Making your own liqueurs is as simple as putting fruit into a sealed ar, covering it with sugar and alcolhol - some people leave the fruit to steep for weeks, some for months - some people make a sugar solution at the end of the steeping process and sweeten to taste - But no matter how you get there, a 10 year old apple liqueur will be far smoother and more roundly rewarding than any rough three month old liqueur you made from the last Bramleys to make something in time for Christmas.
Making your own liqueurs is as simple as collecting all your ingredients together, placing them in a glass jar, covering them with sugar, pouring in the alcohol and sealing the jar ... and waiting. Bottling is simply a case of straining the liquid off the fruit, filtering through a coffee filter and bottling it ... then waiting for 3 months or more before tasting.
Apple & Pear Liqueur
Cut Apples into wedges, remove cores and leave the peel on. Cut Pears into wedges and remove cores and leave the peel on. Place all ingredients in a jar and steep for several months. Strain contents through cheese cloth to remove solids and then through a coffee filter to remove any cloudiness & sediments. Bottle and store for as many years as you can, but it's ready to drink after 2-3 months after bottling.
Apple Liqueur
Cut apples into wedges and remove cores and leave the peel on. Place all ingredients in a jar and steep for 2 weeks. Strain contents through cheese cloth to remove solids and then through a coffee filter to remove any cloudiness & sediments. Bottle and store for as many years as you can, but it's ready to drink after 2-3 months after bottling.
Blackberry Liqueur
Crush the blackberries to release some of the juice into the sugar and let stand for one hour. Add the rest of the ingredients and steep in cool, dark place for 2 weeks.
Strain contents through cheese cloth to remove solids and then through a coffee filter to remove the cloudiness & sediments. Bottle and store for as many years as you can, but it's ready to drink after 1 month from bottling.
Blueberry Liqueur Recipe
Once I started growing blueberries, I could start making blueberry liqueurs. They are never consistent because no season is the same as the last and depending on the variety could be tart or sweet ... and if there's a severe drought, you may get very few at all - So frozen blueberries can be substituted.
Put ingredients into a large Kilner type jar, seal and put in a dark cupboard for at least a month, or up to 6 months until the liquid is a dark red or purple colour.
Cassia (Blackcurrant) Liqueur
Out of the dozens of liqueurs I've made over the years there are only two that never fail to impress: Spiced Apple with Bramleys and Cassia (Blackcurrant) Liqueur and both are simple and the fruit is readily available if you grow them yourself!
Squash the blackcurrants lightly to release some of the juice into the sugar and let stand for one hour. Add the rest of the ingredients and steep in cool, dark place for at least 2 weeks,preferably 2months or more.
Strain contents through cheese cloth to remove solids and then through a coffee filter to remove the cloudiness & sediments. Bottle and store for as many years as you can, but it's ready to drink after 1 month from bottling.
Elderberry Licqueur Recipe
This recipe doesn't always produce a beautiful liqueur, as elderberries are best consumed by birds!
Put ingredients into a large Kilner type jar, seal and put in a dark cupboard for at least a month, or up to 6 months until the liquid is a very dark colour.
Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur Recipe
It'll take around 3.5 Lbs of hazelnuts to produce 2Lbs of shelled hazelnuts... and this is going to take several hours and probably give you blisters, so sit down and get comfortable and use pliers and hammers if you need to!
Add all igngredients to a large jar and shake daily for two weeks.
Strain off vodka and squished nut flavor out leaving the bag to drip overnight.
Preserved the nuts by grinding them up and freezing them to make some hazelnut shortbread sometime later.
Then I filtered the liquid three times through nylon straining bag to remove the larger particles and then passed it through coffee filters to achieve perfect clarity.
Pear Liqueur Recipe
Cut Pears into wedges and remove cores and leave the peel on. Place all ingredients in a jar and steep for 2 weeks. Strain contents through cheese cloth to remove solids and then through a coffee filter to remove any cloudiness & sediments. Bottle and store for as many years as you can, but it's ready to drink after 2-3 months after bottling.
I've made several versions of this plum liqueur over the last decade or so with many different varieties of plums - I had the good fortune to try some home made plum liqueurs in Japan which are made with specific varieties and some unripe fruit - None I've made in the UK are bad, but as always experimenting with the ingredients is key to a perfect drink.
Plum Liqueur Recipe
Cut Plums into qusrters and remove stones. Place all ingredients in a jar and steep for a month or more. Strain contents through cheese cloth to remove solids and then through a coffee filter to remove any cloudiness & sediments. Bottle and store for as many years as you can, but it's ready to drink after 2-3 months after bottling.
Sloe Gin (Dartmoor Recipe)
Apparently living on Dartmoor has a grat advantge in that you can make your own genuine Dartmoor Sloe Gin - it is best to pick the berries around mid-October after the first heavy frost to be drinking the stuff by Christmas. We had Moor's water from our private well and we had access to Plymouth gin so we could make the eponymous Dartmoor brew with ease!
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It's necessary to prick each sloe with a needle to break the skins. Place all ingredients into a Kiler jar and seal the lid. Give the jar a good shake every other day to dissolve the sugar. Store in a dark cupboard and shake once a week each month for as long as you can - 2-3 months is a good time for steeping. Strain contents through cheese cloth to remove solids and then through a coffee filter to remove the cloudiness & sediments. Bottle and store for as many years as you can, even though it can be drunk by Christmas it just gets better every Christmas after that!
Spiced Apple Liqueur Recipe
Cut Apples into wedges, remove cores and leave the peel on. Place all ingredients in a jar and steep for several months. Strain contents through cheese cloth to remove solids and then through a coffee filter to remove any cloudiness & sediments. Bottle and store for as many years as you can, but it's ready to drink after 2-3 months after bottling.
Sweet Apple Liqueur Recipe
Cut apples into wedges and remove cores and leave the peel on. Place all ingredients in a jar and steep for 2 weeks. Strain contents through cheese cloth to remove solids and then through a coffee filter to remove any cloudiness & sediments. Bottle and store for as many years as you can, but it's ready to drink after 2-3 months after bottling.
Tart Apple Liqueur Recipe
Cut apples into wedges and remove cores and leave the peel on. Place all ingredients in a jar and steep for 2 weeks. Strain contents through cheese cloth to remove solids and then through a coffee filter to remove any cloudiness & sediments. Bottle and store for as many years as you can, but it's ready to drink after 2-3 months after bottling.