Whiskey vs vodka for tinctures

[wader98]

I'm in the process of making a stout and will be adding a tonka bean tincture before kegging but have a question on which spirit to use. I currently have the beans soaking in 200ml of whiskey but I see a lot of people using vodka for vanilla beans or coffee beans....
Is it just cause vodka is cheaper or will vodka bring out more of the flavor as its a pretty clean in flavor itself?

 

[Imhoppy]

As a point of reference, I used 4 oz. of tequilla for a habanero infusion into a 5 gallon keg. The tequilla notes were evident even at that amount. Vodka would be pretty neutral in my opinion (I used 4 oz. vodka for a Grapefruit Pulpin IPA 5-gallon batch).

Not sure about whiskey, but I would assume you might be able to detect some of its flavor, depending on the infusion amount used.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Vodka is considered flavorless, which is why a lot of people use it for tinctures.

I use Bourbon to extract vanilla and it rocks. I snip the beans into little pieces with scissors and add just enough bourbon to cover them on a jar and put on the lid. I let that gently spin on a stir plate for a couple days. The flavor is outstanding.

Cheers

 

[Abrayton]

Vodka is considered flavorless, which is why a lot of people use it for tinctures.

I use Bourbon and it rocks. I snip the beans into little pieces with scissors and add just enough bourbon to cover them on a jar and put in the lid. I let that gently spin on a stir plate for a couple days. The flavor is outstanding.

Cheers

I'm definitely trying this!

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I use dark rum to soak cocoa nibs and smushed vanilla beans for a week before dumping the works in the fermentors and racking my imperial chocolate stout on top. Way more interesting than vodka or grain alcohol...

Cheers!

 

[AZBeer]

As others have said...

If I want the flavors of the things I'm adding to shine, I use Vodka.
If I want a bourbon/ whiskey flavor, like bourbon oak and vanilla in a RIS, I use that.

Dark spiced rum...sounds interesting.

 

[day_trippr]

Oh no - never "spiced". Just plain, dark rum. Doesn't need to be fancy, either...

Cheers!

 

[501irishred]

I let that gently spin on a stir plate for a couple days. The flavor is outstanding.

Cheers

Brilliant! Never thought of using a stir plate, but it makes sense.

Another vote here for vodka for more (delicate?) flavors, and rum or bourbon for bolder flavors. I use Kraken dark rum quite a bit. It’s spiced, but not over the top and I like the flavor, especially when using with vanilla.

 

[wader98]

Awsome thanks for the help. I can't really find much on the Tonka beans as they are illegal in the USA (i'm up north in Canada)
I guess I will make one with Vodka as well and then make a judgement call once kegging time.

 

[dmtaylor]

Use what you like. Vodka is clean. I use tequila in my jalapeno beer. Use whatever makes sense.

 

[Jag75]

Used vodka before . I just put bourbon over my nibs and vanilla beans yesterday to see how it turns out .

 

[davidabcd]

snip the beans

How many beans do you use? Sounds like they would be an excellent addition to a plainer stout.
They're super expensive, relatively, aren't they?
Is the spinning purpose to extract more flavor or just combining?
Thanks.
Edit: I could see a great whiskey barrel stout with a bit a vanilla as being perfect.

 

[RPh_Guy]

How many beans do you use? Sounds like they would be an excellent addition to a plainer stout.
They're super expensive, relatively, aren't they?
Is the spinning purpose to extract more flavor or just combining?
Thanks.
Edit: I could see a great whiskey barrel stout with a bit a vanilla as being perfect.

Real vanilla is somewhat expensive compared to other spices. The best deal I see is to buy 5 beans or more at a time from Amazon, and it's pretty reasonable for the amount you get.

You can make extract from all 5 beans at once. The amount of extract I add to the beer is always based on a bench trial. I start with 1 drop in a 50mL sample. If that's too much, then try a larger sample.
20 drops is about 1mL, but this can vary slightly by the dropper. I calibrated my dropper so I know exactly how much volume it gives in a drop.

Spinning is to help extract the flavor more quickly, and possibly more fully.

I've added vanilla to porters, spiced holiday ales, ciders, and wines. If you like vanilla I could see adding it to almost anything.

 

[motherofgallons]

Awsome thanks for the help. I can't really find much on the Tonka beans as they are illegal in the USA (i'm up north in Canada)
I guess I will make one with Vodka as well and then make a judgement call once kegging time.

I adore tonka beans. I've used them in kombucha, dragon blood, and in desserts as a cheaper alternative to vanilla beans although they do have their own unique flavor -- sort of a rich perfumey vanilla-bitter almond. I've had them in an imperial stout (not my recipe) which was truly outstanding. I don't remember how much they used, I think 3-5 beans finely ground and added right to secondary (not a tincture if I remember correctly) in a batch of probably 5 gallons. I'm making a stout soon and will definitely be using tonka in some way. It is slightly toxic in higher amounts but trust me no one is eating 4 beans in a sitting. I used about 30% of 1 bean grated in a very large dessert that serves like 20 for Thanksgiving and the flavor was just right. Nutmeg is also toxic in higher amounts but no one wants to eat 3 of those in a sitting either.