Storing and bottling milk wine

Milk wine keeps because three things protect it at once. Alcohol from the arrack, at roughly 15 to 20 per cent in the finished drink, discourages most spoilage organisms. Sugar, at high concentration, does the same. Acid from the citrus adds a third layer of protection.

Clarification matters just as much. The milk solids that would spoil quickly are removed with the curds, leaving a clear liquid with very little for bacteria or moulds to feed on. A badly strained batch, with fine curd left in, keeps far less well.

This is why English milk punch was valued in the eighteenth century and why milk wine suited colonial Ceylon before refrigerators. A drink that kept for months in the tropics was rare and useful.

Glass bottles are best. Old arrack, wine or sauce bottles with screw caps or good corks are commonly reused in Sri Lankan homes, and many families keep a box of them for the Christmas batch. Avoid plastic, which can affect the taste over months.

Clean the bottles thoroughly. Wash them in hot soapy water, rinse well, then sterilise by pouring boiling water through them or heating them in an oven at a low temperature. Let them dry completely before filling, as water left inside dilutes the drink and can encourage spoilage.

Caps and corks need attention too. Wash screw caps in hot water, and use new corks if possible. A poor seal lets air in and alcohol out, and is the commonest reason for a bottle to spoil.

Fill the bottles with a funnel, leaving only a small space at the top. Less air in the bottle means less chance of oxidation and spoilage. Some families pour a small splash of extra arrack into each bottle before sealing to strengthen the top layer.

Seal tightly straight away. Label each bottle with the date and, if you make several batches, the spirit used. Many families write the year on the label so that older bottles can be compared later.

Avoid filling bottles with cloudy liquid from the end of straining. Keep the brightest milk wine for bottling and use the last cloudy portion for cooking or drink it first.

Store milk wine upright in a cool, dark place, such as a cupboard away from the kitchen stove and direct sunlight. In Sri Lanka's warm climate, the coolest room or a cupboard on an inside wall is best.

Refrigeration is not needed and is not traditional. Chilling can cause a temporary haze, which usually clears when the bottle returns to room temperature. If you live somewhere very hot without air conditioning, a cool storeroom is better than a fridge.

Once opened, a bottle keeps well for weeks if resealed tightly after each pour. Over Christmas, a bottle on the sideboard may be opened many times without problems.

A well-made, well-sealed bottle keeps for several months at room temperature, and often a year or more in a cool, dark place. Many families keep bottles from one Christmas to the next, and some say older milk wine tastes even better.

Opened bottles last for weeks, provided they are resealed tightly and kept out of the heat. Bottles left open or loosely capped can lose alcohol and aroma and are more likely to spoil.

Home-made milk wine has no fixed expiry date, so judge each bottle by its look, smell and taste rather than by the calendar.

Good milk wine stays clear and smells of citrus, spice and arrack. A bottle that turns cloudy after being clear, develops floating particles or mould, smells sour, cheesy or yeasty, or fizzes when opened has spoiled and should be thrown away.

A light sediment at the bottom of an older bottle is normal and harmless. Decant the clear liquid carefully. The difference between harmless sediment and spoilage is usually obvious: sediment sits quietly at the bottom, while spoilage changes the smell.

Lankan Stays & Trails guests who buy milk wine at Christmas fairs are advised to check the seal, keep the bottle cool and drink it within the season, especially if they do not know how long it was kept before sale.