Fruit Infused Alcohol ~ Now is the Time to Start!
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In my last post I mentioned a fruit infused alcohol tasting session that spontaneously broke out at my sister’s house when someone brought along a bottle of blackberry gin which, of course we all politely tasted.
Naturally this prompted the opening of some delicious Damson Vodka my nieces had made a year or two back, followed by 12 year old Sloe Gin made by my late father, which was beautiful. I’m proud my family are so good at fruit infused alcohol!
Next came some Limoncello and then, in keeping with the fruity scheme, Calvados,which was bought in. As this was less sweet than the others we all felt the Calvados should have been first so probably need to have another go soon and do the thing properly. It’s OK, by the way, we used tiny little glasses!
Anyhoo this pleasant evening got me thinking that I really should give fruit infused beverages a mention as it’s time to get started on some of these.
Firstly then, as the time really is Now to start on this and this needs your consideration as soon as possible …
Rumpot/Rumtopf
This is made from a variety of summer fruits as they come into season which some are doing right now. It is a traditional Christmas drink and well worth making to cheer you up in the winter!
How to make Rumtopf aka Rumpot is here.
Cherry Bounce
This is a delicious Rumpot variation using cherries – did you guess?
Blackberry/Damson/Sloe Gin/Vodka
In September you can get on with all sorts of delicious drinks based on the following simple recipe …
500g fruit (sloes, blackberries or damsons)
250g sugar
1 ltr gin or vodka – but 2 empty bottles!
~ Sloes and damsons will benefit from either being pricked with a darning needle (if such things still exist!) or frozen and thawed so that they split – either way helps release their juices into the booze.
~ Divide the fruits and sugar between the two bottles and top up with the gin or vodka.
~ Seal tightly.
~ Put the bottles in a cool, dark place and give it a good shake every day or so until you are sure that the sugar has completely dissolved.
~ After about 3 months carefully strain the liquid from the fruit (through a scaled muslin) and decant into clean and sterile bottles.
~ Leave it alone for as long as you can – a few months at least but, as our experience with Daddy’s 12 year old sloe gin proves, several years is a good idea.
Blackberry and Apple Vodka
The recipe for Blackberry and Apple Vodka is here – I’m afraid I haven’t got a recipe for Calvados.
Limoncello
An Easy Way to Sterilise Bottles
An hour or so before making or decanting your fruit infused alcohol wash and rinse the bottles and put them on their sides in the oven. Turn the oven on to 160ºC/325°F/140ºC fan/gas 3 for 10 minutes then turn it off and leave the bottles in there till cool. Metal lids can be boiled.
Suzy Bowler
Having been a somewhat itinerant chef for over 30 years I was amazed, on my return to the UK, at the blatant food waste that now seems to be rife in the country; amazed and irritated. So much so that I decided to start a blog about spontaneous cooking from leftovers to show people that there are great alternatives to throwing food away.
One Comment
Charlotte Oates
Sounds like a fun evening, although I definitely agree that you need to repeat it with all the drinks in the right order!
I've not tried making my own fruit infused alcohol before but Im very tempted to give it a try.
Thanks for joining #FoodYearLinkup x