(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

queencallipygos
2008-04-03 06:12 pm UTC (link)

I've long since lost the book where I got the specific recipe I use, but did a search and managed to find the recipe printed as the "excerpt from the book" on Amazon. They've since changed it so the excerpt is from the introduction instead. This recipe comes closest.

But it's this easy, really -- most of the liqueurs I've made follow the same plan of "dump stuff into a glass jar, add vodka, and let the whole thing soak for a month; then strain out the solids, add some sugar syrup to taste, and let age for another couple weeks." And that's it. Some recipes do instead call for boiling everything together and then only steeping for a week or so, but the "dump it together and let it sit a way long time" method is even easier.

Check the book out -- they've got a lot of other recipes in there. But it's pretty damn easy.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	brennalarose 2008-04-03 09:21 pm UTC (link)
	You rock! Have some cake? That's one thing I WILL make from scratch. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	belafarinrod 2008-04-03 09:23 pm UTC (link)
	Damn, and I was just going to ask you if you lived somewhere where home distilling was legal ;) But "dump stuff in alcohol and add sugar" is surprisingly easy, I did it with strawberries. And it's so cheap lives in tax-~~heaven~~ ~~hell~~ MOTHERLOAD-of-taxes-country (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

queencallipygos
2008-04-03 09:27 pm UTC (link)

I personally don't know the exact legalese about distilling, but if it tells you anything, my neighbor makes his own mead...then again, the aforementioned neighbor sometimes has taken a slightly relaxed approach to the law, so it's equally likely that it IS legal, or that it's illegal and he's just adopted a "oh, well, I only make a little and they probably won't catch me" policy.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	belafarinrod 2008-04-03 10:01 pm UTC (link)
	Many places it's legal to ferment stuff like beer and wine, but you're not allow to make hard liquor out of it. So mead can be okay while vodka isn't =) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	stinksap 2008-04-04 02:24 am UTC (link)
	In the US it is legal to make up to 20 gallons a year for your own consumption in most places. (Wine and mead. Beer probably falls under the same laws.) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	miraba 2008-04-03 10:13 pm UTC (link)
	I've been doing the "dump stuff into a bottle of vodka, let sit and strain" technique myself. Habanero peppers are 24 hours, coffee beans are 48, I think basil was about a week (but I really dumped it in), and cinnamon was somewhere around 2 weeks. Lemongrass and garlic-black pepper vodkas are up next. I may do a fruit liquor once something comes into season. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

queencallipygos
2008-04-04 05:51 pm UTC (link)

(donning pedant's cap)

Whatcha got there are flavored vodkas, which are also just as cool and a little bit more versatile. (Alton Brown made a very impressive bid for pepper vodka on an episode once and I've been wanting to try.) Let it all sit longer, though, and it crosses from flavored vodka to liqueur, which has more intense flavor but a little less versatlity in usefullness.

(pedant cap off)

How'd the coffee bean one work, though? I haven't tried a flavored vodka yet, largely because the only other person I know who has is CallipygosConsort, who's gotten a habanero vodka that's so strong he keeps it in the freezer and only brings it out when he and his guy friends are having testosterone-induced "who actually can do a shot of this without flinching" bravery contests.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

miraba
2008-04-05 04:18 am UTC (link)

I used a bottle of leftover Smirnoff (flat plastic bottle, pretty small) and added a substatial amount of coffee beans. I used a dark roast, and put enough in to cover the bottom two inches of the bottle. They float at first, but as the vodka sits they absorbs the alcohol and sink; I didn't start tasting the vodka until they were at the bottom.

If you like coffee with cream, make some coffee vodka and add Irish Cream. I've brought it around to various places, and most people seem to start with 50/50. You can always add actual cream, but why go halfway? ;)

(Reply to this)(Parent)

(Read comments) -