Three liquors, made from seasonal summer fruits!
I had a really fun weekend fruit picking, and decided to use up most of the fruit by making fruit liquors! I went to a fruit picking farm to get a few punnets of redcurrant and blackcurrants, and then to a friend who has a huge cherry tree in his back garden to pick the cherries!
I was going to make some jams, but I can never use up jam fast enough, so I settled on liquors instead. My liquors are currently developing in the cupboard, so I will do an updated post in about 3 months, to show how to finish them off and bottle them!
I made some sloe and elderberry gin last year, which is really delicious, so I am hoping that these liquors will turn out just as good! If your stuck with a load of fruit which your not sure what to do with, then I definitely recommend these recipes!
Variations: Some other fruits could be turned into liquors, blackberries or raspberries would work well mixed with vodka.
Ingredients
Cherry Brandy:
- 700g cherries
- 750ml brandy
- 100g sugar
Cassis:
- 1kg blackcurrants
- 750ml vodka
Redcurrant Liquor:
- 1kg redcurrants
- 750ml vodka
- 200g sugar
To Make:
The Cherry Brandy:
Weigh out 700g of cherries, wash and transfer to large kilner jar.
Add the sugar to the jar, followed by the brandy.
Store in a cool dark place, and shake a few times a day to dissolve the sugar. Leave to infuse for 3 months.
The Cassis:
Weigh out 1kg of blackcurrants, wash and transfer to large kilner jar.
Pour over the vodka and shake to jar to mix.
Store in a cool dark place for 6 months.
The Redcurrant Liquor:
Weigh out 700g of redcurrants, wash and transfer to a large kilner jar.
Muddle the redcurrants in the jar, to release their juices, then add the sugar.
Pour over the vodka and shake to infuse. Leave in a cool dark place for 3 months, shaking every few days.
KitchenSpells 
This post is definitely a ‘keeper’ unfortunately, living in an apartment, I no longer have a garden and we just grow thing in window boxes, but if I ever am lucky enough to have one again, we will grow fruit. Living in France we use a lot of frit liquors to add to white wine of Champagne to made a ‘Kir’ / ‘Kir Royale’ and we have just discovered a ‘crème de Violettes’ so maybe you could try using violets, as I know that you do use flowers a lot in your baking. I love your blog, but am, as you can see, very behind in my reading……
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Yes, I only have a little balcony at the moment for growing fruit too, it’s so annoying isn’t it!? I can’t wait to have my own garden! That does sound amazing, I might have to look into it 🙂
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We have tomatoes, courgettes, peppers and a few potatoes (I mean a few!) we did try strawberries, but I think the birds got there first. I’m going to show this to my partner, as he makes ‘vin de noix’ with walnuts that we gather around the end of August, and he has also made a liquor from bay leaves (feuille de laurier). I did a post a good while back on ‘Haloumi salad with walnuts’ and I might have mentioned this here. Where are you?
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Yes I’m only trying tomatoes and some flowers at the moment! Wow I’ve never tried a walnut liquor before, it sounds lovely! I live just north of London at the moment 🙂
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We make two types, one with red wine as the base, and another with white – very different, but equally delicious, Marc takes over the bathroom for a day and makes it. We were too late getting to the walnut trees last year and everyone had got there first, so we just had enough to store to eat with an aperitif and for me to put in cakes or salads. Once you have eaten fresh walnuts that you have gathered yourself, the shop bought variety always taste bitter in comparison. If we make it this year, you will have to jump on Eurostar and come and sample it!
We have geraniums to ward of the mosquitos and I grow lots of herbs on the kitchen windowsill, Basil, Oregano, Mint, Moroccan mint (to make tea), Tarragon. But it has been to hot and dry for the tomatoes this year – despite rigging up a watering system
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