Liqueurs and tinctures from green and purple basil

It would seem – what? A sweet liqueur made from basil, a plant commonly eaten in a salad there, with meat, or on a sandwich with tomato and feta cheese? But no – it turns out that this weed is already on the run for a variety of spicy tinctures, and the Italians have long learned how to make sweet liqueurs Basicello and Liquore al basilico from it – all this is definitely tasty, original, beautiful and quite simple. Look!

Today we will analyze several recipes for liquors and liqueurs based on basil: both sweet digestifs and spicy aperitifs, only from basil or with other additives – citrus fruits, spices, herbs – on vodka, alcohol and wine.

Basil tinctures – 50 shades of purple

Well, in fact, it’s more likely not purple, but green, because ordinary, aka fragrant basil, has a pale green color, it is common in the Mediterranean, where it got its name, translated from Greek as “royal”. And the purple basil familiar to us would be more competently called reyhan (regan, rean, raikhon) – “fragrant” in translation from the languages ​​​​of the Transcaucasus and Central Asia, where it is mainly grown.

In fact, these plants are quite interchangeable in tinctures, reyhan is considered a little sharper, spicier, and the taste of basil is fresher and richer. And, of course, the color of the drinks will be completely different – it all depends on your personal preferences.

Both basils are close relatives of mint, lemon balm, lavender, hyssop, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, savory (they belong to the same subfamily, Kotovnikovye), respectively, all these herbs blend well with each other. Also, basil is in harmony with any citrus fruits, especially with lemons, a standard set of “allspice-cloves-cinnamon-vanilla”, anise and other spices – in general, there is a lot of room for imagination! And we’ll get started.

The simplest tincture of Reich

Basically, it’s just a lightly flavored and colored vodka. All we need is 100 grams of fresh Reyhan leaves and 1 liter of vodka. You can also take moonshine – spice will help brighten up the flaws of not quite perfect distillation.

Cooking is very simple and fast – dry the leaves slightly, cut the large ones with a sharp knife, leave the small ones whole, throw everything into a jar and pour it with alcohol. The tincture is ready in 3 days – you need to drain it, filter it and you can drink it!

Italian liqueur “Liquore al basilico”

Extremely popular in Italy, a sweet, spicy digestif perfect with coffee or pistachio ice cream. Among housewives who are too lazy to fiddle with weights, it is called “50 leaves”, which, as it were, already hints at the composition. In the original, it is a beautiful emerald color, but you can take Reykhan and make purple Liquore – who will forbid it?

In Italy, this drink is made on grappa (strong grappa is sold in stores with the inscription prodotto ideale per la preparazione dei liquori, that is, “ideal for making liqueurs”), which means it will be good to make it on homemade chacha, but alcohol will do.

Preparing liquor is simple – basil leaves must be sent to a jar, poured with alcohol and left for 2 weeks in a dark, warm place, shaking occasionally. After that, strain, filter if necessary. Boil the syrup from all the water and sugar, cool, add alcohol tincture to the syrup. Mix thoroughly, sweeten if necessary. Let it stand for another week, if turbidity or sediment appears, pass through a cotton or paper filter. Liquore al basilico can be drunk neat, heavily chilled, after meals, or served with desserts.

Lemon-basil liqueur “Basicello”

A variation on the theme of Limoncello, a beautiful pale green sweet liqueur with basil and lemon zest.

Wash and dry the basil. Cut the zest from well-washed lemons without touching the bitter white “subcortex”. Throw everything into a jar, pour alcohol and leave in a dark place for 15 days. Shake periodically. After that, filter the liquid through gauze. Boil syrup from all sugar and water, cool and add fragrant alcohol to it. If the drink has become cloudy – it’s okay, this is due to the emulsification of essential oils, which are rich in infusion. Now Basilicello needs to be bottled and refrigerated. You can try in 5-6 days.

This recipe in action:

Spicy tincture with basil

Medium-sweet strong tincture, which can be used both as a digestif and as an aperitif. Both basil and reyhan are suitable for cooking – the difference will be only in color.

Wash and dry basil leaves. Cut the zest from citrus fruits – only the colored peel, without the bitter white layer. Add spices, pour alcohol and stand for a week in a dark, warm room. After that, strain, filter with cotton wool if necessary. Pour a glass of water into a container and add tincture to it. Gradually throw sugar, stir and taste until the sweetness of the drink begins to suit you. Before use, keep in a dark place for at least a month, if turbidity has fallen out, filter again.

Reyhan liqueur with lavender and ginger

An old recipe from a cookbook. The output should be a spicy, sweet drink with a light ginger “point” and a dominant aroma of basil.

Wash the basil, dry it and chop it with a knife, grind the spices in a mortar, add vanilla and pour vodka. Close tightly and send to a warm dark room for 15 days. After that, strain and filter through a cotton filter. Boil the syrup from water and sugar, cool slightly and pour the tincture into it. Pour into a jar, close and set aside for another week. Then re-filter and bottle.

This recipe in action:

Sangria with basil and orange

An express recipe for those who love alcohol with basil, but do not like to wait.

With the help of a pusher or pestle, we knead the basil and thinly sliced ​​​​orange – not into gruel, but until they begin to smell intensely and give juice. Pour the whole thing with wine and let stand from half an hour to two hours. Before serving, the cocktail is cooled, poured into glasses, in which ice cubes are first placed. Mineral water is added to each glass from above. Serve without a second’s delay!

The Rum Diary wishes its readers successful experiments and beautiful results!