Homebrew Underground

Step Three: Straining, Filtering and Clarifying

After the sugar infusion it will be time to strain the fruit out of the liqueur. Shown below is a shot of the liqueur after the sugar has been allowed to macerate for 4 weeks.

Using a saucepan and kitchen strainer, pour the contents of the jar into the strainer.

Pour the strained, infused spirit through a metal coffee filter into a clean 2 qt. Mason jar.

Use cheesecloth to strain the remaining liquid from the fruit. Add the remaining strained liqueur to the Mason jar as in the previous step by straining it through the metal coffee filter.

Shown below is a shot of the strained liqueur. Allow it to settle for about 3 to 4 weeks.

After the liqueur has been allowed to settle for about 3 to 4 weeks, filter it through a paper towel into a clean, 2 qt. Mason jar. This is the first filtering. Allow to settle for another 3 weeks or so and do a second filtering with paper coffee filters.

After filtering through paper coffee filters, the liqueur should be clarified and ready to bottle.

You can make a great cocktail with this liqueur – the Pomegranate Daiquiri.

This is a recipe for black currant liqueur (cassis – or creme de cassis) that you can make with dried fruit. The advantage here is that black currants are only in season for a very short time in December. I made this liqueur starting in July. It is made with dried black currants.

After I made it I wanted to make some more in October. The problem was all the dried black currants were gone and I would have to wait until after the next crop after December. I bought the dried black currants at Trader Joe’s here in Southern California.

When I first made this recipe, I’ll admit I was a little skeptical. I wasn’t sure if it would come out allright because I was using dried fruit. My idea was to simply infuse the black currant flavor into vodka. Once I added the dried fruit to the vodka, I could tell the next day that it was going to work. You could see that the mixture was thickening up and that when the jar was agitated, the inside of the jar was coated with a nice reddish-blue color.

This recipe is similar to the recipe for cherry liqueur here at this website. The general idea is that you macerate the fruit with vodka for 4 weeks, then you add sugar and let it macerate for an additional 4 weeks, then you strain it to separate the fruit. Then you let it age and clarify for a few months, then filter it and bottle it.

Step One: Infusion

Shown below is a shot of all the ingredients: sugar, vodka, dried black currants plus a 2 qt. Mason jar.

Add the dried black currants to the Mason jar, then measure out the vodka and add it to the jar. Use a measuring cup.

Shown below is a shot of the batch. Shake the jar to thoroughly mix the ingredients, then set it aside to macerate for 4 weeks. Periodically shake the jar to mix the ingredients. To facilitate clarification, do not shake during the last week just prior to straining.

Step Two: Adding Sugar

After macerating for 4 weeks it is time to add the sugar. Measure out the sugar and add it to the jar.

Shake thoroughly to completely dissolve all of the sugar. Make sure all of the sugar gets dissolved. Set the jar aside for another 4 weeks.

Continue to Black Currant Liqueur Recipe – Part II

Step Two: Straining, Filtering and Clarifying

Shown below is a photo of the infused spirit after macerating for 4 weeks. It is ready to strain.

Using a metal coffee filter, carefully pour off any clarified part into a clean 2 qt. Mason jar.

When all the infused spirit has been poured out, empty the contents of the jar into the filter and let it strain naturally for 10 – 15 minutes to recover as much spirit as possible. Discard the strainings afterwards. Normally I would try to press the strainings through a cheesecloth, but in this case these remains are very bitter and cloudy and will only spoil the flavor and clarity.

Shown below is a photo of the strained, infused spirit. Set it aside for 3 to 4 weeks to allow it to clarify. The sediments will settle to the bottom of the jar and you can rack off the clarified part.

After 3 or 4 weeks the infused spirit should be mostly clarified. At this time carefully rack off the clarified part into a clean 2 qt. Mason jar. You can see the difference. It is totally clarified.

Sweetening and Blending

Note: Blending a number of batches may produce unexpected results. The batches may become cloudy when blended together. If you have more than one jar to blend, then I strongly suggest that you wait and see if the infused spirit becomes cloudy when you blend the batches. If so, then wait an additional 4 weeks or so the allow the infused spirit to clarify again, then rack off the clarified part, then filter it with paper coffee filters to remove any "sludge."

Shown below is a shot of the clarified infused spirit, standard sugar syrup and a measuring cup.

Combine one part infused spirit with one part standard sugar syrup. It is now ready to bottle and serve!

My goal in developing this recipe was to create a homebrew orange liqueur that I could use as a mixer. I wanted a good substitute for Cointreau that I could use in cocktail recipes.

