Buy at least 2 products and get free shipping directly at checkout!

FRUIT DISTILLATES: CAPTURE THE ESSENTIAL

The work of the distiller is similar to that of a sculptor, thus paraphrasing what Michelangelo stated: "I mean sculpture, that which is forced to be removed", the distiller has to remove the superfluous to bring out the essential, freeing all the imprisoned perfumes in the raw material and concentrating them in a burning water.

And then for the distiller the choice of raw material will be like choosing the block of marble to sculpt. Knowledge of ripening times and varietal characteristics will thus become a fundamental knowledge base in order to obtain the best possible result, even more so if we are talking about fruit distillates where the work is entirely oriented towards communicating the aromas of the starting raw materials.

Not all fruits should be processed ripe or overripe and should not always be picked at their maximum ripeness from the tree. To orient yourself on the right processing times, a first distinction must be made between climacteric and aclimateric fruits.

The former have a starchy portion that can be transformed into sugar as the days pass, even after being removed from the plant. In climacteric fruits, ripening is accelerated not only by self-produced ethylene, but also by that released by nearby ripe fruits. This category of fruits includes bananas, figs, persimmons, kiwis, apples, melons, pears, peaches.

Aclimateric fruits, on the other hand, must be picked at their right level of ripeness, otherwise they will lose some valuable organoleptic characteristics. Orange, raspberry, lemon, olive, grape, pineapple and cherry are aclimateric fruits.

It should not be forgotten that fruit distillation is an ancient practice and each country has its own typical distillate made with the fruits produced from its own land.

The vast world of fruit distillates ranges from the more exotic ones such as Bouza (date distillate produced in Egypt), to the more famous Kirsh (obtained from the distillation of cherry cider produced in Austria, Switzerland, Germany - Black Forest - Italy and in France.), Slivovitz (plum distillate known by this name in Eastern Europe, but it is also produced in Italy and France where it is known by the name of the most distilled variety which is Mirabelle), Williamine (pear distillate Williams traditionally produced in Central Europe).

Many artisanal distilleries produce fruit spirits starting from territorial varieties never distilled before with a very rich production that does not submit to an easy schematization.

In Italy, where the status of traditional product has been achieved only by grappa (pomace brandy), there is a tendency to indicate all fruit distillates directly with the name of the designated fruit, so for example we will speak of cherry brandy, pear brandy , figs, plums, apples.

.