Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits: Innovative Flavor Combinations, Plus Homemade Versions of Kahlúa, Cointreau, and Other Popular Liqueurs by Andrew Schloss
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
Ads: Link
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.
Bottoms Up! This is a classic choice for making a Brandy Sazerac, pictured ( page 249 ), or an Allied Forces ( page 247 ), or La Verenne ( page 255 ).
Provençal
The arid central hills of Provence are far from fertile, yet they are awash in herbs, including lavender, thyme, sage, and savory, and the bees that feed off the wildflower nectar produce a vast amount of honey. This fragrant liqueur is pale green, light, and airy — an interplay of honey, lavender, orange, rosemary, and fennel. As in most herbal liqueurs, the balance is delicate. It is pleasant sipped simply from stemware late in the afternoon, and it makes an effective replacement for vermouth in Martinis and Manhattans.
Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients
1 fifth (750 ml/3 1 ⁄ 4 cups) vodka (80–100 proof)
1 ⁄ 4 cup fennel seeds, crushed
3 tablespoons dried lavender blossoms
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, crushed
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 ⁄ 2 cup mild honey, such as wildflower or orange blossom
1 ⁄ 2 cup Simple Syrup
Instructions
1. Combine the vodka, fennel seeds, lavender, rosemary, orange zest, and honey in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
2. Seal the jar. Put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of orange and rosemary, 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.
Santé! Use to make a Niçoise ( page 252 ).
Tonic Gin
Gin and Tonic is my go-to summertime inebriant, so it is only natural that I would come up with a way of streamlining my route to bliss by creating tonic-flavored gin. Quinine, the flavoring ingredient in carbonated tonic, comes from cinchona bark. Cinchona is a small tree native to South America that was cultivated by the Quechua people of Peru for medicinal purposes. In the seventeenth century, Jesuit priests began using cinchona to successfully treat the symptoms of malaria. I figure I down enough each summer to have obtained full immunity.
Cinchona is available online in both bark and powder form (see Resources ). The bark is preferable for tincturing.
Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients
1 fifth (750 ml/3 1 ⁄ 4 cups) gin (80 proof)
1 ⁄ 2 cup cinchona bark pieces
3 tablespoons juniper berries, crushed
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
1 cup Simple Syrup
Instructions
1. Combine the gin, cinchona bark, juniper berries, and lime zest 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 of juniper and lime and tastes strongly bitter, 5 to 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.
Salut! To make a streamlined Gin and Tonic, pour this liqueur over ice in a tall glass and add seltzer to taste; garnish with lime.
Sorta Strega Copycat Strega
Strega, a digestif strongly flavored with mint and fennel, has been made in Benevento, Italy, since 1860. Similar to Galliano but less yellow, it is syrupy-sweet and has a lingering coniferous finish. Its pale yellow-green color comes from saffron. Strega is Italian for “witch,” connecting the liqueur to the legends of witchcraft that have been flying around Benevento for centuries.
Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients
1 cup vodka (80–100 proof)
3 cups dry vermouth (18% ABV)
1 cup chopped fresh mint
1 ⁄ 2 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 ⁄ 4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 ⁄ 4 cup fennel seeds, crushed
1 ⁄ 4 cup chopped fresh tarragon
Grated zest of 2 lemons
Pinch of saffron threads
1 cup Simple Syrup
Instructions
1. Combine the vodka, vermouth,
4. Stir in the simple syrup.
5. Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Bottoms Up! This is a classic choice for making a Brandy Sazerac, pictured ( page 249 ), or an Allied Forces ( page 247 ), or La Verenne ( page 255 ).
Provençal
The arid central hills of Provence are far from fertile, yet they are awash in herbs, including lavender, thyme, sage, and savory, and the bees that feed off the wildflower nectar produce a vast amount of honey. This fragrant liqueur is pale green, light, and airy — an interplay of honey, lavender, orange, rosemary, and fennel. As in most herbal liqueurs, the balance is delicate. It is pleasant sipped simply from stemware late in the afternoon, and it makes an effective replacement for vermouth in Martinis and Manhattans.
Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients
1 fifth (750 ml/3 1 ⁄ 4 cups) vodka (80–100 proof)
1 ⁄ 4 cup fennel seeds, crushed
3 tablespoons dried lavender blossoms
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, crushed
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 ⁄ 2 cup mild honey, such as wildflower or orange blossom
1 ⁄ 2 cup Simple Syrup
Instructions
1. Combine the vodka, fennel seeds, lavender, rosemary, orange zest, and honey in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
2. Seal the jar. Put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of orange and rosemary, 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.
Santé! Use to make a Niçoise ( page 252 ).
Tonic Gin
Gin and Tonic is my go-to summertime inebriant, so it is only natural that I would come up with a way of streamlining my route to bliss by creating tonic-flavored gin. Quinine, the flavoring ingredient in carbonated tonic, comes from cinchona bark. Cinchona is a small tree native to South America that was cultivated by the Quechua people of Peru for medicinal purposes. In the seventeenth century, Jesuit priests began using cinchona to successfully treat the symptoms of malaria. I figure I down enough each summer to have obtained full immunity.
Cinchona is available online in both bark and powder form (see Resources ). The bark is preferable for tincturing.
Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients
1 fifth (750 ml/3 1 ⁄ 4 cups) gin (80 proof)
1 ⁄ 2 cup cinchona bark pieces
3 tablespoons juniper berries, crushed
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
1 cup Simple Syrup
Instructions
1. Combine the gin, cinchona bark, juniper berries, and lime zest 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 of juniper and lime and tastes strongly bitter, 5 to 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.
Salut! To make a streamlined Gin and Tonic, pour this liqueur over ice in a tall glass and add seltzer to taste; garnish with lime.
Sorta Strega Copycat Strega
Strega, a digestif strongly flavored with mint and fennel, has been made in Benevento, Italy, since 1860. Similar to Galliano but less yellow, it is syrupy-sweet and has a lingering coniferous finish. Its pale yellow-green color comes from saffron. Strega is Italian for “witch,” connecting the liqueur to the legends of witchcraft that have been flying around Benevento for centuries.
Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients
1 cup vodka (80–100 proof)
3 cups dry vermouth (18% ABV)
1 cup chopped fresh mint
1 ⁄ 2 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 ⁄ 4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 ⁄ 4 cup fennel seeds, crushed
1 ⁄ 4 cup chopped fresh tarragon
Grated zest of 2 lemons
Pinch of saffron threads
1 cup Simple Syrup
Instructions
1. Combine the vodka, vermouth,
Similar Books
