Properly made cloudberry liqueur turns out to be a beautiful yellow or amber color with a mild, moderately sweet berry taste, a pleasant fragrant aroma and light notes of mint. The recipe is somewhat different from the traditional technology for making vodka or other strong alcohol-based liqueurs.
Fresh or frozen cloudberries of any variety are suitable, as long as the berries are ripe, without rot and mold. Frozen fruits must first be thawed, and the melted liquid added to the juice (for more details, see the recipe). The best alcohol base is vodka or cheap natural cognac (light woody notes will appear). Diluted ethyl alcohol or moonshine of a high degree of purification is also suitable – without the smell of fuselage.
Ingredients:
- cloudberries – 250 grams;
- vodka (cognac, alcohol 40-45%, moonshine) – 0,5 liters;
- sugar (honey) – 100-250 grams;
- mint – 10 grams dried or 1-2 sprigs fresh (optional).
I advise you to add sugar or honey in two stages. The first is before infusion, the second is to sweeten the finished drink after mixing with juice. Liquid flower or buckwheat honey softens the taste. Mint is optional, but greatly enhances the cloudberry’s initially not-so-rich flavor.
Cloudberry liqueur recipe
1. Squeeze out the juice from the berries with gauze or a dense cloth, pour it into a glass container, close it tightly and leave it in the refrigerator.
2. Fold the cloudberry cake into a bottle or jar for infusion, add mint, sugar (honey) and pour the alcohol base (vodka, alcohol, cognac).
3. Close tightly. Leave for 14 days in a dark place at room temperature. Shake once a day.
4. Strain the resulting infusion through cheesecloth and squeeze well. The pulp is no longer needed.
5. Mix the cloudberry juice obtained at the first stage with the infusion. Taste and sweeten with sugar (honey) if desired. Mix. Pour into storage containers, seal tightly.
6. Leave for 10-14 days in a dark, cool room (basement, cellar, refrigerator) to stabilize the taste. If sediment or turbidity appears, filter the drink through cotton wool, the sediment does not affect the taste. Away from direct sunlight, the shelf life of homemade cloudberry liqueur is up to 3 years. Fortress – 18-23%.
