Off Beat a Zane, Friends. I would really love to make my own alcoholic beverages from scratch. Short of being a bootlegger, there are relatively few options:
- Wine making - way too labor intensive. It requires hundreds of dollars worth of machinery including a grape press. What ever happened to the old purple feet method?
- Beer making - cheaper, but still required an equipment and accoutrement investment. Also my wife is not a big beer fan so I would be stuck with way too much liquid.
- Liqueur making - aaaaah! That's the ticket. All it requires is vodka and/or everclear, water, sugar and some fruit or herbs to soak in it.
I have started 3 different liqueurs: Limoncello, Pear Ginger Liqueur, and Grape Liqueur (which I call Grappa-port). The grapes actually came from our backyard. Unfortunately for people like myself who are short on patience, this process takes months. -sigh- I hope they come out. The one that I am most confident of is the Limoncello because it is relatively foolproof. You soak lemon skins in vodka and everclear for 40 days, then strain, add a sugar syrup, and let mellow for 40 more days to develop the taste and to make it more smooth. My only concern is whether or not I got too much pith on the lemon peels when I peeled them which could cause the liqueur to develop a bitter taste. Oh well, only 32 more days until I find out. Rest assured, friends If any of these turn out I will surely be posting the recipes.
Ta.
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