Liqueurs (sweet)
Liqueurs come in three basic categories ..
Strong : 33-45% abv, with 31-55% sugar,
Dessert : 25-30% abv, with 32-50% sugar, or
Creme : 20-23% abv, with 50-60% sugar.
They can be made by
- Macerating fruit
- Macerating & Redistilling using herbs, spices, nuts, seeds (sweet),
- Macerating fruit with herbs and spices, or
- Emulsion, using cream or eggs
Wal writes ...
The most convenient way to use sugar is in the form of a syrup made
from 2 parts sugar completely dissolved in one part water, e.g. 2 cups
of sugar and one cup of water will give a syrup, one cup of which
should be equivalent to one cup of dry sugar.
Some recommend to turn the sucrose syrup into an invert sugar syrup by
adding an acid such as citric, tartaric or cream of tartar (potassium
hydrogen tartrate). For 2 lbs of sugar (1 kg.), 1 pint of water (500
ml.), add 1/4 tsp. (1 g.) acid (or juice of 1/2 lemon). Bring to boil
and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool. The sucrose is split into glucose and
fructose. It is said that invert sugar syrup gives a softer taste.
The addition of sugar should not affect the essential oils.
Often 1 tsp. of glycerine is added to 1 litre of liqueur to make it
thicker and smoother.
Macerating Fruit
Fruit liqueurs are quite straight-forward;
simply soak your favourite fruit in your strongest alcohol,
with 1 cup of fine sugar to every 1 cup of fruit. Let it soak for
a couple of months, then strain off the fruit, and dilute the alcohol
down to 20-30%.
For HEAPs of excellent recipes see
Gunthers Liqueur making - principles and techniques.
These include Bailey's Irish Creme, Galliano, Grand Marnier, Kahlua,
Amaretto, Creme de Menthe, and Drambuie to name a few.
For more details see
A good book is "How to Make Liqueurs" by R.M. Byrne, ISBN 0-86417-384-9 (1991)
which i found in our local library.
The
Household Cyclopedia has many recipes too.
Volodia reports that ... for old liqueurs, including what purports to be Chartreuse, see:
http://lodace.com/grandmer/alcool.htm
Its in French, but the ingredients repeat, so you can get by with a good
dictionary. There is a partial gastronomic glossary at:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/vinnytt/fdicepic.htm
Using Herbs
Wal writes ..
Aperatives and Digestives (bitters). The aperitif serves to stimulate
the appetite. e.g. vermouth wines. Spirit based ones include the
Italian Aperol (11%abv) which is made from an infusion of rhubarb
root, quinine, gentian and bitter orange peel). Jagermeister is a
well known German after dinner drink based on various herbs. They
had their origin in medicines prepared by monks.. Honey/sugar, and
spices were added to alleviate the bitterness. Modern cough mixtures
remind us of this background.
Bitters
Amaro means bitter in Italian. It is a herbal infusion in alcohol and
amari (plural of amaro) are still popular in Italy as digestives, or
after dinner drinks. There are many brands on the market. The bitter
taste is imparted by wormwood, gentian root, quinine, centaury,
bitter orange peel,rhubarb, hops, cascarilla, nettles. Aroma is
provided by juniper, anise, coriander, hyssop, fennel, cinnamon,
cardamon, nutmeg, rosemary, lavender, caraway, camomile, peppermint,
tumeric, vanilla, lemon balm, sage, marjoram, oregano, angelica root,
orris root, thyme, sweet calamus root.
'Fernet Branca' produced in Milan since 1845, contains aloe, bay
leaves, wormwood, aniseed, bitter orange peel, basil, cardamon,
liquorice, nutmeg, peppermint and saffron.
See the 'Amaro alle erbe' recipe at
http://italianfood.miningco.com/library/rec/blr0484.htm
A recipe for a simple Amaro or Bitters:
- 5 leaves melissa (lemon balm)
- 5 leaves sage
- 10 leaves (not sprigs) rosemary
- 10 leaves wormwood
- Flowering top of a European centaury plant (from herbal shop)
- 15 juniper berries
- 5 cloves
- 12mm piece cinnamon
- A piece of orris root (Florentine Iris)
- A piece of calamus root ( Sweet Flag)
- A piece of gentian root
- 2/3 cups water
The wormwood, centaury and gentian provide the bitterness.
