This chapter is about flavouring wines and spirits with fruit and herbs to make delicious liqueurs. These are easy to prepare, keep for ages and make wonderful presents. Some are alleged to have health benefits and improve the digestion! I’ve also included a delightful infusion to have at the end of a meal or before bedtime to help you relax and unwind.
Orange-Flavoured Wine
Make this in January in the Seville orange season and come the summer you’ll thank yourself. Serve this deliciously fragrant drink on the rocks as an aperitif or use it as a base for cocktails instead of vermouth. It’s best to use Seville oranges, as their bitterness is just right for this drink, but if you can’t get them I suggest you double up on the lemons. It’s worth making quite a large quantity, as a bottle of this makes a lovely gift.
Makes about 3.5 litres
3 X 75CL BOTTLES OF DRY WHITE WINE
750ML CLEAR EAU DE VIE OR VODKA
360G CASTER SUGAR
6 SEVILLE ORANGES
1 SWEET ORANGE
2 LEMONS
4 FRESH BAY LEAVES
Pour the wine and eau de vie or vodka into a large nonreactive container – a plastic brewing kit bucket is ideal. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves.
Wash the fruit well, then cut it up into small bite-sized pieces, collecting any juice that runs.
Add the fruit and bay leaves to the bucket and mix well. Cover tightly and leave to macerate for at least 90 days, stirring every now and then.
Pass the mixture though a fine sieve, pressing gently, then line the sieve with cheesecloth or muslin and pass it through again. Pour into sterilised bottles, seal and store for at least another month before drinking.
Blackcurrant Liqueur
Use this liqueur for making a classic Kir (with white wine) or Kir royale (with champagne), or serve it over ice as an aperitif. It can also be made with blackberries or a mix of blackberries and blackcurrants.
Makes about 1.5 litres
500G BLACKCURRANTS
500G CASTER SUGAR
1 BOTTLE OF FULL-BODIED RED WINE (SYRAH OR MALBEC)
300ML EAU DE VIE OR VODKA
Wash the fruit, put it in a pan and crush it with a potato masher. Add the sugar and the red wine. Bring to a simmer, skim the surface, then pour everything into a bowl. Cover and leave to macerate in the fridge for 36 hours.
Pass the mixture though a very fine sieve into a clean bowl, add the eau de vie or vodka, then decant into sterilised wine bottles or old-fashioned lemonade bottles with stoppers.
Seal and leave for a couple of months before using. (See picture here.)
CERISES À L’EAU DE VIE (GRIOTTINES)
Cherries in Alcohol
In France you can buy clear fruit alcohol for macerating fruit, but this works just as well with brandy or with vodka, which is what I’ve used here. Any variety of cherry is fine, but adjust the sugar if you have a really sour variety. I like to use the cherries as a garnish for cocktails or to give a kick to fruit salads or a bowl of ice cream – and the liqueur can be served over ice or as part of a champagne cocktail.
Makes 3 x 500ml jars
500G CHERRIES
200G CASTER SUGAR
750ML GOOD-QUALITY VODKA
250ML PORT
2 CINNAMON STICKS
Wash the cherries and remove any damaged or bruised ones. Mix the sugar with the vodka and port.
Place the cherries in sterilised, sealable jars and add the cinnamon sticks. Pour in the liquid and shake the jars a little to settle the cherries. They must be completely covered by the liquid – top up with a little more vodka if necessary.
Place in a cool dark place for at least 4 months and give the jars a shake from time to time.
INFUSION DE GINGEMBRE ET CITRONNELLE
Ginger & Lemongrass Infusion
I first tasted this in Mauritius and it’s also popular in the Seychelles. It aids the digestion so is a lovely way to round off a rich or spicy meal. It’s also good served cold and it’s a great detox drink.
Serves 1
1 STICK OF LEMONGRASS
2 THICK SLICES OF FRESH ROOT GINGER
250ML JUST-BOILED WATER
1 TBSP HONEY (OPTIONAL)
Bash the lemongrass with the back of a knife to bruise it and release its aroma. Put it in a pot or jug with the ginger. Pour on the boiling water and leave to steep for 10 minutes. Stir in the honey, if using.
Wormwood Liqueur
Wormwood is a mountain plant that grows at between 2000 and 3000 metres and it’s the main flavour component in this liqueur. Served as an aperitif or digestif, it has many virtues – it stimulates the appetite, acts as a tonic for the digestion, prevents intestinal parasites and is used in the treatment of altitude sickness. A splosh in a cup of hot chocolate is delicious too!
Makes about 1.2 litres
1 LITRE VODKA
200G CASTER SUGAR
1 TBSP DRIED GÉNÉPI (WORMWOOD)
10 DRIED CAMOMILE FLOWERS
Place all the ingredients in a large sealable jar and mix well to dissolve the sugar.
Leave it to steep for 40 days, shaking the jar several times during this period.
Pass the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin into a large jug, then pour it into sterilised bottles.
PASTIS
Aniseed Liqueur
Served all over France, this is the go-to drink to serve as an aperitif or to sip while playing pétanque. Add a little mint syrup and it’s called a ‘perroquet’; with grenadine it’s a ‘tomate’. The main flavour is anise, but the different brands all have their own secret recipes. The thing they have in common is that they go cloudy when mixed with water. The home-made version doesn’t cloud as much but is easy to make and even easier to drink!
Makes 1 litre
2 LIQUORICE STICKS
12 STAR ANISE
½ TSP FENNEL SEEDS
½ TSP CORIANDER SEEDS
½ TSP GREEN ANISEED
700ML GOOD-QUALITY VODKA
100G CASTER SUGAR
Chop the liquorice sticks and place them and all the spices in a dry pan. Warm them through over a medium heat to release the aroma, but do not toast them.
Remove the spices from the pan and grind them to a fine powder in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar.
Pour the vodka into a couple of sterilised, sealable glass jars, add the spice and liquorice powder and shake well. Leave the jars in a cool dark place for a week, giving them a good shake daily.
Put the sugar in a pan with 80ml of water and boil for 2 minutes, then set it aside to cool. Pass the vodka through a sieve lined with a muslin cloth, then add the sugar syrup. Leave to cool, then pour into sterilised bottles – wine bottles or lemonade bottles with screw caps are fine.
Seal and leave for a week before drinking.
Walnut Liqueur
There are many recipes for this delicious drink but this is one of the easiest. Served on ice as an aperitif or as an after-dinner drink, vin de noix is said to be good for the digestion and for cleansing the system! The walnuts must be green and unripe, picked before 24th June, the feast day of St John the Baptist.
Makes about 2.5 litres
10 GREEN WALNUTS
3 WALNUT LEAVES (OPTIONAL)
½ ORANGE, SLICED
325ML VODKA OR BRANDY (MINIMUM 40% ALCOHOL)
300G SUGAR
2 CLOVES
3 X 75CL BOTTLES OF WINE – ROSÉ, RED OR A MIXTURE (13–14% ALCOHOL)
Wash the walnuts and the leaves. Cut or break them into small pieces – wear an apron and watch out for the walnut juice, as it stains. Place the walnuts in a clean demijohn or a plastic brewing bucket.
Add the sliced orange and all the other ingredients. Mix well, cover and leave in a cool dark place for at least 100 days. Stir every week or so.
Filter the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin and then pour into sterilised bottles. Seal and leave to settle. Traditionally this liqueur is not served until Christmas.
