Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits: Innovative Flavor Combinations, Plus Homemade Versions of Kahlúa, Cointreau, and Other Popular Liqueurs (12 page)

Mint is the veritable flavor of fresh. Just try finding a mainstream toothpaste flavored with anything else. One would think that you couldn’t get fresher than mint-scented liqueur, but pairing mint with cucumber raises the freshness ante exponentially. In liqueurs, mint can taste candied. Tying it to the bright crispness of cucumber eliminates any candy connection, leaving you as refreshed as a walk in a mentholated garden.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cups vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• 1
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cups dry vermouth (18% ABV)
  
• 2 medium English cucumbers, shredded
  
• 1 bunch (2 ounces) fresh mint, chopped (about
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup)
  
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
  
• 1 cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Combine the vodka, vermouth, cucumbers, mint, and lemon zest in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of mint, 3 to 5 days.
   
3. 3.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
4. 4.
   Stir in the simple syrup.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Skål!
Invigorate a Bloody Mary, brighten up gin in a Mint and Soda, pictured, (
page 255
), or mentholate the standard Cucumber Martini (pages
247
and
248
).

Artichokes have the disturbing quality of making anything eaten after them taste artificially sweet, as if the food had been dusted with saccharin. The culprit is cynarin, a phenolic compound that inhibits the sweet receptors in our taste buds. When the chemical is swept off the tongue by a bite of a different food, the receptors reignite and we taste the difference.

The same phenols make raw artichokes taste bitter and astringent, qualities that disappear when they are cooked but that are exacerbated when tincturing raw artichokes in alcohol. Decidedly astringent and bitter, artichoke liqueur is a potent digestif.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• 3 medium globe artichokes, finely chopped in a food processor
  
• Grated zest of 2 lemons
  
• 1 cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Combine the vodka, artichokes, and lemon zest in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of artichoke, 7 to 10 days.
   
3. 3.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
4. 4.
   Stir in the simple syrup.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Sláinte!
Sip straight up or on the rocks after a large meal. Or any meal.

Vegetables employ bitterness for defense, to discourage animals from eating them. Farmers have tried for centuries to diminish the bitter alkaloids in such vegetables as eggplant, cucumbers, and cabbages, but in some vegetables, bitterness is prized, as is the case with radicchio and other chicories. The liqueurs that contain these alkaloids are renowned for their ability to aid digestion and improve general health.

Campari is a classic Italian digestive liqueur blended from multiple herbs. It has a bright carmine color, traditionally derived from the shells of cochineal insects. No need for bugs in our version, in which rose-hued radicchio produces a beautiful magenta tint. The round Chioggia heads are the most commonly available.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 cup vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• 2 cups sweet (red) vermouth (18% ABV)
  
• 4 heads Chioggia radicchio, coarsely chopped
  
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
  
• 1 cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Combine the vodka, vermouth, radicchio, and lemon zest in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of radicchio, about 7 days.
   
3. 3.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
4. 4.
   Stir in the simple syrup.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Cheers!
Makes a radical Negroni.

Sweetness and heat are companions and competitors, vying for your attention in an endless cycle of pain and relief. In most recipes the two are kept separate, but when forced to share, they can be a raucous culinary couple. This liqueur is a case in point. Made from tequila infused with chiles and sweetened with agave, its perfume arises from an earthy influx of toasted cumin and the volatile aromatic oils in the chiles you choose — woody ancho, floral guajillo, meaty habanero, or acidic pequin.

Capturing those aromas in the alcohol goes hand in hand with the ascendency of heat in the liqueur. In taking time for the aromas to build, you run the risk of producing a tincture of incendiary power. I suggest tasting after a day and deciding how much longer your palate can stand.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) blanco tequila (80 proof)
  
• 6 whole dried chiles, like ancho, guajillo, habanero, pequin, or any combination, broken into pieces
  
• 3 tablespoons toasted cumin seeds
  
• 1 cup agave syrup
  

1. 1.
   Combine the tequila, chiles, and cumin seeds in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of chiles, 1 to 2 days.
   
3. 3.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
4. 4.
   Stir in the agave syrup.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

L’chaim!
Makes an awesome Bloody Maria (
page 241
) and a three-alarm Flaming Lemonade (
page 244
).

Fresh corn is as sweet as any apple or berry, and yet we barely think of it as a sweet ingredient. Since the 1960s, the fresh corn market has been dominated by super-sweet varieties that are about 40 percent sugar and only 5 percent starch, making them perfect for liqueurs, especially when using a corn-based liquor like bourbon for your base. This delightful spirit has a silky mouthfeel and a natural sweetness that makes it decidedly easy to drink.

Makes about 1 quart

• 4 cups corn kernels, fresh (about 4 ears) or frozen, pureed
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup
  Simple Syrup
  
• Big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  
• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) bourbon (80 proof)
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup honey
  

1. 1.
   Combine the corn kernels and simple syrup in a medium saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring often. Let cool completely.
   
2. 2.
   Combine the corn mixture, pepper flakes, bourbon, and honey in a half-gallon jar. Stir briefly.
   
3. 3.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of corn, 3 to 5 days.
   
4. 4.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Santé!
Use it in a Bourbon Milk Punch (
page 239
) or a Kiss on the Lips (1 part bourbon and 3 parts apricot nectar).

If you could rarify gazpacho, ridding it of its crunchy chunks and infusing its essence into a potable spirit, you would have Red Lightning. Spicy and garden fresh, this is a truly delicious concoction. Drink it over ice as shown, or use it as a base for a Bloody Mary or a vegetable Margarita.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cups vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• 1
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cups reposado tequila (80 proof)
  
• 3 large tomatoes, chopped
  
• 2 cucumbers, peeled and coarsely shredded
  
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
  
• 1 fresh red chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
  
• 1 tablespoon celery seeds
  
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Combine the vodka, tequila, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, chile, celery seeds, and lemon zest in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of vegetables, about 7 days.
   
3. 3.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
4. 4.
   Stir in the simple syrup.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Salut!
Mix up a Red Skies at Night (
page 242
).

Intensely flavored yet barely there, tomato water, an extract of tomatoes and salt, became the darling of four-star chefs across the country in the mid-1990s. Like most food fads, it appeared everywhere for a while and then it vanished. Today it resurfaces occasionally, mostly as a tool of mixologists, which is right where we want it.

The process of making tomato water (chopping up a pile of tomatoes, salting them, wrapping them in cheesecloth, and waiting for gravity to extract their essence) is made far more efficient by replacing gravity with alcohol. When it comes to flavor, the attracting power of alcohol far exceeds Newton’s favorite force. The resulting liqueur is almost clear but intensely tomatoey.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• 6 tomatoes, chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon celery seeds
  
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
  
• Big pinch of sea salt
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Combine the vodka, tomatoes, celery seeds, lemon zest, and salt in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of tomato, 5 to 7 days.
   
3. 3.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
4. 4.
   Stir in the simple syrup.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Prost!
Serve chilled in a rarified Bloody Mary or mix up a Niçoise (
page 252
).