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I have always associated the season of berries with the process of making tinctures or liqueurs.
I have experimented with almost all berries, fruits, roots and twigs and I can say that not all plants are suitable for this business.
Of course, you can insist, but whether the result will please you is a rather controversial issue.
In addition, each berry also has its own characteristics, which can affect the body in different ways, this should never be forgotten. I want to share several recipes for my liqueurs and tell you the features of each of them.
This story was shared by my subscriber Ilya D.
On the right – tincture on lemon and apples, on the left – infusion by steam exchange
Strawberry tincture is a dreary and delicate matter
Many people think that the more beautiful the strawberry, the better the liqueur will be. Large, ripe, beautiful berries are supposed to give the drink an aroma and a pleasant taste, but this is not so.
Strawberries are a capricious berry, and ripe strawberries are doubly capricious. The berry under the influence of alcohol simply loosens, filling the liquor with flakes, and the entire load turns into a red, spreading substance resembling snot.
The taste of the drink will be very unpleasant, and the smell will resemble humus. To avoid this, it is necessary to pick still green strawberries, giving preference to small berries.
But they will need a lot. Hence the complexity of high-quality strawberry liqueur, it is available only to those who have their own garden, because you can’t buy 3 kg of green strawberries anywhere.
2 kg of green strawberries are poured with 3 liters of alcohol (rectified 90-95⁰), after a week another 1 kg is added. We insist 21 days, while daily mixing everything thoroughly. After insisting, we dilute the product to the desired strength, here, as you like, I leave 40-43⁰.
Blackcurrant is the best I’ve tried
Blackcurrant has not only a noble aroma, but also gives the drink a unique taste. It is impossible to clearly classify this product, because not only berries are used for cooking. I use:
- 2 kg of freshly picked (unwashed!) berries;
- 10 leaves;
- 300 g finely chopped twigs;
- sugar 400 g;
- alcohol 3 l.
The whole thing is poured into bottles and filled with alcohol. Unlike strawberry liqueur, you can not stir.
There is no need to be afraid of sugar, in 21 one day it dissolves perfectly. The drink turns out to be of an interesting color, pleasant aroma (the smell of alcohol is almost completely absent).
Chokeberry – a tasty thing, but in a little
I really like the chokeberry liqueur. It has a very pleasant, slightly tart taste. Classic recipe: 2 kg of berries, 3 liters of alcohol and 200-300 grams of sugar. Infused for 21 days.
You need to drink such a tincture in moderation, because in ordinary life we do not eat handfuls of chokeberry. It’s not a strawberry or even a cherry.
With such caution, one should treat elderberry, mulberry and even ordinary horseradish. Before any infusion, you should read about the properties of each ingredient and do not abuse the liquor on them.
Be afraid to experiment – do not drink delicious drinks
I have never been afraid to experiment. I tried to make tinctures even on unpredictable, at first glance, awkward ingredients.
For example, gooseberries, raspberries, apricots, peaches are common, but I managed to make delicious drinks on bananas, kiwi and lychee.
Klukovka is a favorite gourmet drink and a popular recipe of our ancestors. Cranberries contain a shock dose of vitamin C, which allows you to forget about a hangover. The drink is easy to drink, has no smell of alcohol and leaves a pleasant, slightly sour aftertaste.
From this amount of cranberries you get only 2 liters of tincture (though 40⁰)
In my opinion, there is no such fruit or berry on which it would be impossible to make a tincture, besides, there are always leaves, twigs and roots. Herbal tinctures taste just as good, but never try to make a mint drink. It’s terrible, check it out.
I even tried insisting on avocados. True, then I used this tincture as an ignition for coals for barbecue, but I do not regret the experience gained.
I believe that the preparation of homemade drinks is a creative process, which depends only on the determination and imagination of the distiller.
And what berries or fruits did you insist on and what came of it?