Macerate herbs in alcohol for a 2 weeks, add sugar syrup. Strain,
pace in a bottle and allow to age.
Vermouth
Vemouth arose when an amaro was added to wine. Proportions varied to
suit individual tastes. The first commercial success is credited to
Antonio Carpano from Turin who began selling a pre-blended formula in
1786 he named 'Punt e mes' (one and a half).
In 1813, Joseph Noilly of Lyons, France created a French dry vermouth
based on delicate whites infused with wormwood and local plants.
'Vermouth' is the French term for the German 'wermut'(wormwood), the
principal bittering agent. In Europe vermouth is drunk as an aperitif
or pre-dinner drink. Dry vermouth is essential to add to your gin to
make a martini cocktail.
The most basic recipe I have seen is from a
French site -
- 1 handful of wormwood
- 1 litre red wine
- 1 glass neutral alcohol
- 1 glass of sugar
- 1 star anise
Macerate wormwood in the wine for 5 days, strain. Add alcohol, sugar
and star anise. Remove star anise after several days.
A more complex recipe for vermouth is found at -
http://www.makewine.com/makewine/vermouth.html
Came across a recipe for 20 litres of vermouth at 20%abv which could
be also made with a neutral spirit base or to camouflage something
less successful. Steep for a week. Centaury, Gentian, Wormwood
provide the bitterness. Quinine bark, woodruff, yarrow,
elecampane,tonka beans are not readily available. Tonka beans have
aromatic coumarins but also contain high amounts of thujone.
- Herb Quantity (grams/20L)
- Wormwood 14
- Oregano 7
- Elecampagne 7
- Blessed thistle 7
- Lemon bslm leaf 7
- Yarrow 3
- Cantaury 3
- Gentian 3
- Angelica root 1
- Camomile 1
- Tonka beans 7
- Orange peel 3
- Quinine bark 1
- Saffron 1
- Plus a total of 1g mix of Majoram, Rosemary, Sage, Summer savory,
Basil, Thyme.
'Aperol' from Italy is a low-alcohol aperitif made from rhubarb,
gentian, quinine, biter orange peel.
For information on herbs in the recipes see:
http://www.botanical.com
With so many differing versions on the market, the home distiller can
experiment to produce equally valid ones.
For those who don't want to use sugar to sweeten their liqueurs you
can use stevia powder(from health food shops) or fresh stevia leaves.
A sugar syrup substitute can be made by infusing 10 leaves of fresh
stevia leaves in 200ml of boiled water.
Grappa alla Stevia
- 1litre grappa
- 50 leaves of stevia
Macerate for 2 weeks
Benedictine
The monasteries of the Middle Ages had a proud alcoholic reputation.
Monastic orders still make wine, beer and liqueurs, and their
religious fervour has a commercial streak. The most famous are
Benedictine and Chartreuse. Only Chartreuse is presently controlled
by monks. The secret formula for Benedictine, believed lost when the
Abbey of Fecamp in Normandy was destroyed in 1789 during the French
Revolution, turned up in 1863 in the house of Alexandre Le Grand. He
modernised the elixir of 27 plants and spices and called it
Benedictine. D.O.M. on the label stands for 'Deo Optimo Maximo'(To
God, most good, most great). The recipe is said to contain angelica
root, arnica flowers, orange peel, thyme, cardamon, peppermint,
cassia, hyssop, cloves and cognac. There is a complex Benedictine
recipe from an old English pharmaceutical book in -
http://guntheranderson.com/liqueurs/benedict.htm
Others that I have seen certainly do not contain as many herbs and
spices.
Chartreuse
Chartreuse is still made under the control of Carthusian monks near
Grenoble in the French Alps. The formula for this 'elixir de longue
vie' or elixir for longetivity was give to the Monastery of the Grand
Chartreuse in the 17th century by the Marechal d'Estrees. A total of
130 ingredients are in the formula. They are macerated in alcohol and
redistilled. The original Elixir is 71%abv, Green is 55%abv and the
sweeter yellow 40%abv. Both of these have honey added before being
aged in casks for 8 years, although Chartreuse VEP is kept longer.
