Fruit Liqueurs

As the popularity of home beer brewing has increased, so has the desire to branch out into other forms of alcohol that can be made at home. One particularly easy and successful liqueur that can be homemade is fruit liqueurs. Fruit liqueurs are best made when the fruit you want to use is in season and fresh, as this is when it will have the strongest flavour.

A search of the Internet will give you hundreds of recipes for making fruit liqueurs at home. There seem to be many recipes for almost every fruit you can think of, so you are sure to find one for your favourite fruit. All of the fruit liqueur recipes have some basic steps and these are outlined below.

Start with fruit that is fresh and does not have any bad spots. The most flavourful fruits can be bought at farmers' markets, and will give your finished product the best flavour. Rinse the fruit to remove bacteria and pesticides. Using a glass jar, add the fruit and sugar. Cover the fruit and sugar with the alcohol you have chosen for your liqueur. Make sure the lid you put on the bottle is airtight, and swish the mixture to dissolve the sugar. Let the mixture sit for two months or longer, and then filter out the fruit and other particles. Once the mixture has been filtered it will need to sit for another two months.