Tasty Homemade Liqueur Recipes You Need to Try PART 1

Liqueurs are the flavour background for many of our favourite cocktails. Did you know that you can many liqueurs at home? From fruity peach and cranberry liqueurs to bar basics like amaretto and Irish cream, there is a great variety of homemade liqueur recipes to select from.

Many liqueurs require just a couple of things: an alcohol base, flavouring ingredients, and very simple syrup. They could be complex as many of the traditional Italian liqueurs or rather easy like fruit and herbal liqueurs. Some take a few days before they're ready to drink, while others require a month or more to fully infuse the flavour. Read about Dial a Bottle, Dial A Bottle Toronto, Alcohol Delivery Ottawa and much more related to DialABottle.

The thing that all of these liqueurs have in common is that they're relatively easy to make. Once you get started, you'll wonder why you haven't been making them all along. To inspire your creativity, let's look at a few tried and true liqueur recipes.

Homemade Coffee Liqueur

Making a homemade edition of Kahlua or Tia Maria is surprisingly easy. For a simple coffee liqueur recipe, all you need is a base liquor, instant coffee, a vanilla bean, sugar, and water. It's a fun project and you'll find that it's less expensive than the store-bought coffee liqueurs.

Rum or vodka are the two beverages commonly used to create coffee liqueur. The rum will create a slightly sweeter variation due to its molasses base, so it's much closer to the popular brands you may be used to.

The liqueur doesn't take much time to prepare, though it will take about 10 days for the flavor to fully develop. When it's done, your coffee liquour can be enjoyed on its own over ice or in your favorite cocktails, including the popular white Russian.

List of ingredients

3 cups sugar

2 cups water

2-inch piece vanilla bean

8 tablespoons instant coffee

1 750ml bottle rum (or vodka)

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the vanilla bean, sugar, and water to create a simple syrup. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugars is completely dissolved.

Reduce to a simmer. When the sugar solution has been reduced by half-or after about 30 minutes remove the pan from the heat. Stir in 8 tablespoons of quality instant coffee. Allow the mixture to cool.

In a sealable glass jar or bottle, combine the flavoured syrup with rum or vodka. Shake well and let sit in a cool, dark area for 10 days. Every day or two, give the bottle a good shake.

After 10 days, strain the liqueur through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth to remove all the coffee granules and the vanilla bean. Store in a sealed liquor bottle.

Enjoy the liqueur on its own or use it in coffee liqueur cocktails!

Tips

You can customize the flavour to your personal tastes by varying the level of coffee, sugar, or vanilla.

Be sure to choose a quality instant coffee as it will significantly affect the overall flavour of your liqueur. Likewise, rum or vodka should be a brand that you wouldn't mind drinking on its own.

You'll find it easier to strain the solution from a jar or bottle with a wide mouth rather than a thin-necked liquor bottle.

As with any liquor infusion, the time needed will vary. It's best to give it a taste test every couple of days to see how the flavour is progressing.

Reusing the liquor bottle that your rum or vodka came in is a great way to recycle. Rinse the bottle well and remove the label. Add a new label painters tape is perfect for temporary labels-with the flavour and date you made it.

Store the liqueur as you would any other distilled spirit. If kept under a tight seal, it should retain its flavour for some months.

Recipe Variations

Vanilla beans could be expensive. For a cheaper alternative, you can use about 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to make the vanilla simple syrup instead.

If you prefer, switch from instant coffee to whole coffee beans, using 1/2 cup of your favourite roast. This may modify the amount of time needed for the infusion, so it's best to taste your liqueur regularly. Once the flavour is where you like it, strain out the beans.

Homemade Amaretto Liqueur

Amaretto is an essential liqueur in the bar that is used for a variety of cocktails from the amaretto sour to the godfather. While it's easy to find a number of commercial brands in the store, it's just as easy to make your own amaretto at home.

Homemade amaretto is made using only a few ingredients that are commonly found in the kitchen. It has a vodka base and is sweetened with both white and brown sugars. Rather than commercial amaretto's apricot kernels, the flavour in this recipe comes from almond and vanilla extracts. With everything at hand, you can have your very own bottle of amaretto within one hour. And, should you have not made a liqueur from scratch before, this is a perfect introductory recipe.

Not only will your amaretto make a nice addition to your home bar's liqueur stock, but it's also a nice surprise idea. Put it in a gift basket along with several extras to create a collection of cocktails, include some almonds to munch on, and you're all set!

Ingredients

1 cup water

1 cup white granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups​ frozen vodka

2 tablespoons almond extract

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Methods to Make It

Gather the ingredients.

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil and add the sugars. Reduce the heat, simmer, and stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove the syrup from the heat and allow it to cool completely.

Add the vodka and flavoring extracts and stir until it's well mixed.

Pour the amaretto liqueur through a funnel into a bottle and seal.

Serve the amaretto on its own over ice or mix it into your preferred cocktails and enjoy.

Tips

If you notice the flavourings are separating from the liqueur, give the bottle a really good shake to incorporate them.

Whenever you make liqueurs in the home, keep in mind that the quality of the base liquor will affect the taste of your finished product. While it's not necessary to use top-shelf vodka, your amaretto will become utter off with a vodka you wouldn't thoughts drinking alone. Luckily, there are a number of great-tasting inexpensive vodkas on the market that are perfect for projects like this.

The vodka will add to the shelf life of your homemade liqueur. It should keep well for at least a month and can be stored just like any other liqueur. Refrigeration is not required.

The recipe makes about 750 ml (3 cups) of amaretto, which is the same as a fifth (the average-sized liquor bottle). This makes it very convenient to recycle your vodka bottle to store your amaretto under a good seal.

Recipe Variations

If you prefer, use whole vanilla beans instead of vanilla extract. Typically, one bean should be enough to add a nice flavour, though some people choose two. Cut the vanilla bean into pieces and add it while making the syrup-after the sugar has dissolved. Let it continue to steep for about an hour after adding the vodka and almond extract. Strain out the bean before bottling.

Rum makes a nice base for homemade amaretto as well. A white rum would be an excellent choice, though you could add dimension to the liqueur's flavour by using an aged rum.

Use this recipe as motivation for other easy homemade liqueurs. For instance, you could use mint extract and white sugar exclusively to produce a mint-flavoured liqueur.

Another possibility is to add any flavour you like with fresh herbs or fruits to create a flavoured simple syrup before blending it with vodka and water. For most flavours, a little vanilla extract will round out the tastes with good richness.

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