Mint Wine
In the recipe below, I used a blend of spearmint and regular peppermint. Use whatever mints you have! I can imagine the lovely twist that could happen if you used chocolate mint, or pineapple mint… warning - this was my first attempt so may need tweaking x
Ingredients
4 litres of water
4 cups of fresh mint leaves (rinsed and removed from the stem)
Around a kilo of sugar, or more if you prefer
1 packet of yeast (a sweet wine or mead yeast is nice, but even baking yeast works in a pinch!)
handful of raisins, chopped, or yeast nutrient
Method
1. Boil most of the water in a large pot. While that is happening, sanitize your demijohn, funnel, strainer, and your airlock and bung.
2. Remove the pot from heat and get ready to add the mint leaves and raisins. Crumple the leaves to bruise them and release their essential oils as you add them to the pot. Cover the pot and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes.
3. Pour the sugar into the warm mint tea and stir to dissolve. leave to steep overnight.
4. Strain the mint tea into the demijohn and top it off with the rest of the filtered water to the neck. Add the bung and airlock to the jug. Toss the leaves in your compost bin.
5. When the demijohn is filed, sprinkle in the packet of yeast and give it a shake. Within a day or two, the jug should be bubbling happily. It should be happy to sit and bubble for a month or so.
6. When the bubbles stop and the liquid is clear, it is time to bottle!
Apparently this golden brew already tasted great at bottling time, and it only became more and more delicious as it aged throughout the year. The longer it ages, the more minty it becomes.
In the recipe below, I used a blend of spearmint and regular peppermint. Use whatever mints you have! I can imagine the lovely twist that could happen if you used chocolate mint, or pineapple mint… warning - this was my first attempt so may need tweaking x
Ingredients
4 litres of water
4 cups of fresh mint leaves (rinsed and removed from the stem)
Around a kilo of sugar, or more if you prefer
1 packet of yeast (a sweet wine or mead yeast is nice, but even baking yeast works in a pinch!)
handful of raisins, chopped, or yeast nutrient
Method
1. Boil most of the water in a large pot. While that is happening, sanitize your demijohn, funnel, strainer, and your airlock and bung.
2. Remove the pot from heat and get ready to add the mint leaves and raisins. Crumple the leaves to bruise them and release their essential oils as you add them to the pot. Cover the pot and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes.
3. Pour the sugar into the warm mint tea and stir to dissolve. leave to steep overnight.
4. Strain the mint tea into the demijohn and top it off with the rest of the filtered water to the neck. Add the bung and airlock to the jug. Toss the leaves in your compost bin.
5. When the demijohn is filed, sprinkle in the packet of yeast and give it a shake. Within a day or two, the jug should be bubbling happily. It should be happy to sit and bubble for a month or so.
6. When the bubbles stop and the liquid is clear, it is time to bottle!
Apparently this golden brew already tasted great at bottling time, and it only became more and more delicious as it aged throughout the year. The longer it ages, the more minty it becomes.
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