Recipe Archives->Drinks->Raspberry Liqueur

RASPBERRY LIQUEUR

1 lb fresh raspberries ( blackberries, boysenberries, loganberries, etc.)
1 lb granulated sugar
2 cups water
2 cups pure grain alcohol mixed with 2 cups water

Rinse and check raspberries, discarding any overripe or moldy
berries.  Place raspberries into a large bowl and crush them slightly
with the back of a wooden spoon.  Set aside.  Warm 2 cups of water
with sugar in a medium saucepan over moderate heat.  Stir continuously
until well dissolved and liquid is just warm.  Pour sugar-water
over raspberries and stir.  Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and
refrigerate for one week, stirring occasionally.  After refrigerator
aging, strain mixture through a fine wire mesh strainer into your
aging container (large ceramic crocks or glass jugs work well for
this purpose).  Add alcohol mixture, stir.  Cap and let age for
one month.

Strain through cloth (muslin, a few layers of cheesecloth, old
clean pillowcases...) until clear.  Re-bottle as desired.  Liqueur
is ready for use in cooking at this point, but 2 or more months of
additional aging is recommended before drinking (My experience is
that most non-cream liqueurs hit their peak of flavor after close
to a year of aging time).

Four cups of 80-proof vodka may be substituted for the 2 cups pure
grain alcohol mixed with 2 cups water.  The proof of the liqueur
will be slightly less.

Be sure to use distilled water unless your tap water is very pure.
Try not to use any plastic utensils or containers when making
liqueurs; you can wind up with off flavors.  I also inserted a few
other helpful notes in parentheses.

Printable version: raspberry-liqueur.txt.