Home Distillation of Alcohol (Homemade Alcohol to Drink)

trevy Home Distillation of Alcohol (Homemade Alcohol to Drink)

Liqueurs (sweet)

Liqueurs come in three basic categories .. Strong : 33-45% abv, with 31-55% sugar, Dessert : 25-30% abv, with 32-50% sugar, or Creme : 20-23% abv, with 50-60% sugar. They can be either simply macerated with the flavour, or some are redistilled afterwards too.	They can be made using fruit & berries, herbs, citrus, or spices, nuts & seeds, emulsions using cream or eggs

Citrus Liqueurs

Wal writes ...

Citrus liqueurs (e.g. limoncello, agrumino) are made by infusing the peel in overproof spirit, and then adding water and sugar. It recommended to be kept in the fridge, although it seems O.K. on spirit store shelves. You might have gathered I have plenty of lemon and oranges in the garden!

Traditionally Limoncello and Agrumino were made by Italian Amalfi families using handed down recipes originally for private consumption. Here are two recipes.

Limoncello (aka limoncino, limonce):

Zest of 6 thick-skinned lemons (Lisbon, Citron). Do not use the white pith as it makes the liqueur bitter.
1 litre rectified alcohol 50%abv
0.5 litre distilled water
500g sugar
Macerate the peel in the alcohol for 10 days. Boil water and add sugar. Allow to cool. Add sugar syrup and store for another week. Strain and discard the lemon peel. Store in a refrigerator.

Agrumino:

Zest of 4 oranges, 2 lemons and 1 lime (or half a citron)
1 small mandarin, quartered
1 litre rectified alcohol 50%abv
0.5 litre distilled water
500g sugar
Boil water and add sugar. Allow to cool. Add sugar syrup to other ingredients and macerate for 10 days. Filter and discard mandarin and peel. The peel of mandarins can also be used - try the zest of 12 mandarins (tangerines) instead of the oranges and lemons.

Campari
Came across a recipe on an Italian site that possibly resembles Campari. Originally, Campari was the Milan based firm's house bitters. It was launched commercially in 1893.

10g orange peel (avoid the white pith)
2g cinnamon
2.5g angelica root
2g aniseed
1g cloves
1g gentian root (bitter root)
1g calamus root (sweet flag)
650ml 40% alcohol
1/2 cup of red wine
Crush the spices and macerate in half the alcohol (5-10days is usual). Filter and add wine and rest of alcohol. Add sugar to taste (quantity was not given).
Curacao or Triple Sec
The Dutch not only made gin using juniper berries but also in the 17th century their firms started using bitter orange (Seville orange) peels from the island Curacao in the West Indies. The peel of bitter oranges (with blossoms and leaves) were macerated in alcohol and redistilled to release their essential oils. This was then blended with neutral spirit or brandy and sugar added.

The French emulated this and use the term triple-sec for their orange based liqueurs. Although it means triple-dry, most are very sweet. Cointreau uses bitter and sweet orange peels. Grand Marnier uses only bitter orange peels but this is blended with cognac and sugar and then aged. Many of these triple-secs have their inevitable secret ingredients.The literature says that for curacao/triple sec the orange peels should be infused in high strength alcohol and then redistilled - in a pot still I would imagine. It is then blended with water, neutral spirit or cognac. Grand Marnier is further aged in oak.

I have searched the internet for curacao/triple-sec recipes.

"The Houehold Cyclopedia" (1881) suggests redistilling 60g of fresh peel in a litre of proof alcohol and 400ml water (see orange cordial recipe p.18).

A French site suggests redistilling 165g of peel (doesn't say whether fresh or dry) in a litre of proof alcohol and 250ml of water.
Also here is a scaled down version of their Curacao recipe:

1litre of orange distillate (1/3 of which is a bitter orange distillate)
1.5 litres water
1.4 kg white sugar
350ml proof spirit (for blending)

I suppose you could use a pure essential orange oil which is usually used in the proportion of 14 drops (1/2 tsp) per litre of alcohol. The orange oil could be also used to adjust your own orange distillate.

You could introduce more complexity by making an orange wine (or mash) and then distilling with added peels. A recipe for 1 gallon U.S. (4 L) :

2 lbs (2 kg) of over-ripe orange pulp (without peel and pith)
2 1/4 lbs sugar (1 kg)
1 tsp nutrient
yeast
water to make 1 gal (4 L)

If you can get orange juice without preservatives you could use 1/2 juice and 1/2 water for 1kg of sugar instead of whole oranges.

An orange liqueur recipe can also be made by solely macerating the peel in the manner of Limoncello (6 lemons / 3 cups vodka,sugar, added water to dilute to 30%abv).

To make 1 litre (1 qt) Orange Liqueur:

3 large oranges
3 cups of vodka
1 1/3 cups of fine white sugar
Pare the rind (no white pith)
Put peel in a large 4 cup screw-top jar and add 2 cups of vodka, close and steep for a week until the spirit has absorbed the flavor
Remove peel and add remaining vodka and sugar.

