Cranberry liqueur at home

Cranberry liqueur is popular for several reasons. First, it’s taste. Homemade homemade drink strongly resembles the popular Finnish liqueur Lapponia. Secondly, making cranberry liqueur at home is quite simple, the process does not require special equipment and narrowly focused knowledge, simple things and ingredients are enough for it. Thirdly, cranberries contain many valuable micro and macro elements, such as calcium, iodine, magnesium, iron, as well as a variety of antioxidants and vitamins. Since a small part of the beneficial properties of the berries is preserved even after making homemade liquor, it can be consumed in small portions to prevent diseases. And, finally, the preparation of such a drink can be called a variation of preparations for the winter, focused exclusively on adults.

Sweet cranberry liqueur

Some varieties of cranberry liqueur are adapted recipes for popular spirits. Last but not least, their taste depends on the alcohol used: any strong alcohol is suitable for making liquor, preferably if it does not have a pronounced taste, but this is not always possible. As a rule, they use vodka, but you can take moonshine, and even medical alcohol. In some cases, cognac is used instead of vodka.

If the degree of the selected alcoholic drink is too high, you can dilute it with a small amount of water to the desired strength. In general, the basic set of ingredients will be repeated from recipe to recipe – making a sweet cranberry tincture, as a rule, requires cranberries, a spirit of choice and granulated sugar. Sometimes water is added to the list to make syrup.

Before cooking, the berries are sorted out, removing rotten and spoiled ones. At the same time, initially slightly rumpled fruits are not substandard, and they can be safely used. Both fresh and frozen cranberries are suitable for cooking. Since frozen gives more juice, it is sometimes recommended to pre-freeze fresh berries.

So, to make sweet liquor at home, you need the following:

• Xnumx C cranberries;
• Xnumx g of granulated sugar;
• 200 ml of water;
• 500 ml of vodka.

Prepare in this way:

1. The berries are washed and let them stand for a while.
2. Combine water and sugar in a saucepan to make sugar syrup. After the syrup thickens, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
3. Crush the berries with a crush.
   Attention! You should not turn the berries and juice into a smooth puree – then it will be very difficult to remove the pulp.
4. Syrup is first added to crushed berries, and then vodka. Stir.
5. The container with the liquor preparation is covered with a lid and rearranged in a cool dark place, where it is left for 25-30 days. Every day, the liquor is shaken, so it is better to choose a tightly closed vessel for storage.
6. After the drink is infused, it is filtered to remove the pulp and bottled.

moonshine cranberry liqueur recipe

To prepare cranberry liquor at home from moonshine, only double distilled moonshine is used.

In principle, you can make moonshine liquor based on the previous recipe, but there are other ways.

So, you will need the following ingredients:

• 300 g or two glasses of cranberries;
• 1 liters of moonshine;
• 1,5 cup of sugar;
• 500 ml water.

The amount of water and sugar is adjusted depending on the desired strength of the alcoholic beverage. If you need to reduce the strength to 30 degrees, the amount of water for the syrup is increased to 700 ml.

Preparation:

1. Cranberries are washed and crushed with a crush.
2. Pour the berries with moonshine, cover the container with a tight-fitting lid and place for three weeks in a cool, dark place.
3. During this time, the container is shaken daily.
4. The infused drink is filtered, removing the pulp and cloudy sediment.
5. Sugar syrup is boiled and allowed to cool.
6. The tincture is poured into the syrup, gently stirred and poured into bottles.

Cranberry liqueur with cloves and cardamom

Technically, any spice you like can be used in place of cloves or cardamom. However, it is important not to overdo it with their quantity, so as not to interrupt the cranberry flavor.

To make this liqueur recipe, you will need:

• Xnumx C cranberries;
• 1 liter of vodka or moonshine;
• 500 grams of sugar;
• whole cloves;
• cardamom;
• cinnamon stick – to taste.

Cranberry liqueur is prepared as follows:

1. Pre-sort and wash the berries, shake off the water from them, and then knead.
2. Pour crushed cranberries with vodka, cover with a lid and put in a dark place.
3. Keep for a week, shaking the container daily.
4. After the expiration date, the drink is filtered (it is better to repeat the procedure twice).
5. The pot with liquor is put on fire, granulated sugar is added.
6. Heat over low heat, while stirring constantly and not allowing the liquid to boil. When the sugar is completely dissolved, the pan is removed from the heat.
7. Spices are wrapped in a gauze or cloth bag and dipped in warm liquor for 10 minutes.
8. They take out the spices, if necessary, filter the drink again, removing the remaining pulp.
9. Bottled.

Homemade fortified cranberry liqueur

Ingredients Required:

• cranberries – 500 g;
• strong alcohol – 1 l;
• sugar – 500 g;
• spices – cardamom, cinnamon, cloves – to taste.

This recipe is prepared as follows.

1. The cranberries are sorted and washed thoroughly, then the excess liquid is shaken off and the berries are allowed to stand for a while.
2. Then the berries are turned into a homogeneous mixture. To do this, you can use both mechanical hand tools like a pusher, and a blender or meat grinder.
3. Pour the crushed cranberries with alcohol, close the container with a lid, and then clean it in a dark place for 4-5 days.
4. The liqueur is shaken daily.
5. Filter the drink and squeeze the juice from the berry mixture.
6. Add sugar and cook, avoiding boiling, until it is completely dissolved.
7. Remove the liquor from the heat and dip the spices in a cloth bag for 5-10 minutes.
8. Then the drink is allowed to cool, once again it is filtered and poured into prepared bottles.

Terms of storage

The usual shelf life of cranberry liqueur is three years. As with brewing a drink, dark and cool places are best suited for long-term storage. At the same time, it is not necessary to store the drink in the refrigerator, usually there is enough space isolated from direct sunlight and remote from heaters.

The benefits and harms of cranberry liqueur

Despite the great popularity of this drink, it is impossible to talk about its unambiguous benefits. So, it will not be possible to obtain elements important for the body in large quantities when drinking liquor, since their content in the finished product is not so high. However, cranberry tincture can be used as an additional source of micro and macro elements.

For the body, cranberries are useful in that:

• the vitamin C contained in it has a positive effect on the condition of the skin, hair, bones, brain, etc.;
• vitamin B helps to strengthen the nervous system and improve vision;
• has an anti-inflammatory effect, which means it can be used as a cure for colds;
• it contains iron, so eating cranberries is useful for anemia;
• normalizes the acid-base balance.

Despite the fact that the list of useful properties of cranberries is not limited to the above, you should not use liquor as a medicine for two reasons. Firstly, the beneficial properties of the berry are not fully transferred to the drink. Secondly, if you overdo it with the amount of drink, all the possible benefits for the body will be offset by the harm that alcohol brings – that is, the destruction of brain cells, possible poisoning of the body, etc.

Conclusion

Cranberry liqueur at home is popular due to its excellent taste and ease of preparation, and the technology for creating and the recipe of the drink can differ significantly. The taste of the finished drink depends on the chosen recipe, as well as the used or unused spices.