Personally I believe that macerating so many herbs, and then
redistilling produces a very complex vodka, which when sweetened with
honey produces a liqueur - one which could be emulated by the home
distiller as a 'variation on a theme' (Pepsi is a valid variation of
Coca Cola although both arrived at their formula independently).
The roots of herbal liqueurs lie in Italian monasteries and
originally were herbal medicines. 'Centerbe' (100 herbs), 'amaro'
(bitters), infused wines(vermouth) are still popular in Italy. Strega
(witch in Italian) which was invented in 1860 contains 70 botanicals
which are macerated and redistilled. Galliano contains 40 herbs and
spices with anise and vanilla quite prominent.
Citrus Liqueurs
Wal writes ...
Traditionally Limoncello and Agrumino were made by Italian Amalfi
families using handed down recipes originally for private consumption.
Here are two recipes.
Limoncello (aka limoncino, limonce):
- Zest of 6 thick-skinned lemons (Lisbon, Citron). Do not use the
white pith as it makes the liqueur bitter.
- 1 litre rectified alcohol 50%abv
- 0.5 litre distilled water
- 500g sugar
Macerate the peel in the alcohol for 10 days.
Boil water and add sugar. Allow to cool.
Add sugar syrup and store for another week.
Strain and discard the lemon peel.
Store in a refrigerator.
Agrumino:
- Zest of 4 oranges, 2 lemons and 1 lime (or half a citron)
- 1 small mandarin, quartered
- 1 litre rectified alcohol 50%abv
- 0.5 litre distilled water
- 500g sugar
Boil water and add sugar. Allow to cool.
Add sugar syrup to other ingredients and macerate for 10 days.
Filter and discard mandarin and peel.
The peel of mandarins can also be used - try the zest of 12 mandarins
(tangerines) instead of the oranges and lemons.
Campari
Came across a recipe on an Italian site that possibly resembles
Campari. Originally, Campari was the Milan based firm's house
bitters. It was launched commercially in 1893.
- 10g orange peel (avoid the white pith)
- 2g cinnamon
- 2.5g angelica root
- 2g aniseed
- 1g cloves
- 1g gentian root (bitter root)
- 1g calamus root (sweet flag)
- 650ml 40% alcohol
- 1/2 cup of red wine
Crush the spices and macerate in half the alcohol (5-10days is
usual). Filter and add wine and rest of alcohol. Add sugar to taste
(quantity was not given).
Curacao or Triple Sec
The Dutch not only made gin using juniper berries but also in the
17th century their firms started using bitter orange (Seville orange)
peels from the island Curacao in the West Indies. The peel of bitter
oranges (with blossoms and leaves) were macerated in alcohol and
redistilled to release their essential oils. This was then blended
with neutral spirit or brandy and sugar added.
The French emulated this and use the term triple-sec for their
orange based liqueurs. Although it means triple-dry, most are very
sweet. Cointreau uses bitter and sweet orange peels. Grand Marnier
uses only bitter orange peels but this is blended with cognac and
sugar and then aged. Many of these triple-secs have their inevitable
secret ingredients.The literature says that for curacao/triple sec the orange peels
should be infused in high strength alcohol and then redistilled - in
a pot still I would imagine. It is then blended with water, neutral
spirit or cognac. Grand Marnier is further aged in oak.
I have searched the internet for curacao/triple-sec recipes.
"The Houehold Cyclopedia" (1881) suggests redistilling 60g of fresh
peel in a litre of proof alcohol and 400ml water (see orange cordial
recipe p.18).
A French site suggests redistilling 165g of peel (doesn't say whether
fresh or dry) in a litre of proof alcohol and 250ml of water.
Also
here is a scaled down version of their Curacao recipe:
- 1litre of orange distillate (1/3 of which is a bitter orange
distillate)
- 1.5 litres water
- 1.4 kg white sugar
- 350ml proof spirit (for blending)
I suppose you could use a pure essential orange oil which is usually
used in the proportion of 14 drops (1/2 tsp) per litre of alcohol. The
orange oil could be also used to adjust your own orange distillate.
You could introduce more complexity by making an orange wine (or
mash) and then distilling with added peels. A recipe for 1 gallon
U.S. (4 L) :
- 2 lbs (2 kg) of over-ripe orange pulp (without peel and pith)
- 2 1/4 lbs sugar (1 kg)
- 1 tsp nutrient
- yeast
- water to make 1 gal (4 L)
If you can get orange juice without preservatives you could use 1/2
juice and 1/2 water for 1kg of sugar instead of whole oranges.
