How to Make an Herbal Flavour Extract for Bitters and Soda

Making an extract from herbs and spices is a great way to create unique flavours for bitters and soda. Though essences capture the aroma compounds, extracts capture the flavour compounds that provide bitterness, astringency and spiciness which helps to rounds out drinks.

Using a percolator is the faster way to make an extract, taking 24 to 48 hours and creates a concentrate that can be diluted to make tinctures, elixirs, tonics and syrups.

#science #extracts #bitters

[NoahKainWhittington]

One last update! I was doing some research online and found that unlike other herbs and spices, vanilla sometimes requires recirculation of the solvent in order to extract everything. So, I bought more vanilla beans, dehydrated them, and ground them up with a coffee grinder. Then, I purchased a cheap food-grade peristaltic pump, allowed the vanilla beans to macerate in alcohol for a day, and set up the percolation to recirculate the solvent over a period of about 5 days. The continuous recirculation of alcohol through the vanilla beans produced the most aromatic extract I have ever had. It was like smelling a pile of vanillin but with more earthy tones. I just had to give everyone an update with this modified method.

[NoahKainWhittington]

Okay, I'm shocked. I've made vanilla extract using the maceration method for years with less-than-optimal results. I dried my vanilla beans in a dehydrator, then powdered them using a coffee grinder and used this same exact percolation setup with the same method. The result was a far better vanilla extract within 24 hours than I could ever get in 6 months using maceration. It was so aromatic and perfect! I ran it through a second time and got even better results! It's the best vanilla extract I've ever made! Thank you for showing us the method!

[vrtsgme]

Mate, followed you video to the letter. Oranges, dehydrated, blended to dust 100g. My orange gin is outstanding! Thank you so much. Done coffee, rhubarb and ginger so far. Bloody great. Thank you!

[ahmedaminhimel]

Requesting you to teach how to make powder extract or how to convert liquid extract into powder

[vitocattivo]

Drop funnel and stand from hbar just came in today. Pumped to get started!

[wild-radio]

OMG!❤ I am so happy to have found you!!!

[johnpeterson]

This is amaizing, Thank you for sharing this valuable skill

[GreySectoid]

I have been thinking of doing something similar for my distilled spirits. These instructions are excellent just what I needed, thank you.

[tamilang]

Riishi mushroom extraction uses a double extraction technique (alcohol maceration followed by boiling water infusion). I want to follow the way you do your extractions and am wondering if I’d still need to do the water infusion part afterwards. LOVE the videos!

[MrKerryjmurphy]

Wow just found your channel! Currently studying herbalism with ACHS and this use me some very good ideas to make quick extractions and at the end, you also taught me how to make a quick tincture. Thank you so very much. I love it. I need to follow your channel for sure. If I’m correct, I can use this to make any type of herbal formula as well.

[EthnobotanikFAQ]

Hey Darcy,
I’m a chemist myself and I’m really enjoying your content.
I was wondering how efficient percolation is, i.e., would a second run on that column be advisable?
Have a great day!

[MrWnw]

Wow! Excellent quality of information! Thank you.
Would you add some drops of this extract into fat or extract the flavour compounds into the fat directly somehow?

[Wild_Adventures_]

What ratio would you add a extract like this to ethanol for bitters? You mentioned 1:9 for a tincture I assume it would be quite a bit more for bitters?

[rpbale]

Love your videos and I've fallen down the rabbit hole. How do you know when the percolation is truly complete. Gravity alone doesn't seem to signal the end. When I add a little handle vacuum to the flask a lot more comes through, but it makes me want to cut my hand off after a while. I'm thinking of ordering a quiet lab vacuum to. Last question, I plan to make a sage-cranberry soda. For making a sage extract, should fresh, or rubbed dry sage or just dry sage be used?

[josefmicallef]

What do you think will be the ratio of using (for instance) fresh orange peel to orange peel extract?

[stoner]

Mr O'Neill. I love the content. I'd like to get the basic kit. Is that information on your patreon page?
I think I'll struggle to get the oils in Ireland as cost effectively as you do.

I'm struggling to find a Lemon EO that says you can use it in food.

What I'm most happy about is that my brother and his wife studied chemistry in university.

I've finally found a use for them

[anhkhoanguyenhuynh]

Love your content so far, your guide on GRAS and EO was definitely eye-opening. Quick question tho, if I don’t have quartz sand (I’m not sure which one is safe to use, the url you had is out of stock). But without using quartz sand, is there an alternative (ex: multiple coffee filter) for replacing quartz sand?

[OceannAaronn]

Love the videos! Do you have any plan to touch on tonic/quinine at any point?

[rahulphatak]

Hi! I am new to your channel. Thank you for this information! Have you ever used a moka pot to extract flavor? Ie instead of a stovetop espresso it’s a stove top way to extract a flavor? I’m guessing it would be like an extract

[kathynguyen]

I just found your channel! The alcohol that you use is drinking alcohol?