Slivyanka – plum liqueur at home

Plum liqueur, slivyanka, is more of a folk drink than plum liqueurs – no rums, gins or aristocratic brandies. Almost all recipes for this simple, but at the same time exquisite drink, use ordinary vodka or food alcohol. So preparing such a drink at home is not only simple, but also affordable.

Do not confuse plum brandy with plum brandy – the former is a liqueur, and plum brandy is rakia or plum brandy, a plum brandy distillate that has been made in the Balkan countries since time immemorial. The plum brandy recipe is presented in this article. By the way, it would be right to cook all plum liqueurs on plum brandy, so that the drink turns out to be as “plum” as possible, sorry for the pun. Such a drink will be soft, without third-party tastes and odors. The same should be done with plum liqueurs.

Any plum recipe can be improved by adding cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, citrus zest and other ingredients.

To prepare our slivyanka, we will use ordinary vodka and the same ordinary alcohol. Well, home-made moonshine of double distillation will come here, only preferably fruity, not sugary. Plum liqueurs are best prepared from slightly overripe, fragrant fruits. Not spoiled, not wormy. This is very important, as well as quality alcohol. The drink turns out sweet and sour, moderate strength, beautiful red hue.

Slivyanka on vodka classic

Wash the plums, dry and remove the pit. If the fruits are large, you can cut them into small slices. Put the plums in a jar of the required volume and pour vodka, while it is important that it completely covers the fruits – if necessary, add vodka. It is necessary to infuse plum liquor for at least 30 days, after which carefully drain the infusion through a sieve, while it is important to leave the plums untouched. Then we add sugar, shake the jar slightly and leave it alone for another week. During this time, the sugar will completely dissolve, turn into syrup, and absorb the remnants of alcohol and juice.

Then strain the syrup through several layers of gauze and squeeze well. We mix the syrup with the infusion and bottle the plum. It is desirable to withstand the liquor for a month, and preferably two or three, after which it can be filtered and served. It is recommended to drink it in its pure form at room temperature – the cold completely kills the aroma and bright plum taste. Vodka in the drink is not felt.

For this recipe, you can take alcohol – then the plum will turn out to be stronger, but it will be easy to drink. If you take 1,5 kg of plums and 2 liters of 80% alcohol or moonshine, you get just a three-liter jar. Calculating the amount of sugar is easy.

Homemade plum liqueur with honey

Wash the plums well, cut in half and remove the pits. Wrap 20-30 seeds in gauze and put on the bottom of a jar of a suitable volume. Add the halves of the plums, pour the contents with alcohol. Close the jar tightly and leave for 4-6 weeks in a dark, cool place. Then carefully drain the infusion through a sieve, carefully remove the seeds wrapped in gauze, and pour the halves of the plums remaining in the jar with honey or sprinkle with sugar. Wait another 2 weeks, remembering to shake the jar periodically.

After 2 weeks, honey, like sugar, should draw out the remaining alcohol from the pulp of the plum and turn into a fragrant syrup. The syrup must be carefully drained through a sieve, and pour the plums with vodka, this time for three weeks. After three weeks, drain the vodka, combine it with the first tincture and syrup. Wait a couple of weeks until a cloudy sediment appears at the bottom. Drain the liquor from the sediment, filter and bottle. Keep the drink in a cool place. Before tasting this masterpiece, it is recommended to wait at least one year.

Alcoholic plums that remain after making the liqueur do not need to be thrown away. Transfer them to small jars and fill with the rest of the liquor, for example, with the part that remains after removing the drink from the sediment (cloudy fraction). Plums stored in this way can be used all year round to decorate cakes, ice cream or desserts, as well as an ingredient in meat.

Slivyanka on mint alcohol

Very soft and fresh drink. The fortress is not small, but the liqueur is drunk easily.

Rinse the plums, dry, break into two parts and remove the pits. Grind the pulp into a puree and leave for a couple of hours in a cool place. Then the puree must be filtered through a sieve or squeezed through several layers of gauze. So we get juice with pulp without skins. Then add alcohol, sugar and mint / lemon balm to the juice (you can take only leaves).

Pour everything into a jar, close it and leave to infuse in a dark, cool place for 2 months. Then the plum liqueur is filtered through a sieve, filtered through a cotton filter and bottled. Wait at least 2 weeks before tasting.

You can also make a slivyanka liqueur without vodka, only due to natural fermentation. But it’s better to make plum wine – the technology is thought out there and the drink turns out to be of better quality.

If you don’t like sweets, and plum liqueurs and liquors are just like that, prepare the usual tincture: 1 kg of plums with a stone (fruits need to be cut or pierced with a toothpick), you need to pour 2 liters of vodka and stand for 6 weeks. The result should be a very pleasant, moderately sweet drink. If you don’t like it or seem too strong, you can add sugar at the rate of, for example, 200 g of sugar per 1 liter of drink. You can find other plum tincture recipes in this article. Everything is very simple!