Well it's raspberry season for me, so I have a jar of raspberry liqueur brewing on the counter :^)
Do I have to wait for 3 months before I can try it?

Laurie,

If you want to try it before the 3 months, go ahead, it will taste great! But that is what the recipe says so...that is what I have done. Usually we are still finishing last year's batches at this time of year.

BTW, the fruit, that is left when you strain the mixture later, tastes good too!

Brenda

Cool, thanks Brenda I was hoping you would post the recipes! Off to find some fruit...

Oh yeah and what kind of jar lid do you use? A sealer jar, or a mason jar, or just something with a screw-on lid like a mayonnaise jar?

Ok...this may be a silly question...but for the nanking (cause I have lots right now...) do you need to pit them first or can you throw them in whole??

Gillian, I used a 2 quart sealer(gem) jar with a metal lid. It fit perfectly for the raspberry recipe.

Verena, I think you just put the cherries in whole and strain the pits out later. That's what I would do anyway. That's a lot of work pitting tiny cherries!

Brenda, so I just leave the jar out on the counter? It doesn't have to be refridgerated now or later when it's done?

Kind of jar...I just use an empty l litre cheeze whiz jar (2 cups fruit with 1 1/2 cups vodka and 1 1/2 cups sugar fits perfectly...a half batch) or an empty l litre canning jar. But I like the cheeze whiz jar because of its lid.

No refridgeration needed now or later, just put the jar(s)on the counter. Actually, that way you will also remember to shake it once a day. There is enough alcohol in the solution that it does not have to be in the fridge. When I make bailey's then I put it into the fridge because of the cream and the condensed milk ingredients.

Do not pit any of the fruit. It is not necessary. You will be straining them later anyways...and eating the fruit.

Nanking cherry liqueur is one of our favorite liqueurs...after homemade Bailey's.

I would like to try red currant liqueur 'cause our 2 bushes are just loaded with fruit. I know it will take a while to pick them cause the fruit is so small and then I need to clean them which could take a while also.

Let me know how your liqueurs turn out...come 3 months...mid October. We will all need some warmth by then I am sure.

Brenda

Oh good!!...I just went out and picked all my nankings...didn't take long...but I have just the right ammount to do two jars. Glad I don't have to pit the little suckers... :o) I've heard of doing 'preserved lemons' in a similar way...they're supposed to be quite good to, and you can use the lemons in certain recipes. I might have to scrounge up that one and give it a try too. (And go buy some more vodka! LOL!)

I just noticed that I've got quite a few of the Evans cherries starting to ripen. Might just have to talk DH into picking up a 40 of vodka soon.
The Evans are quite a bit bigger than the nanking cherries. Do you still think 4 cups of fruit would be enough? They're also a bit more tart than nanking, so I wonder if they'd need more sugar?

Laurie, the mixture is very concentrated and sweet. With some of the recipes I started off with some sugar, writing down how much I added and then when it was getting close to the 3 months and I sampled it, finding out it was not sweet enough, and I added more sugar then. You could do that if you wanted to. The black currant and chokecherry were ones I had to add more sugar to.

Evans...larger berries...you could cut them in half if you want to.

4 cups enough...I guess it depends upon how much Evans cherry liqueur you want to sip on this winter, if you use 8 cups you just have to double the amount of vodka and sugar you use... then I would use a 4 litre glass jar if I were you.

Brenda (who pulled weeds all evening instead of picking the red currants and now also has a pail of fresh pea pods to shell and freeze before going to bed)

Ok, thanks. I'll just stick to the 4 cups and taste test it later for sweetness.

Ooooohhhhh. Off to buy a 40 of vodka. Thanks for the recipes. I wonder if you could use whiskey to make a cherry whiskey.
Shelley

Anyone been taste testing???

And who tried making some this year?

Brenda

Brenda,

My husband (he is from Europe) has been making vodka with sour cherry. He adds some sugar as well but not too much. We had it for a number of years now. He actually put the sugar and sour cherry in a bottle and let it sit in the sun for a number of weeks and then add the vodka. Everybody likes it cause he doesn't make it too sweet especially the men. You can feel it going down your throat :P

venuscat

Brenda, I made the raspberry. Just tasted it tonight. Awesome. I'm going to do some apple as well. My mom just dropped off another box of pie apples. And a guy that I work with said he'd bring me some crabapples. So I'll have to try both to see which ones better. Next year hopfully my cherries will produce.
I have a recipe book for homemade liqueurs and I had a chance to check it out again. Brandy was another suggestion that they used for making batches of the fruit ones.
Shelley

Ok, I just sampled my Evan's cherry liqueur, and boy is it terrific! The smell is to die for. I can just imagine how good this would be in Black Forest Cake, or in a chocolate fondue, mmmmmmmmm. Might have to eat those cherries tonight for a nightcap! ;^)
I will have to find some cheese cloth for the raspberry one though, as it's pretty mushy.

Thanks for those recipes Brenda!

Any cloth will do, Laurie, don't go out and buy cheesecloth. Do you have an old tea towel or a piece of cotton?

Yes, they are great, aren't they? Guess I should sample each of mine too.