Orange Bitters is a common ingredient in classic cocktails, but can be hard to find. Here is a recipe to make your own:

225g (1/2lb) dried bitter orange peel (Seville orange)
1pinch cardamon
1pinch caraway
1pinch coriander seeds
500ml (2cups) alcohol
4tbsp caramel coloring (burnt sugar)
Chop the orange peel finely, add the seeds and pour on alcohol. Let it stand for 2 weeks, agitating daily. Pour off alcohol through a cloth and seal again. Take seeds, put in a saucepan, crush, cover with water and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into another jar, cover and let stand for 2 days. Strain and add to alcohol. Add caramel coloring, filter and let it rest until it settles perfectly clear.

Mashes do contribute to flavor. One quickly tires of drinking watered down 95.7% neutral spirit, and adding flavors lacks the complexities that mashes give. Even an unoaked single malt spirit tastes great. Dutch gins used malted grain mash that was double distilled. The botanicals were incorporated in the second distillation. A reflux column which produces 80%abv could do this in one hit. I personally prefer flavor complexity over alcohol purity as this requires more artistry (I have nothing against technomania though).

I made a lemon vodka from a mash of 25 lemons (peel & juice), 5kg sugar, 25l water. The lemon flavor came across my reflux still which produces 75%abv. I did an orange vodka using 15 oranges (peel & juice). The flavor came across also.

Looking for a present to give for Xmas? What about this visually impressive citrus drink.

Liqueur 44

1 orange
44 coffee beans
44 sugar cubes
1 litre alcohol
Make 44 cuts in the orange and insert the 44 coffee beans. Place in a jar with 44 sugar cubes and cover with the alcohol. Drink after 44 days.
Parfait Amour
Food and drink reflect the values held by a society, and as values change so do these lifestyle products. These days we give our drinks direct names like 'sex on the beach', 'slow screw' etc. In the 18th century there were liqueurs that were intended for "stimulating the erotic impulses with artful concoctions of spices and flowers mixed with the alcohol. Parfait Amour liqueur is really the only surviving link to that noble tradition." ('Spirits & Liqueurs Cookbook')

Parfait Amour (Perfect Love), is apparently Dutch in origin and is presently made by Dutch and French companies. There was once a red version, but now only the blue version remains. It is flavored with violets, lemons, and a mixture of cloves and other spices. The botanicals are macrated in alcohol and then re-distilled. The blue color is achieved with a vegetable dye. Here is a redacted recipefrom French sites, reduced to 1 litre :

Parfait amour:
Stage 1)
20 g citron peel
10 g lemon peel
1.25 g cloves
1 litre alcohol (85%bv)
250 ml water
Macerate (steep) then redistill

Stage 2)
200 g violet petals
1 litre redistilled alcohol (stage 1, diluted to 40%bv)
500 g sugar (2 cups)
1 cup water
Make sugar syrup from sugar and water. Alow to cool. Macerate petals in alcohol until desired color is achieved. Strain and add syrup. Bottle.

Rose petals for a 'Rosolio' and violets for 'Parfait Amour' were mentioned earlier. The 'Parfait Amour' is colored blue. I looked up my herb book and found that 'Cornflower' flowers (Centaurea cyanus) and the stems and leaves of 'Meadowsweet' (Filipendula ulmaria) will give a natural blue color. I gather then that violets themselves will not, and steeping for 5 minutes is sufficient for flavoring purposes. Meadowsweet roots will also give black, while the tops a green-yellow. Other aromatic flowers mentioned in recipes are jasmine, orange blossom, elderflower, rosemary flowers, and lavender flowers. About 1 and 1/2 cups of flowers for 1 and 1/2 cups alcohol seems to be the norm.

Using Nuts

Wal writes ..

Looked up 'Spirits & Cocktails' by Dave Broom. In the section 'The use of Seeds and Nuts',some of the liqueurs from spice seed and nuts it mentions are:

'Kummel' (Holland & Germany) uses caraway seeds.
'Anisette' (France), 'Sambucca' (Italy) uses aniseed.
'Malibu' uses coconut pulp
'Amaretto' (Italy) uses bitter almond oil and crushed apricot pits.
'Noisette' (France) uses green hazelnuts
'Nocino' (Italy) uses green walnuts.
'Madrono' (Spain) uses the essential oil from walnuts with alcohol.
Almonds are part of the botanicals for Bombay Sapphire Gin which uses redistilling.
Therefore it appears you could use walnuts to make a liqueur either as an infusion with alcohol, or by redistilling crushed nuts in alcohol. The following recipes might suggest what quantity to use:

'Almond Liqueur' (France)

150g sweet almonds
70g bitter almonds
1 litre 40%vol alcohol
500g sugar

'Apricot Kernel Liqueur' (France)

200g apricot kernels (they look like almonds)
1 litre 40%vol alcohol
250g sugar

For ripe walnut liqueurs (by maceration) see: http://www.guntheranderson.com/liqueurs/flavors.htm Scroll to walnuts.It's a good site for other flavors also.