Cointreau is 40% ABV (alcohol by volume). That is rather high for a liqueur. Most liqueurs range from 18% to 22% ABV. In my first attempt I tried using straight vodka for the spirit component when I first began to experiment with this recipe. Vodka, like most spirit (e.g. brandy or gin) is usually 40% ABV and after adding sugar syrup the finished liqueur was around 20% ABV. It was horrible!

After that first failure, I began to see why Cointreau was so much higher in alcohol content than other liqueurs. I discovered that to make a good orange liqueur, the alcohol content would need to be more than usual. It definitely needed more "zing."

In later attempts I used grain alcohol plus vodka and brandy for the spirit component. The grain alcohol raised the alcohol content and the brandy gave the liqueur some depth. The grain alcohol brand is Everclear. It has an alcohol content of 75.5% ABV and it is available in liquor stores. When made according to this recipe, the final ABV should be somewhere around 26%. The finished liqueur works as a substitute for Cointreau in most drink recipes. You can find recipes here in the blog for a Margarita and a Cosmopolitan.

Step One: Infusion

Shown below is a shot of all the ingredients. Back row, left to right: brandy, 2 qt Mason jar, vodka and grain alcohol (Everclear). Front row, left to right: sweet orange peels, bitter orange peels, fresh kumquats, cloves and cinnamon sticks.

One of the key ingredients for this homebrew orange liqueur recipe is bitter orange peel. I decided to use it to add contrast to the sweet orange peel and kumquat flavors. Cointreau is also made with bitter orange peels. The point here is to add a little bit of bitterness to the sweet flavors.

To the left is a shot of the bitter orange peels. Bitter orange peel (also called "Curaçao orange peel", aurantium amarae pericarpium) is available under the brand name "Brewer’s Garden", which is available from most homebrew supply stores. This botanical is used for flavoring other popular citrus liqueurs (Triple Sec, Curaçao and Cointreau) and Belgian Ale.

Kumquats also lend their sweet and bitter flavors to this liqueur recipe. As a kid when I was growing up, one of our neighbors had a kumquat tree in their backyard and we used to raid the tree and eat them raw when they were ripe and juicy. The kumquat has a natural balance of sweet and bitter. The fruit and pulp is bitter, but the rind is sweet. With most varieties of oranges, the opposite is true. For example, with Navel and Valencia oranges, the fruit and pulp is sweet but the rind is bitter.

Remove the button from each kumquat then cut them into wedges similar to the photo below.

Add sweet and bitter dried orange peels to a clean 2 qt. Mason jar then add 1 cup distilled water. Wait about 4 hours to allow orange peels to rehydrate.

Add the wedged fruit and other botanicals plus the spirit to the jar with the rehydrated orange peels, then shake vigorously to thoroughly mix all the ingredients. Set aside and allow to macerate for 4 weeks. Periodically shake the jar to mix the ingredients, but don’t shake during the last week to facilitate clarification.

Continue to Orange Kumquat Liqueur Recipe – Part II

If you want to make cherry liqueur, then now is the time to do it. Yesterday I was shopping at Whole Foods and I noticed that dark, sweet cherries were $4.99/lb. The price doesn’t get any better than that and they looked ripe, juicy and sweet! I decided that now is the time to make cherry liqueur.

I have tried making dark cherry liqueur in the off-season with frozen cherries, but the results were not as good as when I used fresh cherries.

So I spent the afternoon pitting cherries and prepping a batch of dark cherry liqueur for this season:

If you want to make a batch, you can find the recipe here.

Part IV – Blending and Bottling

Shown below is a shot of the blending ingredients – back row, left to right: clarified infused spirits, standard sugar syrup, standard caramel syrup. Front row: vanilla extract, measuring cup.

Boil down the standard sugar syrup to 90% of its original volume to thicken it slightly.

In this case we start with 10 oz of standard sugar syrup. After boiling down we have 9 oz. Add to this 5 oz of caramel syrup. It is necessary to blend the caramel syrup with the boiled down sugar syrup otherwise the boiled down sugar syrup will crystallize if allowed to cool by itself.

Allow the blending stock to cool completely before adding it to the infused spirit. The point is to avoid the possibility that any of the alcohol will evaporate if it were mixed hot. Shown below is a jar with the blending stock.

Add the blending stock and vanilla extract to the clarified infused spirits according to these proportions: 4 parts infused spirit, 6 parts blending stock, 1/4th part vanilla extract.

Shown below is a comparison shot of real Kahlua next to my homemade Kahlua.