An orange liqueur recipe can also be made by solely macerating the
peel in the manner of Limoncello (6 lemons / 3 cups vodka,sugar, added
water to dilute to 30%abv).
To make 1 litre (1 qt) Orange Liqueur:
- 3 large oranges
- 3 cups of vodka
- 1 1/3 cups of fine white sugar
- Pare the rind (no white pith)
- Put peel in a large 4 cup screw-top jar and add 2 cups of vodka,
close and steep for a week until the spirit has absorbed the flavor
- Remove peel and add remaining vodka and sugar.
Orange Bitters is a common ingredient in classic cocktails, but can
be hard to find. Here is a recipe to make your own:
- 225g (1/2lb) dried bitter orange peel (Seville orange)
- 1pinch cardamon
- 1pinch caraway
- 1pinch coriander seeds
- 500ml (2cups) alcohol
- 4tbsp caramel coloring (burnt sugar)
Chop the orange peel finely, add the seeds and pour on alcohol.
Let it stand for 2 weeks, agitating daily. Pour off alcohol through a
cloth and seal again. Take seeds, put in a saucepan, crush, cover
with water and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into another jar, cover and
let stand for 2 days. Strain and add to alcohol. Add caramel
coloring, filter and let it rest until it settles perfectly clear.
I made a lemon vodka from a mash of 25 lemons (peel & juice), 5kg
sugar, 25l water. The lemon flavor came across my reflux still which
produces 75%abv. I did an orange vodka using 15 oranges (peel &
juice). The flavor came across also.
Mashes do contribute to flavor.
One quickly tires of drinking watered down 95.7% neutral spirit, and
adding flavors lacks the complexities that mashes give. Even an
unoaked single malt spirit tastes great. Dutch gins used malted
grain mash that was double distilled. The botanicals were
incorporated in the second distillation. A reflux column which
produces 80%abv could do this in one hit. I personally prefer flavor
complexity over alcohol purity as this requires more artistry (I have
nothing against technomania though).
Citrus liqueurs (e.g. limoncello, agrumino) are made by infusing the
peel in overproof spirit, and then adding water and sugar. It
recommended to be kept in the fridge, although it seems O.K. on
spirit store shelves.
You might have gathered I have plenty of lemon and oranges in the
garden!
Using Nuts
Wal writes ..
Looked up 'Spirits & Cocktails' by Dave Broom. In the section 'The
use of Seeds and Nuts',some of the liqueurs from spice seed and nuts
it mentions are:
- 'Kummel' (Holland & Germany) uses caraway seeds.
- 'Anisette' (France), 'Sambucca' (Italy) uses aniseed.
- 'Malibu' uses coconut pulp
- 'Amaretto' (Italy) uses bitter almond oil and crushed apricot pits.
- 'Noisette' (France) uses green hazelnuts
- 'Nocino' (Italy) uses green walnuts.
- 'Madrono' (Spain) uses the essential oil from walnuts with alcohol.
- Almonds are part of the botanicals for Bombay Sapphire Gin which uses
redistilling.
Therefore it appears you could use walnuts to make a liqueur either
as an infusion with alcohol, or by redistilling crushed nuts in
alcohol. The following recipes might suggest what quantity to use:
'Almond Liqueur' (France)
- 150g sweet almonds
- 70g bitter almonds
- 1 litre 40%vol alcohol
- 500g sugar
'Apricot Kernel Liqueur' (France)
- 200g apricot kernels (they look like almonds)
- 1 litre 40%vol alcohol
- 250g sugar
For ripe walnut liqueurs (by maceration) see:http://gunther.simplenet.com/liqueurs/flavors.htm
Scroll to walnuts.It's a good site for other flavors also.
Fruit with Herbs & Spices
Southern Comfort
Wal writes ...
Cordials (liqueurs) and punches were popular in the U.S. Originally
bourbon whiskey was quite rough, as demand did not allow for aging,
and therfore invited additional flavoring.