Nocino is a liqueur from fresh unripe walnuts that is made all over Italy. It is known in France (Liqueur de noix), Spain (Licor de nuez) and Eastern Europe. The tannins etc. have a medicinal value. The walnuts (about 20/litre alcohol) are picked in June - recipes mention St John's Day (24 June). Spices (e.g. 1 stick cinnamon, 3 cloves, 1 lemon peel /litre) are added. A sugar syrup (500 g of sugar, dissolved in 200 ml water) is also added. Green hazelnuts can also be used (Liqueur de noisette). I came across a recipe from Naples which is unusual in that it includes rose petals:

Nocino (Napolitano)

1 kg green walnuts
1 litre alcohol
a handful of rose petals
2-3 chopped rose hips
2 tsp vanilla essence
3 cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
sugar syrup (3 cups sugar, 1 cup water)
Quarter the nuts and place in a large jar with a lid. Add all the other ingredients except sugar syrup, close and macerate in a warm place for 1-2 months. Strain and add sugar syrup. Bottle. Store in a dark place.

Licor de Nuez or Nogado (Spanish Walnut Liqueur):

500 g green walnuts
500 ml dry anise liqueur (ojen, ouzo, raki)
500 ml water
2 sticks of cinnamon
4 cloves
Steep for 40 days, strain and bottle

In Italy the nuts are collected between the night of June 24 & 25 because it is believed that the night is magic, especially the dew - "St John dew". The Nocino iss served cold as a digestive after a meal In the past, after strainin the liqueur, the nuts remaining in the bowl were infused with a white wine to make a special vermouth.

Here is an Italian 'Nocino' for comparison:

29 green walnuts (traditionally an odd number)
1.5 l alcohol
750 g sugar
10 g cinnamon
10 g cloves
rind of 1 lemon
400 ml water
Quarter the walnuts and place in a 3 litre glass container, add alcohol, half sugar, spices. Steep for 2 months. Add sugar syrup made from remainder of sugar and water. Strain and bottle during Autumn Equinox. Store, and consume after one year.

Liqueur de noisette (Hazelnut liqueur)

50 green hazelnuts
400 ml whisky (Irish or light Bourbon)
300 ml water
1 stick of vanilla
1 tbsp light honey
350 g (1 and 1/2 cups) sugar
Chop the nuts and place in a large jar with a lid. Add whisky and water and macerate for 1-2 months. Strain and add honey, vanilla, sugar. Leave for another month. Remove vanilla and bottle.

Frangelico is an Italian liqueur with a flavor of hazelnuts, herbs and berries.It appeared on the market in the 1980's in a monk shaped bottle. It claims the originator was the monk Fra.Angelico who lived 300 years ago. It's unusual in that it uses ripe roasted hazelnuts. Green nuts have a medicinal value and it makes more economic sense to use thinned out green hazelnuts, and leave the rest to ripen for food. This could be a modern innovation. Coffee and cocoa show a level of sophistication in the recipe which is unusual for a rural monastery. All I can discover about the ingredients is that toasted hazelnuts are macrated in alcohol and then redistilled. Other ingredients are added - including cocoa, coffee beans, vanilla, berries, rhubarb root and orange flowers. It is finally matured in oak casks. You could try to copy the liqueur using the above recipe as a basis. The berries could possibly be elderberries(?). Roasted carob beans could be a substitute for the cocoa.

Frangelico

4cups (500 g) unshelled hazelnuts (filberts). Shell chop and roast.
3 cups alcohol (40%abv)
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 stick vanilla
berries, cocoa, coffee, rhubarb root, orange flowers.

Macadamia Liqueur:

200 g roasted (160-180C for 6 minutes - light caramel color)
750 ml alcohol (40%bv)
1 cup honey (or more to taste)
Chop nuts to release flavor. Steep in alcohol for 1 month. Strain. Add honey.

For Frangelico, Tom suggests :

A version of "FRANGELICO" From Italy - great Hazelnut tasting liqueur.

4 and 1/2 C. shelled hazelnuts
2 tsp. dried and chopped angelica root
1/2 split vanilla bean
1 fifth vodka
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 and 1/2 C. sugar
3/4 C. water
1 tablespoon glycerin*
* Glycerin is a thickening agent and does nothing for the taste of the liqueur or cordial. It does however make a more rich and aesthetically pleasing drink.
Heat oven to 325ºF. Place hazelnuts on cookie sheet and roast in oven. When toasted, chop coarsely. Add nuts and all ingredients except water, sugar and glycerin to aging container and age for a month. At this point, boil the water and sugar together to make a syrup. Strain the nut mixture and add the cooled syrup to it. Add the glycerin and age for another 2 or so months.

