wavenovel Chapter 138 Molasses Mixed with Alcohol
Chapter 138 Molasses Mixed with Alcohol
With Su Dao and Guan Dunzi learning from others outside, the others finally had a chance to sit down and eat and drink.
"Chen Zhiqing, their mare's milk wine is quite good, but they give out very little, and it's not as delicious as your mountain fruit salad."
They had only been eating for a short while when Zhang Taibao had almost finished the entire copper pot of mare's milk wine by himself.
After taking advantage of him, he smacked his lips and remained as honest as ever.
"That's perfect! Go get a pot, some syrup, and a bucket of alcohol, and we'll get back to it, shall we?"
Looking into the distance, Su Dao, who was with Guan Dunzi, was chatting with the herdsmen.
Chen Tuo also remembered another product from the Soren Merchant Guild.
His original plan was to boil mountain fruits in alcohol and then transport them across the river to trade with the Russians for goods.
With free molasses and sugar residue, Chen Tuo wanted to try a different approach.
Although the sugar factory does not recommend eating molasses directly, according to Xiao Kai, many people around the sugar factory eat molasses and sugar residue, and no one has been killed by it.
"Chen, you can't drink the alcohol from the sugar factory directly. That stuff hasn't been deodorized; it tastes awful!"
The alcohol that Xiao Kai obtained was food-grade, but that's one thing; it still needs a deodorization process before it can be truly consumed.
"Give it a try! It won't kill you!"
At this point, Chen Tuo reverted to his usual reckless and foolish ways.
Similar to Songling and Yuandong, the grasslands are also harsh and cold places, and wine is a good friend of the herdsmen.
According to the legends of the grassland white wine and the "knock-down donkey," the slightly eccentric blended alcohol might just become a new friend to the herders.
"Brother Zhang, when you go to get the things, see if you can find any clean, fresh birch stalks. Chop a few pieces and bring some wild fruits if you can!"
After trying the mountain fruit salad, Chen Tuo was clearly a master bartender among them.
Fearing that alcohol without deodorization wouldn't be palatable, he had a sudden inspiration and decided to use birch wood as a fragrance.
"The ranch should have frozen fruit, I'll go ask..."
Fearing that Zhang Taibao might not do a good job of what Chen Tuo had asked him to do, Bai Long got up and followed him.
Two cooking pots, the same kind used at the educated youth settlement, were set up, along with a few pieces of frozen fresh birch wood and a pile of various frozen mountain fruits as seasonings.
Chen Tuo immediately started mixing drinks on the spot.
Ice, alcohol, and molasses are added to a pot. After it is lit, the ice melts, the molasses mixes, and the liquid in the pot quickly turns the color of whiskey.
"Uncle Wu, why don't you give it a try?"
Unsure of the alcohol content of the mixed liquor, Chen Tuo didn't dare let Zhang Taibao taste it, but instead dragged Wu Laowai along as a helper.
"It tastes both bitter and sweet, it must be over 40 degrees Celsius!"
Wu Laowai glanced at Chen Tuo, but didn't say anything sarcastic. After trying it, he felt the wine tasted alright.
"Brother Zhang, add more ice..."
After Wu Laowai tried it, Chen Tuo also tried it. The molasses had a caramel flavor, which really gave the liquor in the cooking pot a whiskey-like taste.
Looking at the ingredients around him, Chen Tuo didn't choose wild fruit this time, but instead threw the frozen birch wood into the pot.
Watching the liquor bubbling in the pot, the white birchwood turning brownish-red, Chen Tuo took another sip, raised an eyebrow, and muttered:
"That's the taste! Brother Zhang, try adding some more ice..."
Although people in cold regions enjoy strong liquor, there are not many who can actually drink it freely.
Chen Tuo still planned to raise the alcohol content of the whiskey-flavored liquid in the pot to around ten degrees, so that he could drink it to his heart's content.
Feeling that the alcohol content was about right, Chen Tuo then started brewing another pot of liquor according to the recipe he had just prepared.
"Uncle Su, please take this wine over there. Drink it while it's hot; it'll make you feel better..."