Southern Comfort was first
made in New Orleans by the bartender named H.W. Huron in 1870. The
taste is the result of bourbon whiskey, fruit and spice. The whiskey
provides the tastes of caramel and vanilla. The fruit is peach with
orange and some lemon. The spice seems to be just cinnamon. It comes
in 38%abv and 50%abv strengths. Could one emulate the bartender Huron?
- For 1 litre of bourbon whiskey you could experiment by macerating for
10 days and then straining:
- 1-2g cinnamon
- 3 strips of orange peel
- 1 strip of lemon peel
- 1-3 halved peaches
- 1/2 cup sugar
- caramel coloring
I came across Peach and Rose Petal Liqueur, from an 1830 cookbook:
- 1 litre proof alcohol (40%abv).
- 450g honey
- 2-3 handfuls of scented rose petals
- 12 peaches, halved, with pits, and a few pits broken open
- Macerate for at least 2 weeks, then strain.
The quantity of peaches seem excessive - 500g seems sufficient. The
quantity of honey could be halved, at least initially.
HONEY VODKA
Preparing the essence : Combine all ingredients and dissolve in the sprits as much as possible
- 3 grams of Cinnamon.
- 1 gram of cloves.
- 3 grams of ginger.
- 2 grams of nutmeg
- 4 grams of vanilla
- 150 mL of sprits, 60%.
INGREDIENTS: (for 1 litre of product)
- 0.5 kg of honey
- 0.5 Litres of sprits, 95%
- 5-10 mL of essence (see above)
- 4 mL of lemon juice.
- 200 mL of water, approx.
METHOD
In an enamel pot pour the water (200 mL) and bring to boil. Add honey, the pot
should be at least double the height of the water as to prevent the honey from
boiling over. For prefect results, bring the honey to boil and boil for about
a dozen minutes, until all the froth is gone, then turn off the heat.
After the honey has slightly cooled, add lemon juice and essence. Then slowly
pour the sprits into the honey, constantly stirring.
Bottle the drink into large bottles and leave for approx 3-6 months, until
nice and transparent.
As the solution can not be easily filtered, the clear liquid should be
syphoned into another bottle, and only the remaining drink filtered.
The amount of essence added depends on the samplers personal taste, for those
who prefer a strong root flavour upto 10 mL of essence may be added.
COFFEE LIQUEUR
INGREDIENTS
- 100 grams of very fine grounded coffee.
- 2 mL of vanilla essence
- 0.75 Litres of sprits, 45%
- 0.5 Litres of water.
- 0.75 kg of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of milk
METHOD
Combine the coffee, vanilla essence and sprits into a large jar, seal tight a
store for a week, shaking daily.
After a week filter the liquid (without the sedement). Into the bottle with
the remaining sedement, add half of the water (250 mL), when settled, filter
the liquid (without the sedement). Add the other half of the water, and
filter. Discard the sedement.
Dissolve the sugar in the coffee extract and add the milk. Shake well and
store in a cool dark place for one week, until settled. Filter the liquid and
store. Liqueur gains taste after standing of a long time, best after 3-6 months.
Wal writes ...
After a tiring session of distilling ,it's good to take a coffee
break. Adding spirits like rum, cognac, calvados and liqueurs like
Sambucca to coffee is common in Europe, so it's no wonder there are
coffee based liqueurs - two of the most well known are 'Tia Maria'
and 'Kahlua'.
'Tia Maria' comes with a colorful story (yes another one).
"The story of the recipe dates back to the 17th centurry, when
Jamaica was caught up in the colonial wars that raged across the
Caribbean. When one estate was attacked the owners had to flee, and
the young daughter and her maidservant Maria got separated from the
rest of the family. Maria managed to collect her mistress's
possesions, along with a box containing (wait for it) the secret
recipe for the family's coffee liqueur. Years later the girl gave the
recipe to her daughter, who named the liqueur Tia Maria (Aunty Mary)
after the servant." ('Spirits & Cocktails' Dave Broom,1998).
What I can gather is that it is a coffee,
chocolate and spiced rum liqueur. In the West Indies, spices such as
cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, nutmeg, rosemary and pepper are used to
flavor rums. A well known brand is 'Capitan Morgan Original Spiced
Rum' which contains cinnamon, cloves, vanilla. Cinnamon, nutmeg,
vanilla is another combination used in other rums.