Amaretto

From Uncle Jessie ...

Amaretto Liqueur :

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brandy
0.75 cup water
3 drops yellow food coloring
2 dried apricot halves
6 drops red food coloring
1 Tbsp. almond extract
2 drops blue food coloring
0.5 cup pure grain alcohol and 0.5 tsp. glycerine
0.5 cup water

Combine sugar and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until all sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool.

In an aging container, combine apricot halves, almond extract, grain alcohol with 0.5 cup water, and brandy. Stir in cooled sugar syrup mixture. Cap and let age for 2 days. Remove apricot halves. (Save apricot halves, can be used for cooking). Add food coloring and glycerine. Stir, recap and continue aging for 1 to 2 months.

Re-bottle as desired. Liqueur is ready to serve but will continue to improve with additional aging.

Variation: For a more prominant 'bitter almond' flavor, add 4 apricot nuts, split in half, to basic mixture. Leave in for 2 days to 2 weeks depending upon depth of flavor desired. Remove and discard apricot nuts. Continue as directed.

Note: Apricot 'nuts' come from within the apricot pit. You may split pits yourself or obtain them dried at a health food store

Wal adds ...

'Top Secret Recipes' version of 'Di Saronno Amaretto' by Todd Wilbur.

1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups 40%abv vodks
2 tbsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine water and sugars in a saucepan over medium heat.
Heat until boiling, and all the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let mixture cool for about 10 minutes.
Add vodka, almond and vanilla extracts. Store in a sealed bottle.

Coconut

Wal writes ...

Came across a 'Licor de Coco' recipe in a Brazilian site which might interest those intrigued by 'Malibu' and clones:

Coconut Liqueur

1 litre white rum
1 freshly grated coconut kernel
800 g sugar
250 mL water
Steep grated coconut in the alcohol for 8 days. Strain, add sugar syrup.

Cordials

Southern Comfort

Wal writes ...

Cordials (liqueurs) and punches were popular in the U.S. Originally bourbon whiskey was quite rough, as demand did not allow for aging, and therfore invited additional flavoring.

Southern Comfort was first made in New Orleans by the bartender named H.W. Huron in 1870. The taste is the result of bourbon whiskey, fruit and spice. The whiskey provides the tastes of caramel and vanilla. The fruit is peach with orange and some lemon. The spice seems to be just cinnamon. It comes in 38%abv and 50%abv strengths. Could one emulate the bartender Huron?

For 1 litre of bourbon whiskey you could experiment by macerating for 10 days and then straining:
1-2g cinnamon
3 strips of orange peel
1 strip of lemon peel
1-3 halved peaches
1/2 cup sugar
caramel coloring

I came across Peach and Rose Petal Liqueur, from an 1830 cookbook:

1 litre proof alcohol (40%abv).
450g honey
2-3 handfuls of scented rose petals
12 peaches, halved, with pits, and a few pits broken open
Macerate for at least 2 weeks, then strain.
The quantity of peaches seem excessive - 500g seems sufficient. The quantity of honey could be halved, at least initially.

Peach Liqueur

1 and 1/2 cups fresh peaches; peeled & sliced (another site suggests 750 g)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
4 strips lemon peel
3 whole cloves
2 cups bourbon
Crush peaches slightly. Place peaches and sugar in a saucepan and heat over low heat till sugar dissolves. Pour into a jar. Add spices and bourbon. Steep for 7 days. Strain and age for 1 month, then strain again and bottle.

Peach Liqueur

2 lb (900 g) fresh peaches; stemmed and washed
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp orange zest
2 and 1/2 cups bourbon
Make a sugar syrup. Cut peaches in half, remove stones and slice thin. Place peaches, stones and citrus zest in a clean 2 quart (2 l) jar. Pour syrup and bourbon over peaches. Steep for 2 weeks. Strain. Let stand for 2-3 weeks. Decant or filter into bottles.

'Southern Comfort' originally was called 'Cuffs and Buttons' by the bartender H.R. Heron in the late 1800's. The 'Fish House Punch' recipe from the mid 1800's shows that peach flavored drinks were known and could have been the source of his inspiration.

I don't know if the posted Peach Liqueur recipes are traditional in line with the 'Cuffs & Buttons', or are just imitating 'Southern Comfort'. You need to experiment. Here is another for comparison:

Peach Liqueur

12 medium yellow peaches
4 lemon peel strips (no whites)
1 cinnamon stick
3 cups (750 ml) alcohol (Bourbon)
1 cup sugar syrup (1 cup sugar, 1 cup water)
Peel peaches and cut in quarters. Place in large wide mouthed jar. Combine other ingredients except sugar syrup and steep for 1-2 weeks, shaking occasionally. Strain fruit and filter. Add sugar syrup and age for 6 weeks.

