302662 Mon Oct 17 18:06:05 -0700 2005 28 29 Not About Food 0 1695993 not sure appropriate place to post this but can anyone point me in the direction of somewhere i can pick up supplies to make my own liqueur? appropriate bottles and tops are needed. thanks much! Mon Oct 17 18:06:05 -0700 2005 0 Alison 1 1695996 Don't mean to be a smart-alec Allison, but how about the obvious ---- why not use empty liquor bottles you or your friends may have used the contents of. You have the bottles and the caps; all you probably have to do is sterilize the bottles and you'll be all set. The rest is alcohol and flavorings. Mon Oct 17 18:57:35 -0700 2005 1695993 0 FrankT 2 1696000 yes, as gifts - thought about that but what about lids - wouldn't i have to use tops that would secure? new ones rather than old used ones? or is there a different premise going on in liqueur making as opposed to preserve making? thank you both! Mon Oct 17 19:19:36 -0700 2005 1695996 0 Alison 3 1696006 CORKS ? Mon Oct 17 22:10:30 -0700 2005 1696000 0 FrankT 3 1696012 I've been making liqueurs for a long time. You don't have to hot bath or special pack liqueurs because of the alcohol. Using old bottles is fine, just rinse them well... but you don't have to sterilize them or even use soap, just steamy hot water. I like to use old bottles that are 500ml or 375 ml and come with a reusable plastic topped cork for gifts, the type that dessert wines, port and some liqueurs come in. Or for myself I use old 750ml or 1 liter liquor bottles with the plastic cap. Are you going to be infusing the liquor / vodka with fruit / herbs or making the stuff by mixing alcohol and extracts? Tue Oct 18 07:40:35 -0700 2005 1696000 0 JMF 4 1696019 going to make blackberry gin.......thanks for all your help! Tue Oct 18 11:52:47 -0700 2005 1696012 0 alison 5 1696022 Please share the recipe!! How do you get fresh blackberries this time of year? Tue Oct 18 13:06:56 -0700 2005 1696019 0 D-NY 6 1696037 Blackberry Gin 900 g blackberries 450 g golden granulated sugar 1 cinnamon stick 300 ml gin, vodka, rum or brandy Blitz the berries and 100g of the sugar in a food processor, then press through a metal sieve into a pan. Add remaining sugar and cinnamon to the pan and cook over a medium heat, sitrring to dissolve the sugar. cover and simmer for 20 mins. then stir in the alcohol. remove them from the heat and discard the cinnamon. Sterilise some bottles and lids. strain the gin into bottles, seal, label and chill. shake before serving in shot glasses, diluted with sparkling water. Courtesy of Delicious Magazine Tue Oct 18 16:46:50 -0700 2005 1696022 0 Alison 7 1696038 Have you made this? 1 lb of sugar, 2 lbs of blackberries to 300ml of alcohol? Sounds more like a syrup. Also adding the alcohol to hot liquids will evaporate quite a bit of it. This recipe really doesn't seem to be for a liqueur. Tue Oct 18 16:51:22 -0700 2005 1696037 0 JMF 8 1696043 no, haven't made it - and it wasn't categorized under liqueur - rather as blackberry gin - just thought it looked intersting...but you're right in that it seems like it would turn out syrupy - will try and see! if all else fails will dilute and drink quite happily!!! Tue Oct 18 17:06:57 -0700 2005 1696038 0 Alison 9 1696046 I looked back in my files and have this recipe for Blackberry Gin. 1 lb (apx 450 Grams) of blackberries. 1/2 lb (apx 225 grams) of sugar. 25 ounces to 32 ounces (750ml-1 liter) of Gin Put all ingredients in a large jar or tightly sealable glass or food grade plastic container. Seal tightly and shake well. Leave in a dark cool spot for 4-6 weeks. Shake jar once a week. Strain, filter, and bottle. Wait 4-6 weeks for it to mellow. It should improve and mellow over time. Serve as a liqueur or in mixed drinks such as a Blackberry Gin Fizz, or add to tonic or soda water. Tue Oct 18 17:18:59 -0700 2005 1696043 0 JMF 10 1696049 thanks - will probably prefer this with less sugar! Tue Oct 18 17:41:09 -0700 2005 1696046 0 alison 11 1696055 I usually steep the fruit in the alcohol first and add the sugar after straining and filtering. I can then add a little sugar at a time until it is just right. Actually I add a bit less than I think it needs, since as the liqueur mellows it loses some sharpness and the sweetness is more evident. Also most liqueur recipes call for raw, fresh, clean fruit. Not cooked fruit. I have used high quality frozen fruit with excellent results. I did a taste comparison in a raspberry liquuer made one batch with fresh store bought raspberries (which cost a fortune) and another with (much less expensive) frozen "Gourmet European" brand raspberries (or something like that name, imported from Canada). I liked the frozen ones better since they had more acidity, which made it taste dramatically better two months down the road. Tue Oct 18 19:43:24 -0700 2005 1696049 0 JMF 12 1696056 thank you - all very encouraging as I'll be making this with frozen blackberries. Tue Oct 18 19:52:28 -0700 2005 1696055 0 Alison 12 1696157 I usually make a simple syrup (1 part water to 2 parts sugar, boil for 4-5 minutes and cool) instead of plain sugar. This way I can control more easily the sweetness and viscosity of the