Basil is not only a seasoning for meats or cheeses, but also an excellent raw material for making homemade alcoholic beverages. One of the most popular options is the Italian “Liquore al basilico” or “Basicello” – a fragrant basil tincture with lemon zest. We will consider one of the recipes in which the sweetness and strength can be adjusted to your liking. By organoleptic properties, basil tincture resembles mint, but with light notes of citrus.
Fresh purple (reihan) or green (fragrant) basil is suitable for cooking. The aroma and taste of the tincture will be the same in both cases. The color of the drink depends on the type of basil. The alcohol base can be vodka, diluted ethyl alcohol or purified moonshine.
Ingredients:
- vodka (alcohol 40%, moonshine) – 0,5 liters;
- fresh basil – 100 grams;
- lemons – 3 pieces (medium);
- sugar – 50-150 grams (to taste);
- water – 50-150 ml (optional).
Citrus fruits go great with basil, so lemon zest is the perfect addition. I advise you to add sugar to taste after infusion, water is needed only to reduce the strength, but when diluted, the tincture is almost guaranteed to become cloudy, and filtering through cotton wool will not help. The addition of lemon juice gives the drink a slight sourness, this is especially important when using a mediocre quality alcohol base.
basil tincture recipe
1. Wash the basil, dry it, cut it into small pieces and put it in a container for infusion – a glass bottle or jar.
2. Scald lemons with boiling water, then rinse in running water to get rid of the preservative that covers the fruit.
3. Gently remove the zest from the lemons with a knife or vegetable peeler – the upper yellow part without white, bitter pulp.
4. Add the zest to the basil. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon (optional), pour in the alcohol base. Mix.
5. Close the container hermetically. Transfer to a dark place at room temperature. Leave for 15 days. Shake every 3 days.
6. Filter the resulting tincture of basil through gauze, squeeze the pulp well. Sweeten the drink with sugar or syrup (to taste). Pour into bottles for storage.
Attention! When water is added, the tincture may become cloudy, as basil contains a lot of essential oils.
7. Before use, leave for 2-3 days in the refrigerator to stabilize the taste after adding sugar and (or) water.
The technology for making purple basil tincture is shown in the video.
