For lemon or grapefruit JAO I just substitute in one fruit for the other... again, after the first couple tries, I only use fruit and zest because pith gives me heartburn. I also typically add five or so allspice berries to the cinnamon sticks and 3 old cloves (if they were fresh I'd use one) when I say I used the spices.
I think the first time I did it, I used a lemon in place of the orange because I really don't like oranges very much and also I think that was the batch where I tried decreasing the honey by 1/4 lb and it wasn't what I'd hoped for, just a bit too sour. I did use the spices and they may have contributed to bitterness, would have to check my logs to see if it had pith or not.
I tried lemon-cranberry JAO by subbing in a lemon for the orange and a handful of dried cranberries for the raisins and no other spices, couldn't taste the cranberry at all and it was just a bit too sweet, I think the cranberries weren't enough nutrients for the yeast or maybe I mixed the honey too strong or maybe it needed some bitterness from the spices which I didn't use. I ended up mixing this batch with the too-sour previous lemon variant and they balanced each other nicely.
I did a more successful lemon-date version later where I used a handful of chopped dates instead of the raisins, and it was very nice, mellowed well after a couple of years and the last of it is now gone. I should do this one again
Grapefruit JAO wasn't quite what I hoped it would be, I think I'll use the spices next time I try grapefruit. Not bad, just something missing.
I also tried an extra-citrusy version with the spices in early 2010 (I think two oranges and a lemon or something, my notes are two flights of stairs away), but as with all times you void the warranty on JAO, it might not turn out, and this one still hasn't really cleared properly so I haven't tasted it in a while and don't remember what it was like when I racked it after the fruit dropped. Looking at hitting it with some type of fining agent soon.
I did orange with dates and nutmeg and it must've been good cause it's all gone
I did a very nice tangelo-vanilla, I didn't like it much at the beginning, something about the vanilla, but it's mellowed absolutely beautifully since 2007... (since I didn't like it when I bottled it, the bottles got shoved to the back of a shelf and safely forgotten about until I rediscovered them when doing inventory before Xmas).
Blood oranges make very pretty JAO. Make sure you use as much rind as you can scrape off though, the fruit has very little flavour of its own
.
If you've got the space and resources, I'd try one batch with one dalandan and one batch with two if they're that much milder. At worst, one's too sweet and one's too bitter and you mix them together and it's drinkable.
For black currant and black raspberry, I didn't use a whole lot of fruit for those, and I really should have used more, next time I will. Same with the strawberry, although I think juice from half a lemon would have helped the strawberry one more than more fruit. However, my friends with less discerning palates polished it all off so I'll never know
Tiny purple ornamental crabapples, about 20 of them, make a really nice JAO variant. Still haven't managed to capture the lovely colour (the first time they kind of dried out before I got to them and the second time they'd been frozen), but the bitter-tart they impart is a great balance for the sweetness.
Green (unripe) apple is... well, odd. Not very apply, a little musty, and I think it'll end up being too sweet despite the tartness of the apples (I think they're macintosh), took a LOOOONG time for the fruit to drop, I tossed it a cinnamon stick after racking because it didn't have much character, and will likely hit it with some acid blend before bottling, and if acidity doesn't do the trick maybe a month or three with a vanilla bean and two years in the cupboard will do it.
I haven't tasted the cactus pear JAO yet nor the Chevette weirdomel (starfruit) but I'll post an update when I do (need to bottle something so I have some carboys free so I can rack them since the fruit's dropped, but I messed up my shoulder last week and I don't think I can hold a racking cane steady with that arm right now so everything's on pause till I can use my arm properly again).
Happy experimenting, and please share your results!
I think the first time I did it, I used a lemon in place of the orange because I really don't like oranges very much and also I think that was the batch where I tried decreasing the honey by 1/4 lb and it wasn't what I'd hoped for, just a bit too sour. I did use the spices and they may have contributed to bitterness, would have to check my logs to see if it had pith or not.
I tried lemon-cranberry JAO by subbing in a lemon for the orange and a handful of dried cranberries for the raisins and no other spices, couldn't taste the cranberry at all and it was just a bit too sweet, I think the cranberries weren't enough nutrients for the yeast or maybe I mixed the honey too strong or maybe it needed some bitterness from the spices which I didn't use. I ended up mixing this batch with the too-sour previous lemon variant and they balanced each other nicely.
I did a more successful lemon-date version later where I used a handful of chopped dates instead of the raisins, and it was very nice, mellowed well after a couple of years and the last of it is now gone. I should do this one again
Grapefruit JAO wasn't quite what I hoped it would be, I think I'll use the spices next time I try grapefruit. Not bad, just something missing.
I also tried an extra-citrusy version with the spices in early 2010 (I think two oranges and a lemon or something, my notes are two flights of stairs away), but as with all times you void the warranty on JAO, it might not turn out, and this one still hasn't really cleared properly so I haven't tasted it in a while and don't remember what it was like when I racked it after the fruit dropped. Looking at hitting it with some type of fining agent soon.
I did orange with dates and nutmeg and it must've been good cause it's all gone
I did a very nice tangelo-vanilla, I didn't like it much at the beginning, something about the vanilla, but it's mellowed absolutely beautifully since 2007... (since I didn't like it when I bottled it, the bottles got shoved to the back of a shelf and safely forgotten about until I rediscovered them when doing inventory before Xmas).
Blood oranges make very pretty JAO. Make sure you use as much rind as you can scrape off though, the fruit has very little flavour of its own
.If you've got the space and resources, I'd try one batch with one dalandan and one batch with two if they're that much milder. At worst, one's too sweet and one's too bitter and you mix them together and it's drinkable.
For black currant and black raspberry, I didn't use a whole lot of fruit for those, and I really should have used more, next time I will. Same with the strawberry, although I think juice from half a lemon would have helped the strawberry one more than more fruit. However, my friends with less discerning palates polished it all off so I'll never know
Tiny purple ornamental crabapples, about 20 of them, make a really nice JAO variant. Still haven't managed to capture the lovely colour (the first time they kind of dried out before I got to them and the second time they'd been frozen), but the bitter-tart they impart is a great balance for the sweetness.
Green (unripe) apple is... well, odd. Not very apply, a little musty, and I think it'll end up being too sweet despite the tartness of the apples (I think they're macintosh), took a LOOOONG time for the fruit to drop, I tossed it a cinnamon stick after racking because it didn't have much character, and will likely hit it with some acid blend before bottling, and if acidity doesn't do the trick maybe a month or three with a vanilla bean and two years in the cupboard will do it.
I haven't tasted the cactus pear JAO yet nor the Chevette weirdomel (starfruit) but I'll post an update when I do (need to bottle something so I have some carboys free so I can rack them since the fruit's dropped, but I messed up my shoulder last week and I don't think I can hold a racking cane steady with that arm right now so everything's on pause till I can use my arm properly again).
Happy experimenting, and please share your results!
