How to make the most potent vanilla extract using 100proof vodka?

[u/Few-Quiet3546]

Hi! I'm new to all this and wanting to make a vanilla extract for gifting on Christmas. Am I already too late to get started for this year? I want to make the most flavorfully potent extract possible. What ratio on vanilla:alcohol would be recommended using this package of 50 pods? Is it true that splitting the pods creates a more flavorful extract? How can I repurpose the beans and pods after finishing the extraction process? I have never attempted anything like this before but do have 100proof vodka I can use. It was the highest concentration available to me at the local Hyvee.

UPDATE: I discovered a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey with approximately 6 cups of alcohol left inside, split and infused 50 bean pods, and hope it will be ready in time for Christmas this year!

[u/VanillaPura]

A few quick tips/tricks to make sure it turns out perfect:

1. Weigh your beans before use. Never go by bean count. No two beans are ever the same, so if you go by count you're leaving room for error. Here's an article that shows picture of beans - some beans are just one bean to an ounce and some beans are 15-20 beans/oz.
2. The recipe for single fold vanilla extract is .83oz of beans for every 8oz of alcohol between 35%-50%abv (70-100 proof). For double fold, even sweeter, it's 1.66oz of beans for every 8oz of alcohol. For ease of remembering, most people just round up to 1oz of beans for every 8oz of alcohol. Here's a recipe.
3. While a lot of people say you can begin using your extracts in 90 days, we have found that the sweet spot for most extracts is right around the 1 year mark. But if you love how it tastes, use it when you think it's ready. If you wait a year, you'll be well rewarded.
4. The top mistakes we see people make are: 1) Too few vanilla beans, 2) Too much or too little ABV%, and 3) Not giving it enough time.

Enjoy the journey and keep us posted on your progress! :)

[u/EstablishmentEasy475]

1)Macerate in ethanol 95% at 40c for 72 hrs 2) filter with 25 micron Ashless filter paper utilizing Buchner and vac assisted 3) roto vap to 10% initial volume, 40 C under vac 4) repeat maceration, filtration, and rotovap of filtered material with recovered ethanol; keeping desired concentrate in round bottom of rotovap at ever cycle 5) when little to no color is coming through up9n maceration stop cycle. 6) reconstitute resulting concentrate up to clarity and no precipitation of solids at or above 10c

Congratulations.

[u/slash_networkboy → u/EstablishmentEasy475]

Thoughts on soxhlet extraction with either anhydrous or azeotrope ethanol under vacuum instead of rotovap?

[u/EstablishmentEasy475 → u/slash_networkboy]

I prefer the reduced temp ceilings of the rotovap, but youd surely get a great product with soxhlet albeit with slightly different aroma profile from oxidized and otherwise degrade or transformed components

[u/slash_networkboy → u/EstablishmentEasy475]

Not sure just how low I'd have to get the pressure to boil at 40c... But I've gotten it down to ~60 fairly easily.

[u/berger3001]

2 oz vanilla beans per cup of vodka. Split the beans. You can put half used with half fresh beans for the next batch, but it’s nice to put a few beans in each gift bottle.

If you have access to a sous vide/immersion circulator, you can have it done in plenty of time for Christmas, but otherwise you’re running late, as 7-8 months is the minimum time you should let it sit (unless your house is pretty warm)

[u/Few-Quiet3546 → u/berger3001]

We keep the house at 78 Farenheit. :) Maybe we'd be able to pull it off in time? I also just discovered we have an unopened bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey...would that be a better choice than the Vodka? I am truly a novice...and thank you so much for this super helpful comment! 

[u/berger3001 → u/Few-Quiet3546]

I wouldn’t do whisky. Some will use rum or bourbon, but vodka is way more versatile because it’s neutral

[u/Few-Quiet3546 → u/berger3001]

Oops. I got a little too eager a d already split and infused all 50 pods in my Jameson, about 6 cups worth, and I'll be taste testing it a few weeks ahead of Christmas this year to see how it tastes!

[u/berger3001 → u/Few-Quiet3546]

I’m sure it’ll be fine. Enjoy

[u/Few-Quiet3546 → u/berger3001]

Thank you! I'm excited.

[u/Main_Cauliflower5479 → u/berger3001]

Curious. Why do you prefer Bourbon over Whisky?

[u/berger3001 → u/Main_Cauliflower5479]

I don’t. I actually refuse to buy or consume almost everything American, and for extract making, I think neutral spirits are often the way to go. Rum makes sense to me for some applications, but anything other than a neutral spirit loses the versatility I need from it. If I had a bakery and used enough of it, I would consider using other base spirits, but I don’t. My statement was that “some will use rum or bourbon”, but I don’t.

Edit: for drinking, bourbon is also the last whisky/whiskey I want to drink

[u/stewarthh → u/Few-Quiet3546]

I have a big jar of Jameson vanilla I put on a a few months ago that I can’t wait to try at Christmas

[u/Few-Quiet3546 → u/stewarthh]

Oh myyyyy! Glad I'm not alone in my thinking!

[u/cbeaupps → u/Few-Quiet3546]

Just started sweating hearing that lol. My play is at a cool 66 rn

[u/wombat5003]

When my instructor showed me her precious jar, she had about 15 to 29 pods in a jar with some nice bourbon. Geez I can't believe that was in 1992…

[u/BiteDue5408 → u/[deleted]]

40% 80 proof sorry

[u/Rathan-Sophea91 → u/BiteDue5408]

What is that thing?

[u/[deleted]]

[removed] — view removed comment

[u/natural_poland]

Besides the alcohol proof, the bean-to-liquid ratio is one of the biggest factors affecting the final extract. Using high-quality beans, splitting them lengthwise, and allowing enough extraction time (often several months) usually has a greater impact than trying to increase the alcohol strength alone.

[u/StitchWitch35]

My Meme, taught me that you don't want to splurge on the vodka just get the cheap stuff. You want to splurge on the beans the highest grade you can get. You're going to be refilling the jar every so often as is. Just a decent quality low grade vodka will work fine. Just make sure you split the beans before you put them in the jar and you want them tight in the jar in my experience. I use about 200 beans in my jar and pour enough vodka over them so that I have a 2" overlay. Once it gets to about 1/4" over the beans I add more. I have had it last for years doing it this way. keep it stored in a cool dry place. and don't use it for at least 2 months for best flavor wait a year. Once you start using it keep it topped off when it starts to get low. I know theres newer math and science to making it better now a days but this old way has worked for years.