Homemade Liquors

Thanks, I'm gonna give it a try.

Thank you! I had a cherry cordial started several years ago, but when we moved into our new house, DH tossed it. Bah, Humbug! Have been thinking about doing some others now since I have 5 quarts of blackberries and several pounds of blueberries in the freezer.

Look for the book "The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible" it has some nice cordial recipes. I made a nice pineapple cordial using a large can of chunk pineapple, a little sugar, grain alcohol cut to 80 proof with water and a large mason jar. Let it sit at least 2-3 months, shaking it up every week or so. It was very good.

Stop into one of the home brew stores. You should find small cordial concentrate bottles for a few dollars each. There is also a recipe book available to help you make anything your heart desires.
Oh, and a fifth of vodak plus a couple of pounds of blueberries left to sit for a couple of months, finished with some sugar makes a wonderful after dinner drink.

I make glög - using my own secret prize winning recipe.

Lemoncello

10 lemons - peal skin only (zest), no white . Use a zester or your grater. (A zester works best.)

1 liter pure spirit (95%) Everclear - You could use vodka but would need to use about 3 pints and cut down on water later.

Put lemon peel in spirit in non-reactive container. Leave for at least three weeks moving occasionally.

After three or more weeks - Take 3 pints of warm water* and dissolve two and a half pounds of sugar until clear. Allow to cool and then mix with lemon peel and spirit. (I used two pints of water.)

Leave for two weeks. Strain out peel and bottle. Put bottle in freezer for a few hours. It should come out like a syrup when pouring. Great after a meal.

It is supposed to settle your stomach after food, but is so easy to drink.

A good use for the lemons if you don't want to make juice. Cut off the ends and cut down middle then half the sides. Carefully put in freezer bags so that it is skin to flesh. Freeze. You now have lemons for your drinks that act like ice cubes, but won't dilute your drink.
* To eliminate any minerals or chemicals, etc., use DISTILLED WATER!

Pepper vodka:

Wash and de-stem one pepper (jalapeno, habanero, cubanelle, whatever will fit into the bottle). Make slits in the pepper all around. Stuff pepper into bottle of vodka.

Store in pantry, occasionally shaking the bottle to distribute the pepper flavor, for three weeks before using.

Serve in a frozen shot glass. Best way to drink it is to toss it back like a shot of tequila. Slow sipping is also possible, but wowser!

Best substitute for German pepper schnapps I can find, since the pepper schnapps apparently is not imported here.

My friend and I made Khula one year for Xmas presents and we drank it all the first week and no one else got any! It may not have been ready, but it sure was good.

I have 2 recipes for Irish Creme - one with whiskey, the other white rum. I prefer the one with rum.

#1 12 oz evaporated milk
1 cup whiskey
1 Tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa
1 can on sweetened condensed milk
2 Tablespoons of strong coffee, cooled.


#2 10 oz white rum
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
8 oz half & half

Blend either recipe and refrigerate. Shake before serving.

On the rocks or in coffee very good.

A friend gave me this recipe for Peach Brandy and I can fully attest to its ability to knock out a cold!:

4 cups peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
4 cups vodka
4 cups sugar

Put all in a large glass jar - stir daily for 2 weeks, then tighten the lid and put into a dark place where you let it age for several years, if you can wait that long. Filter out all the fruit and sediment and use sparingly for symptoms of cold or flu. The fruit will really turn dark so you may want to strain the liquid after a month and use the fruit over ice cream . . . yum!