
- 7
Second distillation (spirit run / fractionation)
Redistill the low wines slowly. Make careful cuts: discard the very first portion (heads) — the initial 1–2% of the run by volume contains volatile impurities (including methanol) and should be separated and disposed of safely. Collect the heart (desired vodka spirit) where ethanol is predominant and the flavor is clean; this is often the middle 70–85% of a well-run spirit run depending on method. Toward the end, as fusel oils increase, make the tails cut and stop collecting hearts. Combine heart fractions to desired purity. Aim for a high-proof, clean neutral spirit (40–95% ABV depending on equipment and legal limits).
- 8
Polishing and filtration (optional for neutrality)
To achieve the classic neutral vodka profile, filter the collected hearts through activated charcoal. Prepare a charcoal column or mix charcoal with polishing media (bentonite) and pass the spirit slowly through it several times if required. This will remove congeners and smoothing impurities. Use caution with excessive filtration as it can remove desirable subtle character if present.
- 9
Cut to bottling strength
Measure the alcohol strength of the final spirit with an alcoholmeter. Using clean, chilled water (3 liters or as needed), dilute the spirit to the desired bottling strength—commonly 40% ABV. Add water slowly while stirring and allow the spirit to rest for a day to harmonize. Fine-filter again if cloudiness appears after dilution.
- 10