Home made fllavourings ie sloes, blackberries or other things?

by **Whiskers** » Fri Oct 29, 2010 1:00 pm

Alan-re: Cherry liqueur recipe on page 1: 2 jars + frozen fruit-how much spirit would that flavour?

Also -do you add the syrup that comes with the jarred cherries?

by **alan** » Fri Oct 29, 2010 2:32 pm

Whiskers i add the syrup to mine, i defrost the black currant and chop the cherrys in half then place in a demi jon and top up with spirt to 4.5lrts

by **Whiskers** » Fri Oct 29, 2010 4:49 pm

ok-thanks Alan

by **John** » Sat Oct 30, 2010 11:38 am

Whiskers,
So what you\'re asking for is maceration - soaking fruit in spirit. I didn\'t have a still until just last month, but enjoyed making my own liquors every year. Have a couple of favorites. Both will require a neutral base.
Raspberry liquor - 1 kilo raspberrys (freeze and thaw first to break down berry), 750 ml neutral spirit 50-60% ABV, the zest from one orange (remove with a zester or grater, but do not include white pith. Let stand in cool dark place for two weeks. Strain through a mesh, then again through a coffee filter. Sweeten to taste, and dilute down to 40% ABV or as approprite. Makes a nice cordial. I have a few drops left from last winter, and got so excited, I\'m having one now... : )
Citrus liquor - Take the zest from one lemon, one lime and one orange. Do not include the white part. Soak in 750 ml 40% ABV for two weeks, strain, filter, chil, enjoy... If you feel like being fancy, seperate the zest from the pith into long strips with a knife. This takes some advanced blade work with a razor sharp knife as the zest is not much thicker than paper but it\'s very pretty. Leave the zest in the bottle when you serve. Great for display bottles, and fancy citrus drinks like lemondrops and such.

by **Phantom** » Sun Oct 31, 2010 12:19 am

Sounds like sloe gin but made with brandy. 17% ABV isn\'t very much -- my usual sloe gin must be double that. It\'s not as though it costs a lot more to make it stronger :-)

Yes it is. If you see commercially made Sloe gin (spotted some "Gordons" last year) it was only 18% ABV, so I\'m presuming that as it\'s a liqueur, it drops it into a different excise category - probably the "up to 22%" bracket.......
Though without a copy of the full reg\'s, that\'s a guesstimate......