Homebrew Underground

This is another non-alcoholic drink made with pomegranate juice concentrate, fresh orange juice and club soda. It is naturally sweetened so no additional sweetener is needed. Pomegranate juice concentrate is available online. My favorite brand is FruitFast from brownwoodacres.com. It is highly concentrated. Normally, water would be added to make pomegranate juice, but in this recipe club soda is added. It is loaded with antioxidants and is very delicious.

Blue agave syrup (also called agave nectar or blue agave sweetener) is made from the blue agave plant grown in Mexico. It is much sweeter than sugar and more healthy because it has a lower glycemic index than sugar. It is similar to honey – being very viscous although it is less viscous than honey plus it dissolves quickly in cold beverages. Depending on how it is processed, it can be light or dark amber in color.

Blue agave syrup is made from the same plant that is used to make tequila (the blue agave plant). In fact, when used as a sweetener in a non-alcoholic drink with lime juice, lemon juice and club soda, it seems to impart some of the unique flavor of a Margarita.

Stevia extract is a natural sweetener that is 300 times sweeter than sugar. A couple of our recipes in previous posts used to have Splenda in the ingredients list, but in light of some recent findings about possible health risks, we have replaced Splenda with Stevia because we feel it is a healthier choice.

According to SplendaInfo.com "Splenda is not a natural product and is not grown or cultivated as a natural product would be." Stevia, on the other hand, is a plant extract and although not without some controversy, is clearly a better, more health conscious choice.

The Cranberry Cooler is made with homemade Amaretto Liqueur (or DiSaronno Originale), vodka, cranberry juice and orange juice. It is a fruity cocktail that is served in a highball glass. Use 100% cranberry juice and fresh orange juice for best results.

This is a classic cocktail that you can bottle as a ready mix. It makes a really great gift. This recipe uses homemade Orange Kumquat Liqueur (or substitute with Cointreau), 100% blue agave tequila and fresh lime juice. You will need to obtain some 750 ml wine bottles. I used screw top wine bottles for my project (with plastic tops) because it was convenient for me. I don’t have a corker and the screw tops make a good seal.

I used Puerto Vallarta Blanco Tequila (100% blue agave tequila). It is also a good idea to strain the fresh squeezed lime juice through a small strainer when adding it to the mix. I used the smallest size strainer in the photo here. Straining the lime juice is necessary to remove the pulp. This is truly a premium Margarita cocktail. The Orange Kumquat liqueur has a unique, distinctive flavor that adds a special character to this drink recipe.

I also made a custom label with some directions on how to prepare the cocktail. Look for the custom label template and layouts in a future page in the Bottles and Labels section of the website. Also check this page for the seals (hoods).

You can find 750 ml wine bottles from most homebrew supply that sells winemaking equipment and supplies. You can search for "wine bottles" in Google to find many sources.

This a great cocktail ready mix that you can bottle and give away as a gift. It is made with homebrew Black Currant Liqueur (cassis or creme de cassis), pomegranate juice, light rum and fresh lime juice. You will need to obtain some 750 ml wine bottles. I used screw top wine bottles for my project (with plastic tops) because it was convenient for me. I don’t have a corker and the screw tops make a good seal.

I used Bacardi rum and 100% pomegranate juice from Trader Joe’s. It is also a good idea to strain the fresh squeezed lime juice through a small strainer when adding it to the mix. I used the smallest size strainer in the photo here. Straining the lime juice is necessary to remove the pulp.

I also made a custom label with some directions on how to blend the cocktail with crushed ice. Look for the custom label template and layouts in a future page in the Bottles and Labels section of the website. Also check this page for the seals (hoods).

You can find 750 ml wine bottles from most homebrew supply that sells winemaking equipment and supplies. You can search for "wine bottles" in Google to find many sources.

This a great cocktail recipe you can make with homebrew Black Currant Liqueur (cassis or creme de cassis). You can also bottle this recipe and give it away as a gift. The trick is to make sure the mixture is chilled enough and that you use enough crushed ice so it will blend until slushy. See the tip below for pre-chilling the blender.

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.

Wait for another 3 to 4 weeks and allow the infused spirits to settle. The lighter cloudy parts will rise to the top and the heavier sediments will settle to the bottom. You want to rack off just the cloudy parts on top first. Pour about half of the the strained, infused spirit through a metal coffee filter into a clean 2 qt. Mason jar. That should separate the cloudy parts.

Filter the remaining part through a paper towel into another clean, 2 qt. Mason jar. This will remove bigger impurities and won’t clog as fast as a paper coffee filter.

Allow the infused spirits to settle again for another 3 to 4 weeks and then repeat the filtering process only this time rack off the cloudy top part and filter it with a paper towel into one jar and then filter the remainder into another jar using paper coffee filters. Be patient. Clarification can take some time. You may have to repeat the process over and over a few times – allow to settle for a few weeks, then filter and rack off the infused spirits each time.

When you no longer see the cloudy parts floating at the top, the infused spirits are clarified and ready for blending. After filtering through paper coffee filters, the liqueur should be clarified and ready for blending.

Step Four: Blending and Bottling

I prefer to blend the liqueur because it tends to come out a little bit sour at this stage. You don’t want to blend with straight sugar (or sugar syrup) alone. That tends to kill some of the flavor. Instead you want to blend with a little 100 proof vodka plus a little sugar. This will take away the sourness without killing any of the flavor.

Shown below is a photo of all the ingredients ready for blending. Make a blending stock from 1 part sugar and 8 parts 100 proof vodka. I like to use Smirnoff No. 57 because it is very smooth. The finished blended liqueur should be somewhere around 3 parts clarified infused spirits plus a little less than 1 part blending stock. Don’t use too much blending stock because it will tend to make the liqueur too strong. Still, these proportions will put the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV) to somewhere around 30% for this liqueur.

Bottle the liqueur when you are done!

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

(UPDATED – October 2011) 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, 2008. It is made with dried black currants.

After I made it I wanted to make some more in October, 2008. 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 (please see later posts for where to buy dried black currants in the U.S.).

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 while you rack off the clarified parts, then blend 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