Boozed + Infused

Infusing liqueurs at home with inspiring and seasonal ingredients

Category Archives: Liqueur


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Apple Liqueur

If you are interested in trying a simple liqueur and don’t know where to start, apples are a great ingredient. The photo above may appear to be tart green apples, but these are actually a sweet green apple, picked from my parents’ farm.

Ingredients:

Apples, sliced and cored

Brandy

Vodka

Place apple slices in a canning jar or glass vessel with a lid. Use equal parts brandy and vodka, using enough to cover your apples.

Infuse until the liquid reaches your desired taste. I let this infuse for about 4 weeks. The combination of sweet apples and brandy gave a great apple flavor, with no need for any sugars or additional sweeteners.  After infusing, strain and filter the liqueur. Bottle and enjoy!

Apples can really be used with any spirit. Looking to use up a spiced rum? We were… see below.

Related Posts:

Apple Pie Bourbon

Caramel Apple Liqueur

Apple Liqueur on Punk Domestics


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Ginger-Lime Gin

In this liqueur, the flavors of ginger, lime and agave make this spicy, yet refreshing and bright.

Ginger-Lime Gin

2 c. Gin

Zest of 1 lime

2 heaping TB chopped ginger

2 TB Blue Agave Syrup

Combine Gin, lime zest and ginger in a mason jar and let infuse for approximately 3 weeks, shaking the contents every few days. After 3 weeks, add Agave Syrup and let infuse for another week, or until it reaches your desired taste. Strain and filter, then enjoy!

Although I let this infuse for a total of 1 month, it could go much faster if you added more lime and ginger in the beginning.  The agave sweetens this lightly, with a good flavor balance to the ginger and lime.

This will make some tasty cocktails… cheers!

Ginger-Lime Gin on Punk Domestics


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Cherry Bourbon

I’ve never met an infused bourbon I didn’t like…

I love cherries. You will see cherry brandy, brandied cherries, and perhaps many other varieties of canned/boozy cherries in my cocktail recipes. When we get to cherry season, I no doubt will have many postings for making your own cocktail cherries. We are many months from cherry season in the Pacific Northwest. In the meantime, dried cherries are just the prescription.

Dried fruits tend to infuse fairly quickly, and leave a thicker feel to the liqueur. This infused so quickly that I ended up adding more bourbon, and after a few more days, the same luscious cherry flavor had taken over.

Cherry Bourbon

6 oz dried cherries (we used dried tart cherries that had been sweetened – Mariani brand)

3 c. bourbon

This will taste really good after a few days, even better after a week, and amazing at 2 weeks – if you can wait that long. I haven’t even bothered filtering or straining the cherries out of this. We just started pouring the bourbon off the top.

Cherry bourbon makes amazing cocktails. Recipes will be forthcoming… so go out and get some dried cherries, and make this!

Related Posts:

Fresh Cherry Bourbon

Cherry Bomb Cocktail


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Tropics in the Winter – Pineapple Liqueur

This photo is thanks to my sister Anne, who lives in Minnesota and just happens to be making one of the same infusions as I am.

Are you craving the warmth and sunshine of the tropics? I am… and truth be told, I will be in Mexico in a few days. In the meantime, I am infusing several tropical flavors. First on the list is Pineapple.

We did a pineapple taste test; one with Rum, another with Vodka. They both turned out delicious. It was a hard decision to come up with a winner. Both my husband and I both chose the Pineapple Rum.

Cut up a pineapple, place it in a jar, and cover with your choice of spirit. We infused for 3 weeks. After waiting (and tasting) for 3 weeks, we strained and filtered. The pineapple holds onto a lot of liquid, so you will want to press and squeeze the fruit through cheesecloth. This added a lot more liquid.

After filtering, we added 1 TB thick simple syrup to each cup of liquid for just a hint of sweetness.

Cheers!

Pineapple Liqueur on Punk Domestics


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Walnut Liqueur

Typical walnut liqueur, Nocino, is made with green walnuts. Unfortunately I didn’t have access to green walnuts. It is winter, after all. So I improvised and made a walnut liqueur with standard walnuts.

1 c. chopped walnuts

1 c. brandy

1 c. vodka

1/4 vanilla bean, split

6 whole cloves (or less – these can overpower)

2 tablespoons thick simple syrup (or to taste)

Infuse all of the ingredients (except the simple syrup) for at least 2 weeks, or longer if you wish. We let this infuse for about a month. Strain and filter the liquid well, and add the simple syrup. It was surprising how little sweetener this needed.

It is delicious on its own… and will likely be quite tasty in cocktails… any suggestions?

Enjoy!