Chen Tuo also had the idea of getting Guan Dunzi to talk under the influence of alcohol by lowering the alcohol level.
If it were a counterfeit whisky with an alcohol content of 40 or 50 degrees, everyone would probably be completely drunk after just a few bowls.
The liquor, after being cooled with ice water and impurities removed with birch wood, has both the smoky aroma of whiskey and the bitterness of beer.
Although it doesn't quite suit the tastes of the herders, having some wine is better than having none.
Chen Tuo, who had just finished brewing the second pot and was preparing to brew the third, felt that everyone had drunk enough, so he didn't add any more ice.
Instead, they wanted to create a liquor that suited Russian tastes.
"Section Chief Xiao, Uncle Wu, what alcohol content won't freeze?"
Before making the allocation, Chen Tuo also asked Xiao Kai and Wu Laowai about the common knowledge of the forest area.
Mixed liquor with an alcohol content of around ten degrees will freeze, making it unsuitable for border trade.
But Chen Tuo didn't know what alcohol concentration wouldn't freeze, so he could only ask.
"A 45-degree Erguotou will freeze at minus 30 or 40 degrees Celsius, but the distillery says a 53-degree one can withstand minus 60 or 70 degrees Celsius."
Wu Laowai couldn't answer Chen Tuo's question, but Xiao Kai from the Forestry Bureau's Logistics Department had accurate data.
Songling Baijiu from Songling Distillery never freezes, but 45-degree Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) occasionally does.
According to the distillery's data, to ensure the liquor doesn't freeze, it needs to be at least 50 degrees Celsius in Songling.
If we go further north, 53 degrees would be a safer bet.
"Brother Zhang, go find a few more frozen pine logs."
Chen Tuo asked about the alcohol content, not to prepare a 53-proof liquor on the spot.
Without a sommelier and a hydrometer, he couldn't accurately adjust the alcohol content of the liquor.
He asked this question simply to calculate the costs.
Unlike molasses, alcohol requires money to purchase.
For the third time, Chen Tuo didn't make a whole pot, but only the bottom.
Before adding ice and alcohol, he also specially stir-fried the molasses.
Looking at the brownish liquid in the cooking pot, which smelled of pine resin, Xiao Kai asked somewhat uncertainly:
"Chen, is this drinkable?"
"We'll know if it's safe to drink it once we try. It's just pine wood, molasses, and alcohol, none of which are poisonous. It shouldn't kill anyone."
How to mix the liquor was not Chen Tuo's focus.
His desired outcome was to reduce the alcohol content as much as possible, provided the taste was satisfactory.
The higher the alcohol content of a drink, the more alcohol is used.
If molasses and pine are added, the alcohol content can be controlled at around 40 degrees, which would make it more suitable for border trade.
For Chen Tuo, the lower the alcohol content, the better.
He now wants to experiment with pine and birch to see which is more suitable as a fragrance.
In addition to border trade, the blended liquor produced by the Solon Merchant Guild can also be sold on the grasslands in the future.
Compared to birch, the resinous aroma of pine wood is better able to neutralize the unpleasant flavors of alcohol and molasses.
Chen Tuo claimed he wanted to learn from the masters and continue the tradition, but he was actually doing bartending, which was completely unrelated to his main job. Xiao Kai, eager to see the results as soon as possible, urged him:
"Chen Zhiqing, aren't you going to check on Su Dao's side? I'm afraid they won't understand what's going on..."
For Chen Tuo, trading, bartending, and learning from others were not important matters.
His livelihood rests on collecting materials about life on the grasslands.
I originally thought I would have to live on the grassland for a while, but I never expected that life on the grassland would be so dull and boring.
In terms of daily life, apart from feeding cattle, sheep and horses, there is not much difference from the Songling Forest Area.
Qinggele confirmed that there were also experienced middle-aged men like Wu Laowai and Guan Dunzi around him.
Adding Chen Tuo's previous impressions of the grasslands, the material was already sufficient.
With confidence in his heart, he was able to sit on the leather straps and leisurely mix drinks.
"Section Chief Xiao, we have to take things one step at a time. Do you think there's any silk left on the grasslands from back then? If so, what would we use to trade for it...?"