Peach Brandy

4 cups fresh peaches peeled and sliced
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
750 ml brandy
Place fruit in a large jar. Dissolve sugar in brandy and pour over fruit. Steep for 4-6 months. Strain.

Fish House Punch (Original)

3/4 lb (350 g) sugar
2 l dark rum
2 l water
2 cups peach brandy
1 l brandy
1 l fresh lemon juice
Dissolve sugar in water. Stir in lemon juice and add peach brandy, brandy and rum. Pour into a chilled punch bowl with a block of ice. Makes approx. 50 servings.

Coffee

COFFEE LIQUEUR

INGREDIENTS

100 grams of very fine grounded coffee.
2 mL of vanilla essence
0.75 Litres of sprits, 45%
0.5 Litres of water.
0.75 kg of sugar
2 tablespoons of milk

METHOD

Combine the coffee, vanilla essence and sprits into a large jar, seal tight a store for a week, shaking daily. After a week filter the liquid (without the sedement). Into the bottle with the remaining sedement, add half of the water (250 mL), when settled, filter the liquid (without the sedement). Add the other half of the water, and filter. Discard the sedement. Dissolve the sugar in the coffee extract and add the milk. Shake well and store in a cool dark place for one week, until settled. Filter the liquid and store. Liqueur gains taste after standing of a long time, best after 3-6 months.

Wal writes ...

After a tiring session of distilling ,it's good to take a coffee break. Adding spirits like rum, cognac, calvados and liqueurs like Sambucca to coffee is common in Europe, so it's no wonder there are coffee based liqueurs - two of the most well known are 'Tia Maria' and 'Kahlua'.

'Tia Maria' comes with a colorful story (yes another one). "The story of the recipe dates back to the 17th centurry, when Jamaica was caught up in the colonial wars that raged across the Caribbean. When one estate was attacked the owners had to flee, and the young daughter and her maidservant Maria got separated from the rest of the family. Maria managed to collect her mistress's possesions, along with a box containing (wait for it) the secret recipe for the family's coffee liqueur. Years later the girl gave the recipe to her daughter, who named the liqueur Tia Maria (Aunty Mary) after the servant." ('Spirits & Cocktails' Dave Broom,1998). What I can gather is that it is a coffee, chocolate and spiced rum liqueur. In the West Indies, spices such as cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, nutmeg, rosemary and pepper are used to flavor rums. A well known brand is 'Capitan Morgan Original Spiced Rum' which contains cinnamon, cloves, vanilla. Cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla is another combination used in other rums.

'Kahlua' claims to be Mexican, although the original label had a turban clad figure within Moorish arches. It now has a stereotype Mexican in a sombrero, in a siesta posture. It is the second biggest selling liqueur in the world.
There are numerous coffee liqueur recipes. I tried to rationalize them to the one below, so that one can experiment for themselves:

Kahlua style Coffee Liqueur (using real coffee)

2 cups ground coffee beans (medium roast pure arabica beans - Blue Mountain style would be appropriate)
3 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 cups pure alcohol (40%abv)
1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. glycerin
Combine boiling water and ground coffee, strain through sieve filter - basically a filtered coffee (or make it using a coffee pluger). Combine coffee and sugars, in a saucepan and heat for 5 minutes, but do not boil. Allow to cool. Stir in alcohol, vanilla, glycerin. You could try a short cut version with 10 tsp. of premium instant coffee powder (1/2 cup).

For Tia Maria use a dark spiced rum or make your own using cinnamon, cloves, vanilla. For the chocolate, we could add 1 tbsp. cocoa powder, as dark cooking chocolate might contain too much cocoa butter.

Dates & Raisins

USQUEBATH

(pronounced Oosùkeùbah -- Gaelic for "water of life")

1 qt vodka
1/2 cp sugar
2 oz licorice
4 oz raisins
4 oz dates
4 oz figs
2 oz anise seed
1/4 oz nutmeg (broken)
1/4 oz cinnamon
1/4 oz ginger
0.065g musk (use musk essence)
0.065g ambergris (not available these days)

Place all ingredients except musk, ambergreece, and sugar in 1 gallon jug. Cover with vodka. Let stand in a cool place for 10 days. Shake well twice a day. Strain into second container. Add sugar. Allow to clear. Sources: The Queens Closet Opened, W. M., 1655, p. 23

Wal offers a slightly different alternative ..

1 litre brandy
100g sun dried raisins
7g cinnamon
7g cloves
7g nutmeg
7g cardamon
saffron 3.5g (gives a yellow color)
3 strips of Seville orange (bitter orange) peel
Macerate for 10 days, strain and add 1/2 cup raw sugar

As a whisky cordial (in pursuit of a Drambuie), he's found ..

1 litre proof spirit
250ml water
2g cinnamon
2g ginger
2g coriander
1g mace
1g cloves
1g cubeb
Macerate and redistill.
Steep in 250ml water for 12 hours the following:
3.5g English saffron
45g sun dried raisins
35g dates
20g liquorice
Strain and add to the above.

