Fruit liquors don’t have the best reputation. As with flavored vodkas, most of the options available for purchase taste sweet and fake. But homemade fruit liquor can be a miraculous thing – all you need is fruit, vodka, and simple syrup.
Fruit liqueur is one of the simplest alcoholic drinks that you can “make yourself”. There is no fermentation or distillation and hardly any measuring. You just need to lightly mash some fruit in a couple of cups of vodka (or other liquor) and let it sit for a few days, then strain off the solids and sweeten with simple syrup.
The procedure will vary slightly depending on the fruit. Soft berries release their juice more easily than a firm melon, but most juicy fruits will do the job in two or three days. Crunchy fruits like apples and pears can take up to a week – although I’ve seen some recipes that recommend an entire month – and orange liqueur is best made with peel, not fruit, and it can take several weeks to infuse . The method we’re talking about today is best for juicy summer fruits like berries and melons, and stone fruits like peaches and nectarines.
I used a rough ratio of two cups of fruit (chopped if necessary) to two cups of alcohol and one cup of plain syrup. Vodka works well, especially if you want a fruity liquor, but sometimes I add some brandy to it, especially if I make a berry liquor. You can also mix two different fruits together or add some herbs, citrus peel, peppercorns or cardamom pods for a more complex sip – play around and create your own recipes. (I added a large sprig of tarragon to my hood strawberry liqueur and it was a very good decision.)
To make a liqueur from juicy summer fruits you will need:
- 2 cups of fruit (keep berries whole; cut melon and stone fruit into pieces about 2.5 cm in size)
- 2 cups of alcohol, either whole vodka or 1 1/2 cups of vodka and 1/2 cup of brandy
- A few sprigs of herbs or a few strips of citrus peel (optional)
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 cup of water
Put the fruit and alcohol in a large glass or other sealable container and lightly mash the fruit with a wooden spoon. Store in a cool place out of direct sunlight for 2-3 days.
G / O Media can receive a commission
Give your mixture a flavor to see if the fruit comes through. If it’s not quite where you want it, let it go for another day. Once it has enough fruit flavor, make a simple syrup by heating the sugar and water over medium heat and stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let cool down completely.
While the syrup cools, sieve off the solids by running it through a mesh screen to remove the larger pieces of fruit and then through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth to remove the smaller particles.
Once the alcohol is strained and the syrup has cooled, add half a cup of syrup to your fruit-infused ethanol, stir, and taste. If you want it sweeter, add more syrup. Once you hit the sweetness, pour it into a pretty bottle and refrigerate for 24 hours. Sip, stir into cocktails or splash into some sparkling wine. Fruit liqueur keeps in the refrigerator for at least two months.
