Liqueur Making: It's easy

I got into making my own liqueur's and have tried five different kinds.  It's not necessarily cheaper because you should still start with good vodka but it's fun and makes a great gift.  The liqueurs are good and great gifts but my favorite was the Bacon Vodka because it's great in our Morning Mary's.  It gives a bloody mary a smoky flavor.

• Apricot liqueur
• Pear liqueur
• Pear/Apple liqueur
• Coffee Liqueur (aka Kaluha)
• Bacon Vodka
• Lemoncello - this was a bust, don't know what went wrong, I think the peels were in to long because it was perfumey

APRICOT LIQUEUR

1 lb. fresh apricots
3 C. vodka
1 C. simple syrup, medium sweet
Cut apricots in half and remove pits. Place the pits in a plastic or paper bag, and hit them with a hammer to open. Remove the inner nut and discard the pit covers. Place the nuts in a bag and hit them to crush them and release the flavorful oils. (Any trace of the pit covering can impart a bitter taste.) Combine the fruit and nuts in alcohol. Steep two weeks, and shake gently two or three times a week. Strain and squeeze all the juice from the fruit. Filter until clear. Add the sugar syrup. Mature 2-3 months. Makes 3-4 cups (24-32 oz.).

Note: The nuts from the pit add a light almond flavor. Your finished liqueur will be a light amber color. For Creme d’Apricot double the sugar syrup recipe.

SIMPLE SYRUP - MEDIUM SWEET

1 C. granulated sugar
½ C. water
Bring to a boil, and stir until all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is clear. Cool. Makes 1 cup of sugar syrup.

I made the label below to tie to the bottles.  The whole "return" process didn't work so I won't put this on the label going forward.
 
VILLA PEAR LIQUEUR

½ lb. (4 small) firm pears
2 apples, peels from both but center from one, peeled, cored, chopped
1 C. sugar
2 ½ C. vodka
Slice pears. Peel and core apples. Chop one of the apples into cubes. Add all ingredients to a medium size tall ball jar. Stir. Make sure fruit is covered with vodka. Shake and store in a cool dark place for 10 days. Shake gently two or three times a week. Strain and squeeze all the juice from the fruit. Filter until clear. Mature 2-3 months. Makes 3 cups (24-32 oz.).

KAHLUA

4 C. sugar
4 C. water
2 oz. jar of Instant Coffee
3 C. (750 ml) bourbon
1 vanilla bean, split
Heat sugar and water to a boil. Turn off heat and add instant coffee. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes stirring until coffee is dissolved. Cool. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise. Add the bean and bourbon to the 1.75L liqueur bottle. Fill bottle with coffee mixture. Place in a dark cupboard for 3 weeks. Makes 1.75L with 1 C. of the coffee mixture left over.

Leftovers: Leftover coffee mixture: 1 C. coffee mixture, ½ C. bourbon, ½ t. vanilla extract (test to see if this is good.)

Note: The vanilla bean was $2.99 at Cost Plus World Market vs $10.99 at Lucky’s or Safeway.

When I made the first labels I did a typo calling it KAHLUA. I didn’t realize it until I showed my husband and he phonetically pronounced it. It was so funny the name on the recipe remains. This was one of my 2009 Christmas gifts to friends. It was a good gift.

BACON VODKA

1.75 L. Absolute vodka
4 T. hardened bacon fat
Create the bacon fat by frying up some bacon then letting it sit in the fridge to harden. Scoop out 4 tablespoons and place it in a wide mouth jar with the vodka. Let sit on counter 8 hours. Freeze overnight. Remove fat. Bottle.
The next one I'm going to try is Cucumber Vodka.