Liquor question

[trashy]

Have any of you made your own liquor/liqueur using the LiquorQuik products? Any comparison between adding the flavor to vodka vs. home-made batches?

 

[PolishWineP]

Trashy,
I've used a variety of the commercial products and made some from scratch. I've been very pleased with the outcome of both. Like wine, they need to age for flavor development, but not nearly as long as the wines do!

 

[kutya]

trashy, I have made liquor from scratch, never used a kit. I have always been pleased with mine. If you are interested I have a recipe for kalhua, bailys irish cream, and limon cello....

 

[grapeman]

Last year I made 2 6 gallon batches of alcohol to use with the flavor extracts. They really do taste pretty close to what they are supposed to resemble.The ownly downside is the price. The alcohol is dirt cheap to make but the darned extracts cost about 5 bucks for one 750 ml bottle or less. I made christmas presents with them- and bottled them in 375's. I ended up making 20 375's and experimented with what to do with the rest. I froze some in gallon plastic buckets and concentrated it down to about 30-40% for the hard stuff. I dumped out about 6 gallons of it because I needed the carboy and I could only give so much of the stuff away. I made one of the cherry brandy kits also- and it tasted OK but I prefer real brandy myself.

 

[NorthernWinos]

I got a little booklet called KITCHEN CORDIALS...all kinds of recipes in there, Irish Creme, Kaluha, Grand Marnier, Drambuie....ect...etc...

As well recipes using fruits....they turn out wonderful and are very easy....

I wonder if Martina has her Rum Pot going again this year....that sounded like a 'must-do'...maybe next year....Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[trashy]

kutya, Recipes? Yes, I'm interested! (pictures citrus fruit and string instruments)

appleman, $5/bottle still beats the price some of the originals get at the store!

Northern Winos, are you saying that this booklet has recipes that would bypass the purchase of the premade extracts?

 

[NorthernWinos]

Some of the recipes use Royal Piper Extract...then below it is a recipe from scratch...

Here are a couple for examples....

Like the Kahlua uses:
1 cup sugar dissolved in 4 oz water
22 oz 80 proof Vodka
4 oz glucose syrup
1 bottle Royal Piper Café Mexico Extract

OR
2 cups sugar dissolved in 1 cup water
3 1/2 T. instant coffee
1 1/2 T vanilla
1 T *Finishing Formula
2 cups 100 Proof vodka
Warm sugar syrup and dissolve coffee in it. When cool add the other ingredients. Leave until clear.

The Cordials are made with fresh fruit...

Like....Banana
[also has a recipe with Noirot Banana Extract]
1 medium ripe banana
1 cup sugar
3/4 teas. vanilla
3 cups 80 proof vodka
Peel banana, mash, place in glass jar. Add Vodka, make sure to cover banana. Close jar and let steep for 8 days. Pour through strainer to remove most of the banana, then add sugar syrup.Strain solution through clean cloth to remove remaining haze. Add vanilla and stir.

Most of the recipes also have a recipe for a cocktail or two.


I give some girlfriends raspberries and they make Cordials with sugar and Vodka...really good sipping.

Good for coughs and colds too.

EDIT</font>
*</font> FINISHING FORMULA
Finishing Formual or thickener is a mixture of glycerine or glucose and sorbital...obtainable from you winemaking shop.

GUESS WE NEED TO ORDER THAT FOR SOME RECIPES...

Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[NorthernWinos]

Here is another recipe from scratch....

BLACKBERRY CORDIAL [LIQUEUR]

2 CUPS FRESH BLACKBERRIES
2 CUPS 80 PROOF BRANDY
1 1/2 CUPS SUGAR SYRUP [think that is sugar dissolved in water]

Put the berries and their juice in a glass jar with ONE cup Brandy. Cover tightly and shake well. Let steep for one week. Put through strainer lined with cloth. Squeeze to remove juice. Repeat...to get out haze...do not squeeze. Add last cup of Brandy and sugar syrup.

For a different flavor try adding a few cloves, or a small amount of cinnamon or coriander.

 

[NorthernWinos]

BLUEBERRY CORDIAL [LIQUEUR]

4 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups 100-proof vodka 1/2 cup water
1 cup white sugar teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds

Crush or mash berries in glass jar.Add Vodka, whole cloves, whole coriander seeds. Cover. Let stand 10 days. Mixture should be dark blue in color. Carefully strain mixture through strainer. Add sugar and shake till dissolved. Wait 24 hours, pour through cloth.Leave until clear.

 

[trashy]

Wow - what a treasure trove of information!

And I love blueberries.....

Now - how to do this without breaking my "no more new equipment" pledge.....

 

[peterCooper]

Just break the pledge.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Don't know if you would need more equipment....Some fancy decanters maybe...but you can pick those up at the Goodwill, junk stores and 'Sally-Ann' [Salvation Army]....some tiny bottles to give as gifts.

You can also 'flame' these cordials and impress your Friends with a flaming dessert.

For the actual Liquor types you will have to buy the little bottles of mix...plus get some of that Glycerin Finishing Formula...it gives the liquor it's 'legs'.

Some of them you can't make from 'scratch'...like..Drambuie, Irish Creme...and... Grande Marnier and some others...they have the recipes how to make it with the little mixes.

As for the Grand Marnier and some of the others I have seen recipes from scratch on the Web...you can do a search....

Some are made with Vodka, some with Brandy and some with Rum.

BTW...there is a recipe for the RUMTOPF that Martina tempted us with last Christmas..Think she made hers throughout the summer, adding fresh fruits as they became available and added Rum to cover...This recipe they just buy a bunch of fruits [not Blackberries or apples] add 1 cup of sugar for every 3 cups of fruit...cover with Rum and wait 3 weeks...serve over ice cream, custard or cake.

Have only made the Raspberry Cordial once...girlfriends make it now from my berries and I get some from them. One friend has made Cordial with some native type Nanking Cherries, it was very good...think you are limited only to your imagination and fruits avaible...

This little book Kitchen Cordials is fun, there is a bigger book called Cordials From the Kitchen, Making Liqueurs for Gifts and others...Ask Santa to bring you one....

 

[Funky Fish]

trashy,


I've used several of the liquorquik mixes. The ones that I've made so far and would recommend are the kahlua and the amaretto. Both are very close to the originals, especially the amaretto, and are super easy to make. I'd say you could serve them straight up or in a mixed drink without anyone realizing that it is flavored vodka.


I did make the scotch whisky one and didn't particularly care for it neat. Of course, scotch whisky varies in flavor enough that this might be spot on for someone else (kind of like trying to have a liquorquik mix for "red wine" - to many variations).


I do have the Grand Mariner one waiting to be mixed up.