'Kahlua' claims to be Mexican, although the original label had a
turban clad figure within Moorish arches. It now has a stereotype
Mexican in a sombrero, in a siesta posture. It is the second biggest
selling liqueur in the world.
There are numerous coffee liqueur recipes. I tried to rationalize
them to the one below, so that one can experiment for themselves:
Kahlua style Coffee Liqueur (using real coffee)
- 2 cups ground coffee beans (medium roast pure arabica beans - Blue
Mountain style would be appropriate)
- 3 cups boiling water
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 3 cups pure alcohol (40%abv)
- 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. glycerin
Combine boiling water and ground coffee, strain through sieve filter
- basically a filtered coffee (or make it using a coffee pluger).
Combine coffee and sugars, in a saucepan and heat for 5 minutes, but
do not boil. Allow to cool.
Stir in alcohol, vanilla, glycerin.
You could try a short cut version with 10 tsp. of premium instant
coffee powder (1/2 cup).
For Tia Maria use a dark spiced rum or make your own using cinnamon,
cloves, vanilla. For the chocolate, we could add 1 tbsp. cocoa
powder, as dark cooking chocolate might contain too much cocoa butter.
Stolen from
Basic Brewing: Introduction to Meads, Wines, Beers, Cordials, and Exotics.
CINNAMON CORDIAL
- 12 stick cinnamon
- 1 qt vodka
- 1 1/3 cp sugar
2 tbsp honey
Place cinnamon sticks in container. Cover with vodka. Let stand for 1
week. Strain into second container. Add sugar and honey. Allow to
clear.
PEPPERED STRAWBERRY CORDIAL
- 4 lb fresh strawberries
- 1 qt vodka
- 1 1/3 cp sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp mace
- 1/2 cinnamon stick (3")
- 4 cloves
- 2 peppercorns
Clean and chop strawberries. Place in 1 gallon jug. Cover with
vodka. Shake well every day for 1 week. Add spices. Let stand for 2
days. Strain into second container. Add sugar and honey. Allow to
clear.
USQUEBATH
(pronounced Oosłkełbah -- Gaelic for "water of life")
- 1 qt vodka
- 1/2 cp sugar
- 2 oz licorice
- 4 oz raisins
- 4 oz dates
- 4 oz figs
- 2 oz anise seed
- 1/4 oz nutmeg (broken)
- 1/4 oz cinnamon
- 1/4 oz ginger
- 0.065g musk (use musk essence)
- 0.065g ambergris (not available these days)
Place all ingredients except musk, ambergreece, and sugar in 1 gallon
jug. Cover with vodka. Let stand in a cool place for 10 days. Shake
well twice a day. Strain into second container. Add sugar. Allow to
clear. Sources: The Queens Closet Opened, W. M., 1655, p. 23
Wal offers a slightly different alternative ..
- 1 litre brandy
- 100g sun dried raisins
- 7g cinnamon
- 7g cloves
- 7g nutmeg
- 7g cardamon
- saffron 3.5g (gives a yellow color)
- 3 strips of Seville orange (bitter orange) peel
- Macerate for 10 days, strain and add 1/2 cup raw sugar
As a whisky cordial (in pursuit of a Drambuie), he's found ..
- 1 litre proof spirit
- 250ml water
- 2g cinnamon
- 2g ginger
- 2g coriander
- 1g mace
- 1g cloves
- 1g cubeb
- Macerate and redistill.
- Steep in 250ml water for 12 hours the following:
- 3.5g English saffron
- 45g sun dried raisins
- 35g dates
- 20g liquorice
- Strain and add to the above.
KNOCKOUT PUNCH
Wal offers ...
According to Websters Dictionary, Punch comes from the Hindi word for
5 - panch. Indians enjoyed a drink with 5 ingredients: arrack
(distilled palm sap wine), sugar, citrus, water, spices. The British
seized this basic formula and made their own variations. For recipes
see:
http://www.epicurious.com/d_drinking/d03_punch/punchintro.html
In Brazil they drink cachaca which is a (usually, although it can be
aged in oak) white rum from sugar cane juice (not molasses). Home
Distillers can make it from raw sugar, in a 2 or 3 stage reflux still
or pot still. Brazilians drink Caipirinha(little peasant girl) which
is made with cachaca and resembles the above punch. It is all the
rage in Europe and the U.S. now.