Wal writes ..

Dates with a 70% sugar content are an ideal sugar source for the distiller. Early whisky recipes also used raisins, figs and dates for flavor and sweetness. 'Thibarine' is a Tunisian date liqueur and 'Tamara' is an Israeli date liqueur (tamar means date palm in Hebrew). Here is a basic recipe:

Date Liqueur

500g (1lb) chopped pitted dates
500ml (2cups) neutral alcohol 40%bv
125ml (1/2 cup) water (to dilute to liqueur strength)
125g (1/2 cup) sugar (or honey)
Macerate dates in alcohol for 10 days, strain, add sugar syrup to taste.

Daniel Rogov, a writer on food and drink provided the ingredients (dates, crushed cumin & cardamon seeds) and the method (steep dates, some cooked, others raw together with cumin & crushed cardamon seeds in alcohol). I have modified the basic 'Date Liqueur' to resemble 'Thibarine'.

Homemade Thibarine (Tunisian Date Liqueur)

1 kg dates
1 litre alcohol 40%bv
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp crushed cardamon seeds
sugar or honey to taste
Just cover 500 g of dates with water and bring to boil. Simmer lightly for 5 minutes to extract sugars (dates are 70% sugar). Cool. Steep raw and cooked dates and spices in alcohol for 10 days. Strain. Add sugar or honey to taste.

There are many varieties of dates. Some are hard and lend themselves to boiling, while the soft varieties can be used raw. I have found that that the above quantity of dates gave enough sweetness without adding sugar.

Using Spices

Goldwasser

Wal writes ...

Goldwasser was first produced in 1598 in the Prussian port of Danzig (now Polish Gdansk). It contains infusions of botanicals with flakes of real gold, which makes it a unique liqueur. "Goldwasser or Danziger Goldwasser to give it its archetypal name, recalls the great Catalan physician Arnaldo de Villanova who, in the 13 th century, is reputed to have cured the Pope of a dangerous illness by giving him an elixir containing specks of gold." (Spirits & Liqueurs Cookbook) There was for a time a silver version - Silberwasser. Liqueur d'Or or Eau d'Or was a now extinct French version. A Danziger Goldwasser is made in Germany, while the Polish Distillery Polmos makes a Goldwasser (Zlota Woda) not in Gdansk, but in Poznan, from esential oils according to the label. There is a Swiss version containing gold flakes but which has a strong cinnamon character, which does not resemble the Polish or German versions. For those who want to make an impression as a 'Goldfinger' or want to cure a dangerous illness, gold flakes can still be obtained. Here are the Polish and French versions. Note that the Polish version relies only on maceration, as a double home distillation is illegal.

Goldwasser - zlota woda
Ingredients for 1 litre of liqueur.
35 ml 'Goldwasser Essence'
450 g sugar
25 ml cognac
430 ml alcohol 95%bv
60 g water
'Goldwasser Essence'
5 g star anise
2 g cinnamon
3 g nutmeg
1 g cloves
1 g cardamon
4 g coriander
4 g melissa
4 g peppermint
1 g rosemary
6 g lemon peel
8 g orange peel
500 ml alcohol 55%bv

Dilute 300 ml 95%bv alcohol with 210 ml water, making 500 ml alcohol 55%bv. Place botanicals in a jar, add alcohol and macerate for 2-3 weeeks. Strain and keep in a warm place. Add sugar dissolved in the water, to Essence. Add cognac and alcohol 95%bv. Add water to make 1 litre and leave for 4-6 months. Filter and add gold flakes.

Eau d'Or

60 g cinnamon (cassia)
60 g aniseed
50 g juniper
30 g nutmeg
30 g orris root
30 g rosemary flowers
20 g cardamon
20 g cloves
peel from 10 lemons
peel from 5 oranges
12 litres (3 U.S. gals) alcohol 85%bv
3 L water
Macerate.
Double distill.
Color lightly yellow with saffron.
Add gold flakes.
Perfume with orange blossom water.

Spiced Rum

Wal writes ...

Came across a Spiced Rum recipe that apparently is better than Captain Morgan:

1) Cinnamon Spiced Rum

rum 750 ml
cinnamon 3 sticks
cloves 5
peppercorns 5
nutmeg 1/2 crushed
ginger fresh, size of tip of little finger
vanilla bean 12-25 mm
Infuse for several weeks

2) "Nannie" - rosemary spiced rum

Place a few sprigs of fresh rosemary in a bottle of rum. Makes a great rum'n coke.

Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum apparently contains cinnamon, cloves and vanilla. Another combination found in other spiced rums is cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla. In the West Indies the common flavoring spice added to rum is cinnamon or rosemary.

