Cointreau is a French orange liqueur with a strength of 40 degrees, made from a mixture of grain and beet alcohol infused with the zest of sweet and bitter varieties of oranges with spices. After maceration (infusion), the drink is distilled twice. As a result, it becomes transparent. I will tell you how to make homemade Cointreau using simplified (only infusion) and traditional (with distillations) technology.
Attention! This is only an imitation of taste, the real Cointreau liqueur recipe is kept secret by the manufacturer. Its exact composition is unknown.
Ingredients:
- vodka (alcohol 40-45%) – 1 liter;
- medium-sized oranges – 3 pieces;
- lemon (or grapefruit) – 1 piece;
- sugar – 200 gram;
- black pepper – 5 peas;
- red pepper – 1 gram;
- bay leaf – 1 piece.
Lemon or grapefruit zest gives a slight bitterness, as in the original liquor. Pepper and bay leaf are responsible for the desired flavor. Sugar can be replaced with fructose (100 grams). It is better to insist on store-bought vodka or ethyl alcohol diluted to 40-45%. Moonshine is only suitable if you do two distillations according to the traditional method of preparation.
Cointreau recipe
1. Scald oranges and lemons with boiling water to wash off the remains of wax or chemical additives from their surface, which are used for long-term storage of citrus fruits.
2. Gently remove the zest from the fruits with a grater, vegetable or ordinary knife. Only the upper part of the peel is needed without white pulp, otherwise the liquor will be very bitter.
3. Put the zest in a jar for infusion, add pepper, bay leaf, sugar (for Cointreau without distillation). Pour in vodka. Mix, close the lid.
4. After 4-5 hours, take out the bay leaf.
5. Put a hermetically sealed jar in a warm, dark place for 5-7 days.
6. Strain the finished liquor through cheesecloth and pour into bottles for storage.
Those who want to get closer to the classical technology should insist vodka only on zest and spices, then distill it twice on a moonshine still, each time pouring 15-20 ml of the first fraction containing a lot of essential oils, otherwise when water is added, the liquor will turn white like milk. After that, the distillate must be diluted with sugar syrup up to 40% and allowed to stand for a couple of days before use.
This and another Cointreau recipe (from pulp without zest) is shown in the video.