liqueur. You could also make a thicker syrup. Sun Oct 23 01:20:55 -0700 2005 1696055 0 Food Tyrant 10 1696061 I'm interested in making a coffee bean infused vodka, do you have a method for that? Seems like it should be easy..... Wed Oct 19 05:29:02 -0700 2005 1696046 0 coll 11 1696063 I don't have any recipes for coffee bean infused vodka and haven't seen any. I don't know if the desirable parts of the coffee is soluble in alcohol. All the coffee liqueur recipes call for making strong coffee first or using instant coffee. Try making it by infusing vodka in ground coffee for 6-8 weeks. Filter a small amount and taste it to see if it is working. If the flavor is good then filter the whole batch. If the flavor is good but weak then let infuse for several more months. Please let is know how it goes, good luck. Wed Oct 19 08:20:25 -0700 2005 1696061 0 JMF 12 1696064 I was thinking of just putting whole beans in, but ground coffee is a good idea too. Maybe I'll make a batch of each, and see how it goes; I wouldn't mind being a guinea pig for this experiment! Wed Oct 19 08:29:35 -0700 2005 1696063 0 coll 13 1696081 I am pretty sure that you won't get much flavor extraction with whole beans, just as you wouldn't if you tried to make coffee with whole beans. Wed Oct 19 15:52:27 -0700 2005 1696064 0 JMF 14 1696090 Just do a light grind on the beans, chunkier than sea salt they should be. Anything with natural oils make for a good infusion. I would also add part of a vanilla bean to counteract bitterness. You can alwyas monkey around with sweetness later. Link: http://www.wineoffensive.com/blog Wed Oct 19 17:51:24 -0700 2005 1696081 0 magalie 15 1696124 Thanks for this suggestion, for it reminded me that I had a lb of Vanilla Nut coffee beans in the freezer; I got as a gift but don't really like flavored coffees. This will be perfect, I think. Now how much of the lb per liter of vodka would you advise? Thu Oct 20 21:51:52 -0700 2005 1696090 0 coll 3 1696013 Linked below is where I buy mine. The more you the buy the cheaper they are, plus you can get corks to fit. This was the cheapest site I have found. You can get "barstopper bottles for as low as $1.44 each (before shipping)if you buy 12. However you have a local wine/beer supply store you might find cheaper. Occasionally I have found bottles at Pier One/Target/Walmart. I buy wax at local hardware store for sealing the bottles. You don't need water baths, etc just make sure the bottles are clean and dry. Link: http://www.save-on-crafts.com/mediumbottles.html Tue Oct 18 08:29:19 -0700 2005 1696000 0 foodiex2 4 1696021 Didn't see that site when I was shopping for my bottles, I ordered from specialtybottle.com which includes shipping in its prices (shipping really adds up). I was happy with it and the folks I gave the limoncello to seemed happy as well. If you want to get fancy, myownlabels.com makes spiffy labels for the bottle but I haven't used it. Tue Oct 18 13:05:36 -0700 2005 1696013 0 D-NY 5 1696045 i did use specialtybottles once for preserves and also myownlabels when i started out my own business - but later moved onto my own label! throughly recommend both these places though! Tue Oct 18 17:10:13 -0700 2005 1696021 0 alison 1 1695999 Are you doing this as gifts? If so you might check T.J. Maxx or Marshall's and stores of that type for pretty bottles and decanters. Mon Oct 17 19:15:19 -0700 2005 1695993 0 Candy 1 1696015 I like to use those brown beer bottles with a ceramic top with a rubber seal and wire clamp. A dark beer comes in them Grolch (?) which I don't like but get friends to save them for me. You can get lables at a beer/wine making store. I sometimes used a thickener that I bought there, glycerine maybe? It's been a while since I've done this. If it is glycerine, you could probably get that at a pharmacy if need be. Tue Oct 18 09:15:20 -0700 2005 1695993 0 Sweet Pea 2 1696016 I brew beer and use Grolsch bottles, too. They're great. For bottles in that style and really any kind of beer/wine bottle, check out a homebrew/winemaking shop. If you don't mind that they say "Grolsch," check out your local recycling center. Sometimes mine has 'em and has no problem parting with 'em for five cents apiece. Tue Oct 18 10:54:05 -0700 2005 1696015 0 KB 1 1696029 When I make liqueur for gifts, I get bottles and corks from Specialty Bottle. They don't do fancy shapes, but the square ones are pretty, and they have good prices and a large selection. Link: http://www.specialtybottle.com/ Tue Oct 18 14:36:35 -0700 2005 1695993 0 Caitlin McGrath 1 1696052 About 15 years ago the Donvier "Cordially Yours" was available but a Google search finds nothing now but a post on ebay Want It Now where somebody was looking for one. This little gem makes a quart of good liqueur in eight hours using ultrasound or infrared or some such spooky technology. I found mine at a thrift shop, brand new, then when I contacted Hammacher & Schlemmer, that I knew had sold them, about buying another one I was told that the liqueur lobby in the US had put the kibosh on this appliance. If you can find one, go for it. They can't all have just evaporated. Tue Oct 18 18:24:03 -0700 2005 1695993 0 N Tocus