Liqueur Recipes

The Shorthand Notebook

• Cranberry
• Tart Apple
• Blueberry
• Nectarine
• Peach
• Pear
• Pomegranate (T2)
• Raspberry
• Pineapple
• Kahlua®

Cranberry

• 16 oz. blender-chopped cranberries
• 1/2 peel lemon, scraped
• 1/4 peel orange, scraped
• 1 1/2 cups vodka
• 1 1/2 cups sugar syrup

Mix all, steep 4 weeks, strain/squeeze and filter, bottle.

Cranberry high-volume (needs 5-gallon jug to steep in)

• 16 12-oz. bags of cranberries
• 6 lemon peels, scraped
• 3 orange peels, scraped
• 18 cups vodka
• 18 cups sugar syrup

Mix all, steep 4 weeks, strain/squeeze and filter, bottle.

Tart Apple

• 3 med/large Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced
• 1 lemon peel, scraped
• 2 cloves
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 2 cups vodka

Mix all, sun 1 week [sun longer -> more taste], strain/squeeze/filter, age 1 month.

Variations:

• Lime peel instead of lemon: good
• 1 1/2 cups sugar: seems to need all the sugar
• Steep 1 month: heavy clove taste, sharp tang, bad

Blueberry

• 4 cups fresh or thawed blueberries, crushed with fork
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 lemon peel, scraped
• 2 cups vodka
• 2/3 cup sugar syrup

Age 3 months, strain/squeeze and filter, add syrup, age 1 month.

Notes: Best so far seems to be 8 oz frozen berries and 24 oz fresh. Just substitute "2 lbs blueberries" above, and keep same recipe. Jury's still out, though. I'm basically trying to recapture a delicious mistake I made in 1991, and I haven't gotten it right yet. And I don't seem to have notes on what the "all fresh berries" came out like.

Nectarine

• 5 nectarines, sliced, pitted
• 1 1/2 cups vodka
• 1/2 cup sugar syrup
• Steep 1 week, strain and filter, add syrup, age 1 month.

Double recipe: 13 sm. nectarines, 3 cups vodka, 1 cup syrup. Use enough nectarines to fill a 2 liter jar, pour vodka around nectarine wedges.

Peach

• 9 peaches, sliced, pitted, skinned
• 3 cups vodka
• 1 cup sugar syrup

Steep 1 week, strain and filter, add syrup, age 1 month

Note: Came out a mite thin - try again with more peaches.

Pear

• 2 big pears, sliced
• 1 pinch cinnamon (or 1/2" cinnamon stick)
• 1 clove
• 3 cups vodka
• 1 cup sugar syrup

Steep 2 weeks, strain and filter, add syrup, age 2 months

Note: Very light, subtle taste; not a good, hearty liqueur like I prefer. Sometimes entirely too thin.

Variations:

• Bosc vs. Anjou pears: I can't tell
• V1: 3" stick cinnamon (whole stick): cinnamon totally overpowers pear taste
• V2: Standard above, plus pinch ground coriander and pinch ground nutmeg: no further notations...

Pomegranate T2:

• 2 pomegranates, pods only
• 1 1/2 cups vodka
• 3/4 cups sugar syrup
• 1/2 peel, lemon

Steep 2 weeks, strain and filter, add syrup, age 4 weeks.

Notes: T1, which was no good, used one pomegranate and no lemon peel.

Raspberry

• 1 1/2 cups raspberries, mashed
• 1/2 lemon peel, scraped
• 3 cups vodka
• 3/4 cups sugar syrup

Steep 3 weeks, strain and filter, add syrup, age 5 weeks.

Notes: Everyone keeps saying "cough syrup". Has noticeable alcohol taste. Raspberry taste coming out weak.

Variations (untried)

• 2 cups vodka
• Double volume of raspberries
• Add other flavor to complement

Pineapple

• 2 cups pineapple
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups vodka
• 1/2 cup sugar syrup

Steep 1 week, strain/squeeze and filter, add syrup, age 1 month.

Notes: Sharp - more sugar? Another recipe calls for rum, which might be smoother.

Kahlua®

• 6 cups sugar
• 6 cups water
• 20 tsp instant coffee
• 1/2 gallon vodka
• 12 tsp pure vanilla

Mix sugar, water, coffee together and bring to slow boil. Turn heat down and simmer 1 hour. Remove heat, cover liquid with plastic wrap. Let sit for 12 hours, then remove wrap (it will pick up film from the top). Add vodka and vanilla, stir well. Bottle in dark bottles.

Notes:, Yield 3 quarts. Drinkable immediately, but turns bitter with time. We usually make a half-batch because it's so darn big.