Make Your Own Homemade Liqueurs & Satisfy Your Taste Buds

 It might be very easy to confuse the words liquor and liqueur as they sound very similar, they are both distilled spirits that contain alcohol and are essential for mixing cocktails. Liquors, known as well as spirits, are alcoholic beverages made of grains or other plants, fermented into a potent drink. Gin, whiskey, rum, tequila, vodka and brandy, can be used as the base of cocktails and mixed drinks, or on the rock and neat. 

Source: blog.distiller.com

Also, liquors are used for shots. The shots are straight liquor, but if liqueurs and other mixers are added, then it’s called a shooter. Today, liquors are available in flavoured forms, however, they’re not sweet to the palate. But you can find some styles of whiskey and flavoured brandies out there that have sugar added. 

The difference between liquors and liqueurs is that the latter are sweetened spirits, flavoured with some variation or form of herbs, spices, fruit, flowers, cream, nuts or oils added and finished with a sweetener or sugar. Most liqueurs are sweet, but you may also find some that are dry or tart.  

Throughout the centuries, liqueurs were mainly used in medical purposes, especially the herbal liqueurs. Traditionally, they were created as remedies for certain illnesses, very often made by monks to help other people. 

The alcohol content of liqueurs can range from a low 15 percent ABV, (alcohol by volume) to 55 percent ABV. Liqueurs are the ingredients that make the drink special and they’re used in almost all of the legendary cocktails. 

There is a wide variety of liqueur flavours, such as coffee, chocolate, almond, hazelnut, orange, melon, to mint, macadamia, as well as cream liqueurs and crème liqueurs that are sweeter. But did you know that you can make your own liqueur at home, from blackberry liqueurs to amaretto, Irish cream and more? 

Homemade liqueurs are relatively easy to make, most of them require an alcohol base, flavouring ingredients and simple syrup. Depending on your taste and preferences, you can make simple or more complex ones. Some may take just a few days before they’re ready to be served, while others need a resting period of a month or more. 

Source: blog.distiller.com  

How to Make Your Own Liqueurs? 

Whether you want to learn new skills because it’s fun or you simply want to fight the inevitable boredom of quarantine, making liqueurs at home might be the right choice for you. You can make your favourite homemade liqueurs with very little equipment that you can easily find online. Make sure to buy from a verified homebrew and specialist store that offers good quality and complies with Australian brewing standards. 

Top Shelf liqueurs is a range of flavourings made to emulate the most famous liqueurs from all over the world. Each flavouring is labelled individually to hint at the liqueur style it emulates. You can find your favourite flavours, from Chocolate, Coffee, Sambuca, Fruit, Spice and many more. It’s very simple to make as you only need to mix your Top Shelf liqueur with its matching liqueur base to get the desired finished thickness and sweetness of your liqueur. Shake the bottle well before use and follow the instructions properly. 

Every liqueur base gives the ideal finished thickness and sweetness to the liqueurs the match. There are three different liqueur base packs – A, B and C. Liqueur base A is the standard and least thick or sweet of them all. For all the “A” liqueur essences, use liqueur base A and follow the instructions on the essence bottle and add alcohol as indicated, in a large mixing bowl. Then add pack contents slowly, while stirring with a whisk and mix well. Add essence and top up to 1.125 ml with water. The same goes for all “B” and “C” liqueur essences.  

Rinse out any remaining flavouring from the bottle with some of the alcohol and shake the finished product well. Then leave it for 24 to 48 hours before use. After this period, you can enjoy your liqueur or give it away as a gift to someone special. Making liqueurs is a lot of fun and the possibilities are endless. You can have fun creating your own custom labels and enrich every finished product by dropping in a small quantity of the original ingredients, such as berries or a twist of citrus zest, for instance. 

                                                       Source:food-hacks.wonderhowto.com

  Serving Your Homebrew Liqueurs 

Liqueurs are versatile, which is one of their biggest benefits and one of the main reasons why many people love them. Most of them are wonderful when served straight out of the freezer. Some can be mixed into a fresh cup of coffee or added over a scoop of your favourite ice cream. 

Homebrew liqueurs are perfect for traditional cocktails and can give wonderful results. With a little bit of creativity and imagination, you can even come up with your own brand-new signature drink. Like many liquors, liqueurs as well can be used in mixed drinks, or served neat, over ice or mixed with non-alcoholic beverages such as cream or milk. 

Lately, it’s becoming very popular to layer liqueurs to create neat striped drinks for casual events or parties. Usually, it’s done by floating various liqueurs slowly over the back of a spoon to make sure the different flavours don’t mix and you can enjoy them fully. 

Cheers!