We started with the idea of making lemonade vinegar. We took lemonade and added the alcohol distilled from bourbon, our Old Wellershine. In hindsight we could have used straight bourbon, but the idea had not fully developed as we began to carry it out. And we had the Wellershine taking up space in the pantry. It acted as a source of alcohol for the acetobactors, not as a flavor base. We didn't think of making bourbon lemonade vinegar until the end.
To make the vinegar we combined the lemonade, distilled bourbon and raw cider vinegar in a stainless steel bowl. We put an aquarium bubbler hose into the mixture and weighed it down so that it would bubble. We thought of using the bubbler stones, but the hose was easier to research and find. We covered the bowl with plastic wrap and let it bubble for 2 weeks, tasting it every few days. It took 14 days to fully develop and acidify. It's final pH was 3.1. We strained the vinegar into bottles. Bourbon bottles. And it dawned on us. We could add our bourbon essence to fortify and flavor the vinegar. Bourbon lemonade vinegar was complete.
Bourbon Lemonade Vinegar
1000 grams lemonade
375 grams distilled bourbon or bourbon
475 grams raw cider vinegar
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