Brenda

Laurie, I used coffee filters and put them in a funnel. My liqueur was clear as bell. They did clog up so I would move the filter around so it would drain in a different spot. It worked better on the apple. I hope my cherries produce next year so I can try some of that. I'm going to try pomegranate liqueur when I can find some pomegranates. I'm sure that would be yummy too.
Shelley

Shelley, yes, I've used coffee filters in the past for my apple juice, and it worked great. I've since picked up a small, fine netted seive for the apple juice, and after examining the raspberries in the liqueur, they didn't look as mushy as I thought. So the seive worked great for them too. The raspberry liqueur is mighty tasty as well! But you just can't beat the cherry smell on the Evan's cherry liqueur. This year I had enough cherries to make pie filling too, and it too has such an intense cherry flavour and smell, that it beats the socks off the canned cherry pie filling! At the time, when I was pitting all those cherries by hand, I didn't think it would be worth it, but it was. Btw, does anyone know where I could find a reasonably priced cherry pitter? McFayden's had a crank, table top version for $30 or $35, but I thought that was a bit pricey.

I made some red current liqueur a few months ago. Should I have strained it already? Does it matter when I do it? Thanks!

David, go ahead and strain it whenever you wish. It will have sat long enough and will be ready. BTW, the red currents would be good to nibble on also so be sure to at least try them.

Laurie, sorry I can't help with the finding of a cherry pitter. My cousin in Kelowna had a little hand held cherry pitter. One side had a hole in it, one side had a sharp stick/tube in the center of it. She put the cherry in between it and when she squeezed it shut it would cause the pit to be pushed out the hole. Wonder if something like that is available anywhere for you to get?

Brenda

Laurie, I looked at e-bay to see what there are out there for cherry pitters - seems like they are readily available. You could probably get one at a specialty kitchen store. Pampered Chef makes one, don't know what it's like but most of their stuff is good quality (if a bit of a rip-off since it's a "product party" product).

Today I made a batch of Pomegranate Liqueur. I'll let you know in a week or so what I think of it.
My raspberry and apple have been a hit. I've been making Raspberry Paralizers out of the raspberry liqueur and they are very yummy.
FYI I much prefer the pie apple over the crabapple liqueur. It has a much sharper apple taste.
Shelley

Brenda, yes, that sounds like the type of cherry pitter I was wanting.

Gillian, thanks for checking ebay out for me. I never think to look there. It's been years since I've been to a Pampered Chef party, but I know they are pricey. My MIL checked at a Rafters store, and they said that because they had so many other people inquiring about them that they'd see if they could get some in. So I'll have go back and check there again.

Shelley, you've made some intrigueing liqueurs there. I have to admit that I've never tried pomagranates before. Are they similar in taste to any other fruit? And how can you tell when they're ripe enough to eat?

Laurie

Shelley, do you have a recipe for your raspberry paralyzer?

I googled paralyzer recipes and found this one that I thought was applicable for you...

Saskatchewan Paralyzer
1/2 oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur
1/2 oz premium vodka
2 oz cola
3 oz 2% milk
1 maraschino cherry

Brenda

I made some nanking cherry...not sure...maybe it's an aquired taste?? The initial sip is nice but the after-taste leaves something to be desired...hmmm...maybe I should try it after I've had a few...LOL (I don't drink beer for the same reason...but after a couple it tastes alright too... ;-)

I love paralizers... But here in Alberta we make 'em stronger ;-p

1 oz. Kaluah (Homemade with swish)
1 oz. vodka
2 oz. cola
3 oz. milk (or cream...depending on how fattening you want it)

All you more experienced drinkers probably already know this, but, if you mix the Kaluah, vodka and cola first, then stir it really well to get all the fizz out of the pop before you add the milk then you won't have to worry about it curdling...the curdled paralizer used to be my signature drink before I figured that out...I called it "The Dog's Breakfast"...LOL...YUCK!

Laurie- As far as pomegranate taste, I think that they are quite unique. But if I had to pick a common fruit that they were somewhat similar to I would have to say a strong red grape. I don't know how to tell if they are ripe. They always seem to be. If they are soft then they are starting to rot.

Brenda- That is a similar recipe that I use with the exception of less coke. I just substitute the Raspberry Liqueur for the Kahlua. And when making any paralyzer, we add the coke last. It won't curdle this way either.
You might also like the Raspberry Russian which is the same except for the coke. Another liquer that you could add instead of the vodka is Creme de Cacao. Or keep the Kahlua.

Shelley

All this talk about drinks is really making me want a paralizer! That's one I haven't had in years, and it used to be a favorite.

Well, I went grocery shopping yesterday and Safeway had pomegranates on sale for $2, so I picked one up and we all loved it! It's a very nice nibbler to have in front of the tv. And I also had it with another drink that I haven't had in years, Frangelico with chocolate milk. Anyone ever tried that? It's another very yummy one!

I finally sampled my pomegranate liqueur. Very yummy and unique. I'm sure that you will never be able to buy anything similar. I'll be making more next pomegranate season.

Shelley

Can you use blackberries for the liquor. The store bought one is good. This one should be better if can be used.

Mrian,

Any fresh fruit should work. Try it. Let us know how it turns out.

Brenda

I follow this blog and she is a pretty dedicated wine maker. Maybe someone will like the information.

Clayton

Here is a link that might be useful: Providence Acres Farm

I'm going to try to make your liqueur with red curants in 90% alchol which is on the market here in Italy. Think I may try also using a good white wine. What do think? Here in Italy they make Genziana (gentian, the dictionary tells me) using thre root of this plant, or with the alchol or with White wine.