Tequila Mockingbird
By Nick Fillis with Xylem Cider Works
Ingredients
5 gallons base cider
Lime juice (or lime concentrate for more alcohol) to taste
Kiwi juice to back-sweeten to taste
White Wine Yeast (champagne)
Oak Chips (the darker the most toasted flavor you get)
Tequila
Instructions
- Fresh juice would be best, but if you don’t have access to that, look for whatever juice hasn’t had sulfites added (sulfites will can slow or stall your fermentation).
- Depending on the tartness you desire, you can add fresh squeezed lime juice or, if you are looking for a boost in alcohol, a concentrate will work. However, the concentrate will give you a bit more of a limeade flavor.
- Add your yeast; a champagne yeast is going to give you the most alcohol and dry your cider out the most.
- While fermenting your cider, get oak chips from your local homebrew store and soak them in tequila.
- After your cider is done, transfer (measuring gravity/sugars) it off the yeast sediment and add your tequila-soaked oak chips for two weeks.
- Add 2ml of GG#4 and 2ml of Durban Poison with 8ml True Terpenes Diluent.
- Blend the cider with kiwi juice/puree and terpene blend to the desired sweetness level and keg.
