Cleanest alcohol for fortified wine/liqueur?

I always found everclear a "cleaner" taste. though it's also a LOT stronger. :)

190 proof versus 80-100 proof on most vodka, just less volume of liquid(besides alcohol) to carry any impurities.

If you're really concerned, could get lab grade ethanol from a chemistry supply house, but it's likely to cost you more, if they'll sell it to you(not all will).

Joel

Vodka is distilled to such high standards that pretty much all vodka is the same for the purpose of fortifying wine. Sure, some vodkas are better than others if you're drinking them straight, but compared with the taste compounds in the wine you've made, vodka just won't contribute. I prefer grain vodka to potato vodka, but when mixed you'll never notice a difference.

Health regulations ensure that there are no "nasties" that will harm you in any mainstream brands (imports that fell of the back of a truck may be a different story).

Some of the cleanest "vodka" that I've tasted started off as rum. Industrial ethanol producers start off with the cheapest material and that's often sugar refining residue. A good column still and carbon filtration will make excellent ethanol with no detectable nasties. If you can find a large producer that also makes "beverage grade" ethanol, this is the very best to use, if they'll sell it to you.

OK, let me rephrase what I meant: grain alcohol (95%) = 23.75 oz alcohol in a 25 oz bottle typical vodka (40%) = 23.6 oz alcohol in a 59 oz bottle (diluted)

Not all beverages even of the same type are the same quality/price because of filtration processes, food quality, marketing, and other factors, but we can safely assume (for example) that a cheap merlot has something in common with a more expensive merlot because both wines are made with merlot grapes. Comparing vodka to Everclear seems like comparing apples to oranges because grain alcohol is made with grain and vodka is made with potatoes or mystery ingredient X.

Is a grain alcohol product commonly fermented, distilled, and purified cleaner than a potato/mystery ingredient vodka?

But is Everclear cleaner than the average vodka?

If the expense of a Brita water filter is not too much for you, you can buy the cheapest vodka going, run it through the Brita 3 or 4 times, and you will have good vodka!

Seriously - it works.

No, they are essentially the same. Most vodkas anymore start out as everclear (95%) and are then watered down to 40%.

why "fortify" the stuff in the first place? If you are using Walmart grape juice to start with, it's cheap enough already.

if you want to make it stronger, just add sugar before you start. Buying alcohol is defeating the purpose of what we're doing here which is saving money.

when you get a recipe for cheap hazelnut liqueurs, let me know, I love that stuff.

My other objective is to make liqueurs. If I make my own, I can determine how strong and sweet they are.

How many times have you done it and with what brands? Wouldn't a filter actually add impurities or odors? My refrigerator's water filter doesn't seem to last long, so how many bottles of cheap vodka could a portable Brita filter take? It's also hard to determine an exact point when the filter stops working...Would it be cost-effective?

I do not think you would find any that has tasted (or paid for) a vintage port that would say it is cheap.

Why fortify? Get get fortified wine. Nothing has tha aging potential of fortified wines.

well, see, this is why i read here, to learn things.

when i think of fortified wine i think of mad dog 20/20 which i've been led to believe is sold for winos.

Hell, You missed Thunderbird, Ripple, and Chateau Night Train!! But there's always T.J. Swan if you in with the disco crowd.

It all depends on what you fortify and what you use to fortify it.