At first glance, it may seem that getting homemade Becherovka is as easy as shelling pears. It’s not for you to distill grapa and not even boil mead. However, in practice, everything is somewhat more complicated.
Why won’t it be
The fact is that with all your desire, you simply will not be able to cook a real Becherovka. The liquor bearing this name is made only at one single Czech factory using unique water from local sources, and besides, according to a top-secret recipe known only to two inhabitants of the globe.
But it is in your power to prepare a pleasant, spicy drink, which in its taste will be very close to the famous Czech original. At the same time, nothing will prevent you from changing the proportions proposed by us in favor of your favorite spices; or even completely ignore an ingredient you don’t like.
So, if you have weighed all the pros and cons, let’s get started.
Becherovka homemade recipe
The list of ingredients is based on one and a half liters of the final product.
wheat alcohol
Diluted to a strength of 50% – 1,2 liters (vodka will not work due to insufficient strength, and even the highest quality moonshine – because of the specific taste and smell; in fact, it is alcohol that is used at the very one and only distillery in Karlovy Vary).
Carnation – 15-20 pcs.
Cinnamon stick – 5
Cardamom – 2-3 boxes.
Fragrant black pepper – 8-10 grains.
Anise ordinary – 1 tsp (without slide).
Fresh orange peel – 2 teaspoons (orange crust only, because the white sub-crust will make your drink unnecessarily bitter).
Sugar – 150 g (if you prefer sweeter liqueurs, replace regular sugar with fructose).
Water (preferably spring water) – 250-300 ml.
Becherovka preparation method
Spices and zest are poured into a glass vessel with a volume of 1,5 liters, after which alcohol is poured.
Then the hermetically sealed container is kept for a week in a dark, warm place (for example, near the battery); at the same time, it should be shaken periodically.
After that, the contents of the vessel are tasted and either filtered through gauze, or continue to infuse for another 2-3 days.
Immediately after filtration, sugar syrup is prepared. To do this, all the sugar is dissolved in 150 ml of water on fire. Hot, but not yet boiled syrup is removed from the heat, gets rid of the foam and cools to room temperature. Then it is poured all into the same jar, after which the filtered tincture is returned to it.
The syrup pot is rinsed with the remaining water, which is also poured into a glass container, filling it to the brim (if you are a real liquor ace, try to make the strength of the resulting substance equal to 38 degrees: the very ones that proudly flaunt on bottles with genuine Becherovka).
The resulting drink is infused for another week in a tightly closed jar, which makes it completely ready for use.
Relevance: 10.05.2016
Tags: Liqueurs, Pourings, Liqueurs, Recipes of liqueurs