Post #756983 by mikehooker on Fri, Jan 8, 2016 3:24 PM

On 2016-01-08 14:45, AceExplorer wrote:

...we concluded that #9 had a few more steps than #8 because you have to extract the almond flavor from fresh almonds. In the end this most likely has minimal impact for most of us at home, however #9 clearly has a higher risk of "under almonding" the Falernum due to the variations in how you extract the almond oils and flavors at home, the freshness/brand/quality of the almonds used, and a few things like that.

OK, so if fresh almonds are not a necessity, the only other thing that really differs between #10 and #8 is the lack of lime juice.

On 2016-01-08 15:04, AceExplorer wrote:

Since Falernum is a pain in the butt to make, shelf life is truly important. I have solved that problem by adding two ounces pure grain alcohol to each bottle, and storing it in the freezer when I'm not actively using it -- the shelf life problem is thereby rendered completely non-existent. Again this also came from the Bum.

A lot of people have stated that lime juice will make their falernum spoil which is why Paul took it out of #10. If we already have 6 oz of overproof rum in the mix, does another 2 ounces of PGA really make the difference in killing whatever bacteria will form from the fresh lime juice? I suppose if the batch is super big, I can freeze some excess but ultimately I want this to be ready to go whenever I want to use it and not have to worry about thawing it. At the same time, I would like to get a few months shelf life out of it.

I may just do #8, omitting the lime juice for my first trial. Some people have said they add extra fresh lime juice when making a cocktail. Others say it's not even needed.

Has anyone experimented with using LH151 or another overproof instead of Wray & Nephew? Besides changing the ABV I wonder if it will vastly enhance the flavor.