The short answer: to make liqueur at home, steep a flavour (fruit, zest, coffee, spices) in a spirit of at least 38% alcohol for 2 to 8 weeks, strain it, then sweeten it with sugar or a cooled syrup and let it rest. Two worked recipes below: a cherry liqueur with 500 g sour cherries in 500 ml vodka, and an orange liqueur with the zest of 4 oranges in 600 ml brandy and vodka.
Every homemade liqueur is the same four moves: steep, strain, sweeten, rest. Change the flavour and you change the liqueur. Once you have made one, you can make limoncello, coffee liqueur or a Christmas cherry bottle without a new method.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Work | 20 to 40 minutes |
| Wait | 2 to 8 weeks, depending on the flavour |
| Spirit | Vodka, brandy, rum or Korn, at least 38% |
| Alcohol in the bottle | Roughly 25% for the orange liqueur below |
| Keeps | About 2 months once opened |
What you need for any liqueur
- A flavour: fruit, citrus zest, coffee beans, vanilla or whole spices
- A spirit with at least 38% alcohol
- Sugar, as white sugar, rock sugar or a syrup
- A clean glass jar with a tight lid, a fine sieve and coffee filters
- Clean bottles with stoppers or swing tops
The spirit: vodka tastes of almost nothing, so the fruit leads. Brandy adds warmth and suits orange and cherry. Rum suits coffee. Below 38% alcohol a liqueur pulls out less flavour and is more likely to spoil.
How to make liqueur at home
- Prepare the flavour. Wash and dry fruit. Pit cherries, zest citrus without the white pith, crack spices.
- Steep. Put it in the jar and cover it completely with the spirit. Anything above the liquid can spoil.
- Wait. Keep the jar dark and cool. Shake it every few days. Citrus needs about 2 weeks, cherries 4 to 8.
- Strain. Pour it through a sieve, then through a coffee filter for a clear liqueur.
- Sweeten. Stir in cooled syrup a little at a time and taste. If the sugar went in with the fruit, skip this step.
- Rest. Bottle it and leave it for 1 to 2 weeks. The alcohol and sugar settle together and the edges soften.
Sweeten with syrup or with sugar
| Method | How | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Syrup at the end | Steep in pure spirit, then add cooled syrup | Citrus, coffee, herbs: you taste as you sweeten |
| Sugar in the jar | Fruit, sugar and spirit go in together | Cherries and other juicy fruit: the sugar draws out juice |
For the syrup, dissolve sugar in hot water and let it cool completely. Our simple syrup guide has the 1:1 and 2:1 ratios. Syrup adds water, so it lowers the alcohol; sugar in the jar does not.
Cherry liqueur recipe
Germans call this a Kirschlikör, or an Aufgesetzter: fruit set in alcohol.
- 500 g sour cherries, such as Morello
- 100 g rock sugar or white sugar
- 500 ml vodka, 38 to 40%
Method:
- Wash, stem and pit the cherries.
- Put the cherries and sugar in a 1 litre jar and pour the vodka over them. Close it tightly.
- Keep it cool and dark for 4 to 8 weeks, shaking it now and then until the sugar is gone.
- Strain off the cherries and bottle the liqueur.
It turns deep red. Use only sound fruit: one mouldy cherry can spoil the jar. Once a bottle is open, finish it within 2 months.
Orange liqueur recipe
A homemade cousin of triple sec and Grand Marnier.
- 4 large oranges and 1 lemon, peel only
- 360 ml brandy or cognac
- 240 ml vodka
- 200 g sugar and 240 ml water for the syrup
Method:
- Peel the oranges and the lemon thinly, leaving the white pith behind.
- Put the peel in a jar with the brandy and vodka. Shake it once a day for 2 weeks.
- Simmer the sugar and water for 5 minutes and let the syrup cool completely.
- Strain the peel out and stir in the syrup.
- Bottle it and keep it in a cool, dark place. Drink it within 2 months, while the orange is fresh.
It comes out at roughly 25% alcohol. For an orange flavour for baking instead, with no sugar, make orange extract.
More liqueurs to make at home
| Liqueur | Flavour | Spirit | Wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limoncello | Lemon zest | 95% alcohol or vodka | 1 to 4 weeks |
| Coffee liqueur | Cold brew coffee and vanilla | Rum or vodka | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Eierlikör | Egg yolk, cream and vanilla | White rum or Korn | Ready the same day |
| Cherry | Sour cherries | Vodka or Korn | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Orange | Orange and lemon peel | Brandy and vodka | 2 weeks |
Liqueur or extract?
An extract is the same steep with no sugar, used by the half teaspoon in baking. A liqueur is sweetened and poured. Our guide to homemade extracts has six to start with.
Extracts can be reduced into a thicker concentrate. The NOIDS Herb Lab has an Evaporation function for this: it reduces about 50 ml per hour and stops by itself at 102 °C. With the Condenser fitted, it recovers the alcohol instead of releasing it into the room. Liqueurs do not need this step.
Questions
What alcohol is best for homemade liqueur?
Vodka for the cleanest fruit flavour, brandy for orange and cherry, rum for coffee. Use at least 38% alcohol.
How long does homemade liqueur take?
From 1 day for Eierlikör to 2 weeks for citrus and 4 to 8 weeks for cherries, plus 1 to 2 weeks of rest for most.
How long does homemade liqueur last?
Fruit liqueurs keep best in a cool, dark place and taste freshest within a few months. Once opened, finish them within about 2 months. Liqueurs with egg or cream belong in the fridge.
Do I add the sugar at the start or the end?
At the end for citrus, coffee and herbs, so you can taste as you sweeten. At the start for juicy fruit such as cherries, where the sugar draws out the juice.
Why is my liqueur cloudy?
Fine fruit particles or citrus oils. Filter it through a coffee filter. Cloudiness in limoncello is normal.