Here is a recipe for a Spiced Rum (Ron con Especias) from http://www.recipehound.com/Recipes/2156.html

3) Spiced Rum

rum 1 litre
cinnamon 3 sticks
cloves 6
nutmeg 1 whole crushed
pimento 4
star anise 3
aniseed pinch
vanilla bean 1
Make a slit in vanilla bean. Scrape pulp into a glass jar. Add bean only and remaining ingredients and cover. Infuse for at least 2 weeks. Strain and bottle.

Cinnamon and Nutmeg

Wal writes ..

The Italians have a 'Rosolio de cannella', the French have a 'Liqueur de cannelle', a 'Firewater Cinnamon Schnapps' at 50%abv (made by the Dutch De Kuyper firm I think) is available in the U.S. Schnapps are usually less sweet than most liqueurs. Here is a recipe for the French version that I got from a site that contains a vast number of recipes in French: http://www.france-des-terroirs.com/

Cinnamon Liqueur

10 sticks of cinnamon
500 ml rum
500 g sugar
500 ml water
Macerate cinnamon in the rum for 2 months
Strain and add sugar syrup (500g suar dissolved in 500 ml water)
Leave for 3 months before drinking.

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) is a mild hallucinogenic drug, somewhat like marijuana. Eating as few as two nutmegs can cause death. ('The Herb Book', John Lust, 1974) "Contraindications: May cause temporary constipation and difficulty in urination. Nutmeg oils increase fat deposits on liver. Safrole is carcinogenic and toxic to liver. Beneficial as spice or in small amounts, not recommended as hallucinogen." Strounge, this explains why it "gets you sleep on cold winters night."

Stolen from Basic Brewing: Introduction to Meads, Wines, Beers, Cordials, and Exotics.

CINNAMON CORDIAL

12 stick cinnamon
1 qt vodka
1 and 1/3 cp sugar

Place cinnamon sticks in container. Cover with vodka. Let stand for 1 week. Strain into second container. Add sugar and honey. Allow to clear.
Wal also offers ...

a spice and honey flavored vodka called 'Krupnik' that I got from a Polish cookbook:

Krupnik Litewski
300g honey (1 cup)
750ml vodka (40%abv)
1/4 piece vanilla bean
1/4 nutmeg
10g cinnamon
2 cloves
1 strip of lemon peel

Macerate and strain after 10 days

Honey Vodka
Preparing the essence : Combine all ingredients and dissolve in the sprits as much as possible

3 grams of Cinnamon.
1 gram of cloves.
3 grams of ginger.
2 grams of nutmeg
4 grams of vanilla
150 mL of sprits, 60%.

INGREDIENTS: (for 1 litre of product)

0.5 kg of honey
0.5 Litres of sprits, 95%
5-10 mL of essence (see above)
4 mL of lemon juice.
200 mL of water, approx.

METHOD
In an enamel pot pour the water (200 mL) and bring to boil. Add honey, the pot should be at least double the height of the water as to prevent the honey from boiling over. For prefect results, bring the honey to boil and boil for about a dozen minutes, until all the froth is gone, then turn off the heat. After the honey has slightly cooled, add lemon juice and essence. Then slowly pour the sprits into the honey, constantly stirring. Bottle the drink into large bottles and leave for approx 3-6 months, until nice and transparent. As the solution can not be easily filtered, the clear liquid should be syphoned into another bottle, and only the remaining drink filtered. The amount of essence added depends on the samplers personal taste, for those who prefer a strong root flavour upto 10 mL of essence may be added.

Emulsions with Eggs or Cream

Whiskey liqueurs - Bailey's Irish Cream

Wal writes ...

This is the world's top-selling liqueur. Gilbey's in Ireland didn't know what to do with its surplus of spirit, but luckily someone came up with the idea of a bottled Irish coffee. It was launched in 1975 and was an immediate success because it contains everything doctors say is good for you - alcohol, rich cream, caffeine. It is 17%abv. If we assume that it is basically an Irish coffee with different proportions, here is a possible recipe to try out on your wife/partner/girlfriend:

Bailey's Irish Cream

500 ml. (2 cups) rich (double) cream (the light has thickeners)
500 ml. (2 cups) Irish style whiskey (40%av)
3-4 tsp. instant coffee (real coffee is acidic, which might curdle the cream)
1 cup of sugar
Blend and refrigerate.
There are recipes using condensed milk substitutes, but why not go for the real O'Connor.There is a recipe for a substitute Cream Base from http://www.guntheranderson.com/liqueurs/creambas.htm.

Bill offers ...

Healey's Irish Cream

3 eggs
1/2 tsp coconut essence
1 and 1/2 tbsp chocolate syrup
1 can eagle brand condensed milk
11oz 15% cream
1 cup of white rum or whatever you like
Blend for 1 min. Enjoy, but not too much!

OldManStranger offers similar ...