Recipe:
- 1 cup of cachaca
- 2 fresh limes (segmented, squeezed & bruised to release oils)
(Lime juice and grated lime rind is another alternative)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup of crushed ice
Pour into glasses
A cocktail version:
- 1 lime
- 2oz cachaca (60ml)
- sugar to taste
- ice cubes
Wash lime and roll to release oils. Cut lime in segments. Place in
glass. Add sugar and crush. Add cachaca and stir. Add ice.
This is an excellent way to get your vitamin C!
Emulsions with Eggs or Cream
Whiskey liqueurs - Bailey's Irish Cream
Wal writes ...
This is the world's top-selling liqueur. Gilbey's in Ireland didn't
know what to do with its surplus of spirit, but luckily someone came
up with the idea of a bottled Irish coffee. It was launched in 1975
and was an immediate success because it contains everything doctors
say is good for you - alcohol, rich cream, caffeine. It is 17%abv. If
we assume that it is basically an Irish coffee with different
proportions, here is a possible recipe to try out on your
wife/partner/girlfriend:
Bailey's Irish Cream
- 500 ml. (2 cups) rich (double) cream (the light has thickeners)
- 500 ml. (2 cups) Irish style whiskey (40%av)
- 3-4 tsp. instant coffee (real coffee is acidic, which might curdle the
cream)
- 1 cup of sugar
- Blend and refrigerate.
There are recipes using condensed milk substitutes, but why not go for
the real O'Connor.There is a recipe for a substitute Cream Base from
http://www.gunther.simplenet.com/liqueurs/creambas.htm.
Advocaat
Alcohol is suitable to emulsify and preserve creamy ingredients.
Advocaat, a Dutch speciality, is an alcoholic egg yolk emulsion. In
Germany it is known as 'eierlikor' or 'eiercognac'. Dave Broom in
'Spirits & cocktails' says this about its origins:
"Its original incarnation was as a planter's drink in Holland's
Brazilian enclaves, where the fruit of the abacate tree would be
fermented and drunk. When the planters returned home they found that
abacate trees were distinctly thin on the ground and, warping the
original name to advocaat, decided to use eggs instead."
'Abacate' is portugese for avocado, in French it's 'avocat'.
I could not find any reference to fermenting avocadoes, and it does
not seem to me to be a suitable fruit (being high in oil) to ferment.
In Brazil, avocadoes are popular as a dessert though, and there is a
recipe for 'creme de abacate' (avocado cream). The main product of
the former Dutch colony of Suriname was sugar cane, and I can imagine
that white rum could have been added to an avocado cream to make a
local specialty. Perhaps our Dutch distillers could help here. In the
Philippines you see avocado ice cream and avocado milkshake, so the
idea is not that weird.
Although there are recipes for Advocaat that have milk, condensed
milk or cream, the original only uses egg yolks. 'Warninks' is a
popular Dutch brand. For those who do not have a cholesterol problem
here is a recipe from a Dutch site,
(http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/recipes/adh.htm):
Advocaat
- 10 egg yolks
- 2 pkts. vanilla sugar (or 2 tsp. extract, or 1 stick of vanilla)
- 250 g. (1 cup) sugar
- 500 ml. (2 cups) brandy or gin 40%abv
- 250 ml. (1 cup) water
- Beat egg yolks and sugar, add diluted gin and vanilla.
It would be advisable to add lecithin as an emulsifier, otherwise you
need to keep shaking the bottle all the time. About 5 grams (1 tsp.)
should be sufficient.
For those who have a cholesterol problem or do not like eggs, we
could attempt to resurrect the original avocado version. Avocadoes
oxidise (turn brown) easily, so acid needs to be added. Ascorbic
acid, is a good anti-oxidant, and could be added additionally. Try
this as an alcoholic version of 'creme de abacate':
Creme d'avocat (Avocado cream liqueur)
- 3 large ripe avocadoes (yellow inside)
- juice of 1 lime (or lemon)
- 250 g. sugar (1 cup)
- 500 ml. (2 cups) white rum
- 250 ml. (1 cup) water
- 5 g. (1 tsp. lecithin)
- Blend avocado pulp, sugar and lime juice and lecithin. Blend in
diluted white rum. It should be absolutely smooth and creamy. Vanilla
is not normally added to 'creme de abacate'.
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