Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits: Innovative Flavor Combinations, Plus Homemade Versions of Kahlúa, Cointreau, and Other Popular Liqueurs (7 page)
Authors: Andrew Schloss
Tags: #liquor, #cofee, #home cocktails, #cocktails, #liqueurs, #popular liqueurs, #spirits, #creamy, #kahlua, #unsweetened infused, #flavored alcohol, #bar recipes, #sweetners, #distilled, #herbal, #nutty, #creative coctails, #flowery, #infused spirits, #clones, #flavorings, #margarita, #home bar, #recipes, #cointreau, #cocktail recipes, #alcohol, #caramel, #homemade liqueurs, #fruity, #flavoring alcohol
This sultry liaison of cardamom and apricot will send the hedonistic soul into a swoon. The eucalyptic cardamom leaps up as lively as a Marrakech marketplace, while the lush apricot soothes like velvet. Pour yourself another shot. You’re in for a helluva night.
Makes about 1 quart
- 1 fifth (750 ml/3
1
⁄
4
cups) vodka (80–100 proof) - 15 dried apricot halves, finely chopped
- 20 green cardamom pods, crushed
- 1 cup
Simple Syrup
- 1.
Muddle the vodka, apricots, and cardamom with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything. - 2.
Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of apricot and cardamom, 3 to 5 days. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Stir in the simple syrup. - 5.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Prost!
Muddle a sprig of thyme in a highball glass, fill with ice, add 2 ounces Apricardamom, and top with ginger ale.
Drupe fruits encompass all members of the genus
Prunus
, including apricot, peach, plum, and cherry, as well as some less fruity fruits such as olive, coffee, and almond. All drupes have meaty flesh surrounding a hard-shelled pit, and all possess a lush fruitiness. This redolent fruit liqueur possesses the luxurious intensity of the group, without allowing any one specimen to dominate. In keeping with the liqueur-by-committee approach, the alcohol base is also blended — vodka for tincturing, rum for sweetness, and bourbon for pizzazz.
Makes about 1 quart
- 1 cup vodka (80–100 proof)
- 1
1
⁄
2
cups dark rum (80 proof) - 1 cup bourbon (80 proof)
- 4 dried peach halves, chopped, or 2 ripe peaches, pitted and chopped, or 15 frozen peach slices, thawed
- 8 dried apricot halves, chopped, or 4 ripe apricots, pitted and chopped
- 3 pitted prunes, chopped, or 3 ripe plums, pitted and chopped
- 1
⁄
2
cup dried sour cherries - 1 cup
Simple Syrup
- 1.
Muddle the vodka, rum, bourbon, peaches, apricots, prunes, and cherries with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything. - 2.
Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of fruit, about 7 days. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Stir in the simple syrup. - 5.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Note:
When you drain the mixture, reserve the fruit. It is dynamite cascaded over scoops of ice cream.
Skål!
Makes a multifaceted Manhattan with a dash of citrus bitters.
Warm-climate tropical fruits develop a combination of fruity esters, sultry sweetness, and mild tartness that is hard to resist. That raucous combo is captured completely in this congenial, slightly creamy liqueur. The method for this mixture is a little different from that of other fruit liqueurs in the book. The fruit is muddled with sugar syrup early in processing to prevent the banana from darkening too much due to oxidation. It makes a fragrant daiquiri.
Makes about 1 quart
- 4–6 bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed (1
1
⁄
2
–2 cups) - 1 mango, peeled, pitted, and chopped
- 1 cup
Simple Syrup - 1 fifth (750 ml/3
1
⁄
4
cups) light rum (80 proof) - 1
⁄
2
of a whole nutmeg - 2 vanilla beans (Madagascar or Bourbon), split and broken into small pieces
- 1.
Muddle the mashed banana, mango, and simple syrup with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir in the rum, nutmeg, and vanilla beans. - 2.
Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of banana, 2 to 4 days. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Sláinte!
Try it in a Banshee (
page 239
).
I am a sucker for cinnamon and blueberries; I wish I knew why. Maybe it’s because I’m not much of a cinnamon freak, and I find its juxtaposition with the blueberries generates barely a hint of the Red Hots Saturday-matinee-movie sucker punch so ubiquitous in cinnamon-flavored products. This liqueur has a beautifully balanced flavor and is a gorgeous color as well.
Makes about 1 quart
- 2 pints blueberries, stemmed, or 1
1
⁄
2
pounds frozen blueberries, thawed - 1 cup
Simple Syrup - 1 fifth (750 ml/3
1
⁄
4
cups) light rum (80 proof) - 4 cinnamon sticks, smashed into shards
- 1.
Muddle the blueberries and simple syrup with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir in the rum and cinnamon. - 2.
Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of blueberries, about 7 days. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
L’chaim!
Drizzle over fruit cocktail.
Blueberries are saturated with antioxidants, especially in their skins, and those inflammation-relieving elements are absorbed during tincturing, making this liqueur one of the few alcoholic beverages that contains its own hangover remedy right in the bottle. The alcohol base is about one-third wine, which lowers the alcohol content and reduces its ability to capture flavorful molecules quickly. Hence it has a longer tincturing period than other fruit liqueurs.
Makes about 1 quart
- 2 pints blueberries, stemmed, or 1
1
⁄
2
pounds frozen blueberries, thawed - 2 cups
Simple Syrup - 2
1
⁄
4
cups vodka (80–100 proof) - 1 cup fruity red wine, like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon
- 1
⁄
4
cup aged balsamic vinegar
- 1.
Muddle the blueberries and simple syrup with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir in the vodka, wine, and balsamic vinegar. - 2.
Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of blueberries, about 7 days. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Cheers!
Sip after dinner or drizzle over fruit for an elegantly simple dessert.
Copycat Chambord
Chambord comes in a pretentious spherical bottle caged in gold plastic and capped with a hoop crown. Its form is reminiscent of the
globus cruciger
, an orb crowned with a cross that was used by medieval church-states to symbolize Christ’s supremacy over the world. Illusions of grandeur for a berry liqueur, don’t you think? But Chambord is no ordinary berry liqueur. The fruit is tinctured twice in Cognac and finished with honey, vanilla, and orange. My recipe is a good replica; the bottle is up to you.
Makes about 1 quart
- 1 quart fresh red raspberries or 1
1
⁄
2
pounds frozen raspberries, thawed - 1 quart black raspberries
- 1 cup
Simple Syrup - 1
⁄
2
cup honey - 2 cups vodka (80–100 proof)
- 1
1
⁄
4
cups brandy (80 proof) - Finely grated zest of
1
⁄
2
orange - 1
⁄
4
of a vanilla bean (Madagascar or Bourbon), split
- 1.
Muddle the red and black raspberries, simple syrup, and honey with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir in the vodka, brandy, orange zest, and vanilla. - 2.
Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of raspberries, about 7 days. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Skål!
Makes a killer Kir — try it with Champagne!
Copycat Cherry Heering
All cherries are from the drupe fruit genus (
Prunus
), which includes apricots, peaches, and plums. Within the genus there are two subcategories of cherry: Sweet (or black cherries) are
P. avium
and sour cherries (or pie cherries) are
P. cerasus
. The two are no more alike than a grape and a plum.
Sweet cherries — dark or golden-skinned, meaty, and taut — are the more common in markets, largely because they are best consumed fresh. Sweet cherries have a longer growing season and greater resistance to disease than sour cherries, which are too tart to be eaten without sweetening and are somewhat loose in their skins. And yet our notion of cherry flavor — tart, tangy, and bright — is 100 percent sour cherry, as enervating and unnerving to the palate as glancing directly into the sun. This liqueur is a diplomatic blend of the two, both civilized and naughty, just the right thing to make your Singapore Sling blush.
Makes about 1 quart
- 3 cups black cherries, stemmed and crushed (no need to remove pits)
- 1
1
⁄
2
cups
Simple Syrup - 2 cups vodka (80–100 proof)
- 1
1
⁄
2
cups brandy (80 proof) - 2
1
⁄
4
cups dried sour cherries, coarsely chopped
- 1.
Muddle the black cherries and simple syrup with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir in the vodka, brandy, and dried sour cherries. - 2.
Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of cherries, about 7 days. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Sláinte!
Make a Bittersweet Sour Cherry (
page 246
).
Like puppies dressed in pants and kittens wearing bonnets, the combination of cherry and vanilla has “Awww” power — it’s just so cute and sweet and kind of cuddly. This is a scrumptious liqueur, so overtly fruity and fragrant that you could down a quart without noticing that you have done anything untoward. Pour it over ice, drizzle it over ice cream, or use it in an ice cream soda served with two straws and just say, “Awww!”
Makes about 1 quart
- 1 fifth (750 ml/3
1
⁄
4
cups) vodka (80–100 proof) - 2 pints sour cherries, stemmed and crushed (no need to remove pits), or 2
1
⁄
2
cups dried sour cherries, coarsely chopped - 2 vanilla beans (Madagascar or Bourbon), split
- 1 cup
Simple Syrup
- 1.
Muddle the vodka, cherries, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything. - 2.
Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of cherries — 3 to 5 days for dried fruit, about 7 days for fresh fruit. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Stir in the simple syrup. - 5.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Cheers!
Serve 2 ounces in a tall glass with a scoop of ice cream and seltzer.