Here is a recipe I have used for a long long time with good reviews:

Bailey's Original Irish Cream

1 cup Light cream (or half&half)
14 oz can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed milk
1 and 2/3 cup Irish Whiskey (or scotch)(I don't know about bourbon)
1 tsp Instant coffee
2 Tbsp Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Almond extract
Combine all the ingredients in a blender set on high speed for 30 seconds. Bottle in a tightly sealed container and refrigerate. The liqueur will keep for at least 2 months if kept cool. Be sure to shake the bottle well before serving. Makes 4 cups.

Advocaat

Wal writes ...

Alcohol is suitable to emulsify and preserve creamy ingredients. Advocaat, a Dutch speciality, is an alcoholic egg yolk emulsion. In Germany it is known as 'eierlikor' or 'eiercognac'. Dave Broom in 'Spirits & cocktails' says this about its origins: "Its original incarnation was as a planter's drink in Holland's Brazilian enclaves, where the fruit of the abacate tree would be fermented and drunk. When the planters returned home they found that abacate trees were distinctly thin on the ground and, warping the original name to advocaat, decided to use eggs instead."
'Abacate' is portugese for avocado, in French it's 'avocat'.
I could not find any reference to fermenting avocadoes, and it does not seem to me to be a suitable fruit (being high in oil) to ferment. In Brazil, avocadoes are popular as a dessert though, and there is a recipe for 'creme de abacate' (avocado cream). The main product of the former Dutch colony of Suriname was sugar cane, and I can imagine that white rum could have been added to an avocado cream to make a local specialty. Perhaps our Dutch distillers could help here. In the Philippines you see avocado ice cream and avocado milkshake, so the idea is not that weird.

Although there are recipes for Advocaat that have milk, condensed milk or cream, the original only uses egg yolks. 'Warninks' is a popular Dutch brand. For those who do not have a cholesterol problem here is a recipe from a Dutch site, (http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/recipes/adh.htm):

Advocaat

10 egg yolks
2 pkts. vanilla sugar (or 2 tsp. extract, or 1 stick of vanilla)
250 g. (1 cup) sugar
500 ml. (2 cups) brandy or gin 40%abv
250 ml. (1 cup) water
Beat egg yolks and sugar, add diluted gin and vanilla. It would be advisable to add lecithin as an emulsifier, otherwise you need to keep shaking the bottle all the time. About 5 grams (1 tsp.) should be sufficient.

For those who have a cholesterol problem or do not like eggs, we could attempt to resurrect the original avocado version. Avocadoes oxidise (turn brown) easily, so acid needs to be added. Ascorbic acid, is a good anti-oxidant, and could be added additionally. Try this as an alcoholic version of 'creme de abacate':

Creme d'avocat (Avocado cream liqueur)

3 large ripe avocadoes (yellow inside)
juice of 1 lime (or lemon)
250 g. sugar (1 cup)
500 ml. (2 cups) white rum
250 ml. (1 cup) water
5 g. (1 tsp. lecithin)
Blend avocado pulp, sugar and lime juice and lecithin. Blend in diluted white rum. It should be absolutely smooth and creamy. Vanilla is not normally added to 'creme de abacate'.

Atholl Brose

Mc Wal writes ...

From the files of http://www.florilegium.org, beverages-msg. - a forerunner of a Highland Cream:

It was very common to mix whisky with honey and oatmeal in the past. The resulting brose is even now often served at festive celebrations, drunk as a liqueur or mixed with stiffly whipped cream and served with shortbread as a dessert. Some traditional recipes leave in the whole oatmeal while the one below, reputed to have come from a Duke of Atholl, uses only the strained liquid from steeping the oatmeal in water.

Atholl Brose 1

6 oz/175 g medium oatmeal (1 and 1/2 cups)
4 tbsp heather honey
1 and 1/2 pt/750 ml whisky
3/4 pt/450 ml water (2 cups)
Put the oatmeal into a bowl and add the water. Leave for about an hour. Put into fine sieve and press all the liquid through. Add honey to the sieved liquid and mix well. Pour into a large bottle and fill with whisky. Shake well before use. (The remaining oatmeal is for making porridge or oatcakes).

Atholl Brose 2

1 qt (1 L) steel-cut oatmeal, uncooked
1 cup heather honey
750 ml single malt whisky
Milk or cream to taste
Put the oatmeal in a 2 qt open glass container and cover the oats with water. When the liquid is opaque, strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a sealable container. Add honey, whisky and cream and refrigerate for 2 weeks. Agitate daily to ensure a proper emulsion.

Atholl Brose 3

2-3 cups rolled oats
2-3 cups water
1-1 and 1/2 cups additional water
4 cups whisky
1 cup honey
1 cup cream
In a large bowl mix oats and water, stir, let the mixture sit until the water is totally absorbed (overnight). Add 1-11/2 cups additional water to mixture. Let it sit 2 hours. Strain mixture through fine sieve. Add whisky, honey and cream. Mix until well blended. Best served cold.

It looks nutritious, and if you are in a hurry in the mornings, you could have it for breakfast!

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