Part III – Filtering and Clarifying

Allow the infused spirit to clarify and settle for about 3 to 4 weeks, then setup 2 clean Mason jars side by side. Place a paper coffee filter in a coffee filter funnel over the other jar. Slowly and carefully rack off the clarified part into the first jar …

… then pour the remainder through the paper filter in the other jar. You do this to be able to continue pouring slowly without tipping the jar back and mixing up the sediments. If you were to pour straight into the filter, you would have to wait for it to clear to pour the rest out of the jar and there would be too much of a chance you would tip the jar back and mix it up.

Allow all the spirit to completely filter into the jar.

There should be a little sediment remaining in the original jar. Discard it.

Shown below is a shot of the clarified infused spirit combined into one jar. It is now ready to blend and bottle.

Continue to Homemade Kahlua Recipe – Part IV

Part II – Straining After Maceration

Shown below is a shot of the jar after 4 weeks. Don’t shake the jar during the final week of maceration to help rack off the clarified part.

Strain the infused spirit by CAREFULLY pouring it though a metal coffee filter. Pour slowly to rack off any clarified part first.

Allow to strain for about 15 – 20 minutes to collect as much infused spirit as possible. Set aside for about 3 to 4 weeks when done.

Continue to Homemade Kahlua Recipe – Part III

There are many recipes for homemade Kahlua® on the Internet. Some are simple and can be made very quickly using instant coffee and others require more time to make. I decided to make Kahlua (coffee liqueur) and tried a few of the available recipes. I discovered in a very short time that in order to make a good quality coffee liqueur I would have to figure out how to add the coffee flavor without the coffee becoming bitter or without the liqueur becoming too watery. These were the first obstacles to overcome.

The finished liqueur must be of a certain viscosity and alcohol content. If coffee is brewed in water, then the liqueur will be watery and will have a low alcohol content. You can get around this problem by using instant coffee. I tried several different instant coffees – some freeze dried and others heat dried – and I found that all instant coffee is bitter. There is just no way around it.

I had the idea that I could simply infuse ground coffee directly into spirit – totally cold – and that was the breakthrough. It worked. By infusing ground coffee directly into the spirits I was able to use any commercially available coffee. Real Kahlua is made from 100% gourmet Arabica coffee beans. I felt that it was necessary to use 100% gourmet Arabica coffee in my recipe as well so I found an online source at Dr. Soda.

Real Kahlua also has a unique aroma that comes from cane spirit, which is a cousin of rum. You don’t find cane spirit in too many liquor stores, but Bacardi rum is widely available. I found that Bacardi Superior rum does impart an aroma and flavor that is very close to real Kahlua so that is my first choice for the spirit used to make this liqueur.

Real Kahlua is also made with some caramel so my recipe uses standard caramel syrup along with some standard sugar syrup. Real Kahlua is a fairly viscous liqueur so it is necessary to boil down the standard sugar syrup to 90% of its original volume to obtain the desired viscosity. If you use too much caramel, the liqueur will have an undesirable, lingering aftertaste. This recipe calls for the making of a blending stock with the right combination of caramel and sugar syrups to obtain a smooth tasting finished product.

Part I – Infusing the Coffee

Shown below is a shot of the ingredients and 2 Qt. Mason jar. Bacardi rum will impart a better aroma (shown below: back row, middle), but you can use a cheaper brand of rum (e.g. Ron Caballero – shown below: back row, right).

Measure and add the coffee to the jar, then measure and add the rum.

Here is a shot of all the ingredients shaken up and ready to set aside for maceration. The ratio of rum to coffee is 4 to 1. In this case I added 5 cups rum and 1 1/4 cups of coffee.

Continue to Homemade Kahlua Recipe – Part II

Final Step – Blending and Bottling

Shown below is a shot of the blending ingredients (left to right starting in the back): 1 jar (2 batches) of clarified infused spirits, standard caramel syrup, standard sugar syrup, Smirnoff No. 57 100 Proof Vodka, vanilla extract and measuring cup.

Boil down the standard sugar syrup to 90% of its original voume to thicken it. Start with 10 oz, then boil for about 5 minutes then check it.

Pour the boiled down sugar syrup into a measuring cup You should have 9 oz when done. Then add 5 oz of caramel syrup. Allow to cool completely. Tip: pour the mixture into a Mason jar and put it in a sink or basin filled with ice water. This will cool it down within about 20 minutes.

Allow the mixture of syrups to completely cool down. This will be your blending stock. I use Smirnoff No. 57 for blending because it is very smooth.

Finally, blend it with the infused spirits and the proportionate amount of Smirnoff No. 57 100 proof Vodka according to the recipe, then add the vanilla extract. In the shot below the finished liqueur was made with 2 batches of the recipe. In other words, I started with 10 cups of vodka (in two Mason jars). I combined the two batches into one jar after the second infusion.

Shown below is a shot of the finished, bottled Tropical Coffee Liqueur.