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Cranberry Orange Cordial

1 1/3 c. Chopped Cranberries

Zest of 2 Large Oranges

2 c. Vodka

3/4 c. Sugar or simple syrup to taste

I infused this for about 3 weeks. This liqueur is perfect for cocktails! The flavor  is a bit strong for sipping on its own, but substitute it in a Cosmo or craft a new favorite. I’ve already tried several combinations… and will be sharing them with you soon.

Related Posts

Cranberry Crush! Our new favorite champagne cocktail

Pear and Cranberry Liqueur

Holiday Fun Time! – Holiday Inspired Infusions and Liqueurs


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Apple Pie Bourbon

This infusion is very easy to make. Both bourbon lovers and bourbon abstainers love this concoction.

I found some similar recipes that called for a 2-5 day infusion. Lately, I have seen a lot of tips that call for infusing liqueurs for only a few days. I taste all my infusions frequently, and while some ingredients may act quickly, I prefer to infuse most of my liqueurs for a longer time period. Sometimes it may take months. Use your judgment here, but I let this marinate about a month.

Apple Pie Bourbon

750 ml Bourbon

3 Granny smith apples (or enough to cover)

Cinnamon Stick

1/2 vanilla bean, split

Slice and core the apples. Discard the cores. Place the apple slices, cinnamon, and vanilla bean in a large jar. Add bourbon, making sure it covers all the apples slices. Close tightly and stir or shake every few days. Allow to infuse for about a month or until it reaches your desired taste. Keep in mind that the flavors will mellow and change over time. Strain and filter through a strainer, cheesecloth, and coffee filters.

Almost immediately, the harsh alcohol flavor was mellowed. The cinnamon took over pretty quickly. Be patient, the rest of the flavors will come through. After infusing for a month, the apple and vanilla were much stronger. And as with many infusions, flavors change and mellow after all of the ingredients are filtered out. A few weeks after straining, the cinnamon flavor was less intense and the liqueur was a very balanced, apple pie taste. This has been a favorite of many! We will make it again, and probably try some variations as well.

* Save the apples when you strain the bourbon. They make a great filling for Bourbon Apple Pies!

Related Posts:

Bourbon Apple Pies

Infused Bourbon

Apple Liqueur

Caramel Apple Liqueur

Apple Pie Bourbon on Punk Domestics


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Winter Spice Liqueur

Every December when I was a kid, my mom would make something that we called “Christmas Fragrance”. This was a combination of water, black tea, orange peel, cinnamon stick, cloves, and I think there may have even been some Tang in there. (Does anyone even remember that stuff?) She would combine all the ingredients in a saucepan, and just let it simmer on the stove for hours, adding water as needed. It would infuse the house with such a great aroma. I will occasionally mix up a batch at the holidays and fill the house with warmth and memories.

I wanted to capture that feeling in a liqueur, and here is my attempt… Tang NOT included.

Winter Spice Liqueur

Ingredients:

Orange Zest (from one orange)

Cinnamon Stick (1)

Black Tea (1 TB)

Whole Cloves (1 tsp)

Brandy (2 c.)

Sugar (1/4 c.)

I infused all of the above for about 3 weeks. The result is very flavorful, potent and tasty. I think it will be good on its own (in small quantities) as a digestif. We haven’t tried it in any cocktails yet, but it would probably be good in some warm spiced cider.


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The Choices of Winter

I used to think that summer was the best time of year for making liqueurs. With all of the fruits and berries in the area, it can be daunting to decide what to infuse.

For the winter, we started infusing other items like tea, herbs and spices, nuts, etc. When Eileen and I started thinking about infusing winter fruits, we found a lot more than we thought we would.

Here are a few ideas to take advantage of while it is cold outside. Remember, the sooner you infuse, the sooner you can enjoy!

Cranberries

Persimmon

Pomegranate

Lemons

Oranges

Pears

Apples

Dried Fruits

We could go on forever! Instead, I will share a simple winter infusion to warm your evening…

Holy Tea Infusion on Day 1

Holy Tea Tonic

3 Tablespoons of Herbal Tea (I used a lovely blend from a friend that included Star Anise, Vanilla Bean, Angelica, Basil, Solomon’s Seal, and Saigon Cassia)

2/3 c. Brandy

1 1/3 c. Vodka

3 Tablespoons Honey (or to taste)

I infused the blend for about 2 weeks before adding any honey. At 2 weeks, I added the honey and let it infuse for another 3 days before straining.

Can be enjoyed plain, in a cup of hot water or tea (with a squeeze of lemon) or in a favorite cocktail.


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Persimmon Goodness

I was introduced to theses sweet little treasures when we first moved to LA.   They are sweet and silky and tasty.  I am trying to turn them into a little liqueur for a champagne cocktail for our New Years Eve toast in Palm Springs this year.   Cant wait to see how it turns out! (stay tuned)