Info from my wife who makes vanilla extract. Her first reaction was that the batches didn't have nearly enough aging time. Also, chopping the beans doesn't help increase aging times or improve the infusion process, but it doesn't really hurt much either. To compare your results to another group's results, she did say that another group that has a heavy focus on vanilla recommends an ABV between 40% and 50%.

Thank you guys for doing this. Overall very solid real world science. Cheers.

Very, very cool!!! Thanks for the awesome content!!!

Thanks, as always an useful experiment for homebrewers worldwide, keep it up!!

Good, solid info. Thank you.

This was a cool test!

Your video on this subject is important, as I'm wanting to make some vanilla extract myself. You've given myself and others like myself. The perfect ABV range that will allow one to provide the perfect vanilla extract for any use. Want to do one on different vanilla beans and the difference of those flavors differences of taste test! Great video BC .

Really Enjoyed Your Video , Thanks ! 🐯🤠

wow. Thank you for the research. 🥰

rebel bourbon is a favorite of mine for affordable whiskeys. it sits at 55% abv and im strongly considering using that for a vanilla extract. thanks for the video

Loving this! Great video, hugely beneficial to the homebrewing community. Shame Tiger Pat is sleeping through it all.

Thank you for your time and efforts. I'm quite new to vanilla as a flavoring and extraction as a process. I have discovered that there are very cemented opinions about the processes used (and a plethora of misinformation as well). I am curious as to why you didn't test 35% ABV, seeings how this is the US-FDA's minimum for Grade B vanilla beans. I have recently learned that the use of ultrasonic equipment can more completely extract the flavor compounds in very short time frames - as quickly as 30 seconds. I have 10 batches of extracts and four batches of vanilla bean paste that I have subjected to a less efficient ultrasonic water bath versus and ultrasonic wand, aka a sonicator. I have also vacuum packed half of my batches, split and cut all of my beans and a couple batches were also scraped beans (not a big fan of that). While extraction is only half of the flavor equation, aging being the other half, end results of the flavor is the main factor - clarity being a distant secondary issue (IMO). Aside from a wide variety of bean origins I also used a wide variety of alcohols, such that I don't have any two batches alike, hence no control batch. And even though I have been using the ultrasonics, I still wanted to age the extracts a little at any rate. The paste on the other hand is ready for consumption. I used some in a whole grain whole wheat - fresh milled flour loaf of bread. WOW! Sort of like a giant vanilla wafer. I have also added some to my homemade yogurt but somewhat less impressed. I will be adding some paste to some freshly made ice cream eventually - the main reason for me getting into vanilla bean extractions. My choices for alcohol so far: Siesta Key Toasted Coconut Rum 70ºP, Capt. Morgan Coconut Rum 70ºP, Malibu Red Rum/Tequila 70ºP, Smirnoff Vodka 80ºP, CM White Rum 70ºP. Off the top of my head I think that is all - so far. OH! And all my batches are at least 1 ounce of beans to each 8 ounces (1 cup) of alcohol. Most of my beans were Grade A but one set was labeled Grade AB. I realise that full 1 ounce beans to 8 ounce alcohol batches isn't practical for all the taste testing that you just did in this video. But I hope the ratio was close. As we say in the two FB groups I belong to, Welcome to the rabbit hole.

what is the ratio of vanilla to spirit used? 60ml to x amount of grams of vanilla

Interesting test. I've always used 60% but thinking about it, not sure why. Must have heard it somewhere

Hi there! Couple of questions: have you tried to start tom 95%abv and after some time water it down to 60%? I do it with liquorice wood. I start at 96%abv to boost the extraction of all the alcohol soluble stuff and slowly go down to 30% as is the abv of the final product. For example Vanillin is most soluble in alcohol being 10mg/L in water 50mg/L in glycol propylene and basically 1/1 in pure ethanol. To speed up the extraction process I use a magnetic stirrer, quite cheap but very effective. I have also used a refractometer to measure the particle presence in the final liquid. Is not super accurate as you may know “how many particles” are there, but not which one, but it a higher number can correlate with a better taste, it depends on which substance you are measuring.

I use 100 Proof vodka and treat it like a Perpetual Brew. I had more vanilla bean from time to time and add more vodka when needed.

second ;) extracting vanilla in Gentleman Jack makes an outstanding drink ;)

I wonder if it’s not just 50-60% ABV that’s best for making vanilla extract but also the best ABV for pulling vanillin from oak when making bourbon and whiskey🤔. I find that barrel strength whiskey is tastier than a lot of the other 80 proof whiskies.

fda is 1 oz to 8 oz or 233 ml fluid for single fold it u add 2 oz beans n adgutated daily instead of letting it sit the compounds can exteact

Very cool test. I am just getting into making vanilla and my first batch was with 190 proof everclear and I be haven't tested it yet, but appears to have"burned" the beans and is very clear, my 2nd batch was with standard Jim Beam and tastes amazing... Check out a current video from Clement Family Farms, he is doing a similar test...

It could be a combination of high abv extraction, then a period of evaporation/concentration down to ~35% abv? Might be a little low on the ABV but ya get the point lol

"We would need dozens, if not hundreds of people to taste vanillas ...." So you're going to get a booth at GABF to get that data, right? At least using like a mead and a cider or a RIS or something. That would be an incredible video on top of an already very interesting one here.

I used 80proof vodka and Madagascar grade b vanilla beans and used their recipe. I made it 9/22/2023. I opened the large containers and the alcohol is too strong and not very vanilla tasting. Can this be fixed? I followed the recipe for the ratio of beans to vodka and I read the longer it sits the better it will taste. Not true in my case.

Nice job on the test. My initial thought at the beginning was to cut out the highest 2 ABV tests and do some lower ABV tests. Reason being not all states allow the sale of that high of an alcohol level spirit. Cheerz.

It's called an alcometer

I feel like this was a missed opportunity to bake lots of cookies!

Great test and way of presenting it 👏 I used my own very clean triple distilled neutral spirit which I made from potatoes. They make the smoothest spirit, next to rice IMO 😅 I proofed down a half gallon from 177 to 111 proof. And since I got a thing with numbers I did actually 1800mL and added 1.11 Extract Exclusive grade vanilla beans, chopped open and seeds added separate from the chopped up pods, per 100mL of my 111proof neutral spirit ⚗️👨‍🔬 so 20 vanilla beans for the half gallon 😂 It's still aging actually, been going months now... I shook it every day the first month and did some hot water baths to speed up the extraction... But now it just sits in the dark and I use little bit here n there for brews and distillations since there's no additives in mine, the liquor or the vanilla 🤣 🤷 I think it's been great in everything I've used it in, no complains. I'm definitely happy I made it and it just gets better with time as more things extract 😋 🙏 Thank you for yet another extremely useful video 💯 Sincerely RuneShine, the Norse-Druid Alchemist from lower Michigan ✌️💚🫠

On a side note, I wonder how that would apply to different vanilla cultivars and cures? I tend to do most of my extracting in vodka or rum, usually 80-90 proof

I'll just stick with buying vanilla in glycerine. It tastes way better than vanilla in alcohol.

First?

🦝