Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits: Innovative Flavor Combinations, Plus Homemade Versions of Kahlúa, Cointreau, and Other Popular Liqueurs (9 page)

Peaches have an affinity for almonds, which is only fitting, since they come from the same family tree. Well, almost the same: Peaches and almonds are botanical cousins. Almond fruit looks like a small leathery peach, and inside every peach pit is a seed that looks and tastes like a bitter almond. In this liqueur, I’ve reinforced the connection by adding a hint of almond extract.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• 12 dried peach halves, finely chopped, or 5 fresh peaches, pitted and finely chopped, or 30 frozen peach slices, thawed
  
• 1 cup
  Simple Syrup
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₈
  teaspoon pure almond extract
  

1. 1.
   Muddle the vodka and peaches with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten the fruit.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of peaches — 3 to 5 days if using dried fruit, about 7 days for fresh fruit.
   
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 and almond extract.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Bottoms Up!
You can sip this straight up, but it tastes amazing drizzled over butter almond ice cream.

Wine is fermented grape juice. Obviously it needs to be sweetened to turn it toward liqueur, but here we up the flavor ante by reinforcing it with crushed grapes and adding a hefty dose of brandy to pump up the alcohol and lend an oaky hint of vanilla.

Makes about 1 quart

• 2 pounds red grapes, preferably with seeds, crushed
  
• 1 cup
  Simple Syrup
  
• 1 cup fruity red wine, like Merlot
  
• 2 cups brandy (80 proof)
  

1. 1.
   Muddle the grapes and simple syrup with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir in the red wine and brandy.
   
2. 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. 3.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
4. 4.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Skål!
Sip this liqueur straight, or warm it gently in a big-bowled snifter rotated lazily above a candle flame.

Triple sec is a bitter-orange liqueur similar to Curaçao (which is often tinted blue), and achieves its rounded profile from the combo of bitter and sweet orange peel. The fragrant oils in the peel give triple sec its orange blossom perfume, but they also bond with the alcohol, lending a rich, fatty mouthfeel to this crystal-clear elixir. Use it for Mimosas, Boxcars, and Margaritas.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• Finely grated zest of 8 oranges
  
• 2 tablespoons dried bitter orange peel
  
• 1 cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Muddle the vodka, orange zest, and dried orange peel with a wooden spoon 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 orange, 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.
   

Cheers!
Try a L’Orange (
page 252
) or a Streamlined Margarita (
page 252
).

Triple sec and Grand Marnier are both orange flavored, but that’s where the similarity ends. Grand Marnier is cognac-based, brown, richer in flavor, and more savory — an oaky, caramelized gentlemen’s club drink. Triple sec is a sweeter citrus white spirit. That said, they have similar functions. Both are used extensively in cooking, and either one can spark up a Margarita, a Cosmo, or a Mimosa.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) brandy, preferably cognac (80 proof)
  
• Finely grated zest of 8 oranges
  
• 2 tablespoons dried bitter orange peel
  
• 1 cup
  Brown Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Muddle the brandy, orange zest, and dried orange peel with a wooden spoon 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 orange, 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.
   

L’chaim!
Make batches of Clear Orange and Orange Brandy and conduct your own taste test.

Overtly candied and sunshine yellow, this is liquefied lemon drops — that hard, tart, mouth-slicking movie candy — and like its progenitor, it is wildly addictive. It is also a type of limoncello, although I find it fresher tasting, more aromatic, and less cloying than most limoncello I have encountered. I attribute that to the short tincturing time.

In the Old World, fruit liqueurs were often set aside to flavor for months rather than days. I’m not sure what they were trying to achieve, but curing fruit for that long in alcohol wipes out all of its subtlety. The aromatics dissipate and bitter tannins and aldehydes take over. Most fruit liqueurs hit their flavor apex after somewhere around a week of tincturing; after that the returns diminish with every passing day.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cups vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• 1 cup dry vermouth (18% ABV)
  
• Finely grated zest of 10 lemons
  
• 1 cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Muddle the vodka, vermouth, and lemon zest with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten the zest.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of lemon, 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.
   

Santé!
Sip icy cold on its own as pictured or try a Lemon Tree (
page 244
).

To achieve the sparkling acidic brightness of lemon-lime soda, you need to add a little citric acid (the acid in vitamin C). It would be nice to be able to use citrus juice, but it doesn’t work. Its volatile flavors dissipate too quickly, and to achieve the right acid balance you would need to add so much juice that the alcohol content would drop too low to tincture. Citric acid is available in most markets and some pharmacies; it is sometimes labeled “sour salt.”

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• Finely grated zest of 5 lemons
  
• Finely grated zest of 5 limes
  
• 1 teaspoon citric acid
  
• 1 cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Muddle the vodka, lemon zest, and lime zest with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten the zests.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of citrus, about 7 days.
   
3. 3.
   Stir in the citric acid. Wait for 5 minutes. 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.
   

Bottoms Up!
Use in any Sour recipe.

Infuse a bottle of tequila with a flock of limes and a slurp of agave cactus sweetener and your Margarita is as good as made. All you need is a glass of ice and a dash of Clear Orange (
page 58
). Agave syrup is available in most grocery stores.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) reposado tequila (80 proof)
  
• Finely grated zest of 10 limes
  
• 1 cup agave syrup
  

1. 1.
   Muddle the tequila and lime zest with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten the zest.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of lime, 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 agave syrup.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Salut!
Try this versatile liqueur in a Bloody Maria (
page 241
), Streamlined Margarita (
page 252
), or Tequila and Tonic (
page 256
).

When I was growing up, grapefruit were sadistically bitter, and on Sunday mornings it was common practice to gild your open-faced serving with a slather of honey or a knoll of white sugar. Over the decades, however, grapefruit has been reengineered to become the epitome of clean, sophisticated, sweet-tart citrus flavor. Though additional sweetener is no longer necessary, I become nostalgic for the mingled flavors of honey and grapefruit — whenever I taste one, my tongue papillae stand up and look around for the other.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• Finely grated zest of 4 grapefruits
  
• 1 cup honey
  

1. 1.
   Muddle the vodka, grapefruit zest, and honey with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten the zest.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of grapefruit, 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.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Prost!
Blend with Campari over ice or use in place of vermouth for a dashing Martini.

The pith of citrus is naturally bitter (an effect from potent antioxidants in the peel called aldehydes), although this nutritious off flavor has been largely bred out of most citrus, except for grapefruit. This liqueur ups the bitter component by teaming grapefruit with cinchona, the tropical bark that provides quinine, the flavoring for tonic water. Long known as a strong anti-inflammatory medication, quinine was the first treatment for malaria. By infusing the cinchona and grapefruit into gin, you only need to add a splash of soda for an instant citrus-laced Gin and Tonic. Cinchona is available online in bark and powdered form (see
Resources
).

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) English-style gin (80 proof)
  
• Finely grated zest of 4 grapefruits
  
• 1 cup cinchona bark pieces
  
• 1
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cups
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Muddle the vodka, grapefruit zest, cinchona bark, and simple syrup with a wooden spoon 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 grapefruit, about 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.
   

Skål!
Use in Tequila and Tonic (
page 256
).