Raspberry Liqueur

Raspberry Liqueur

Ever since Neil brought me a recipe for limoncello from Capris, I’ve been eager to try some sort of fruit infusion of alcohol. My surplus of raspberries from Roy’s seemed like divine providence. Here is my recipe for raspberry liqueur.

Raspberry LiqueurRaspberry Liqueur
adapted from a souvenir-bar-towel recipe for limoncello

Ingredients

•750 g raspberries
•750 mL Everclear grain alcohol
•750 mL water
•750 g granulated sugar
•500 mL fresh lemon juice, strained of pulp and seeds

Procedure

  1. Pour the grain alcohol and raspberries into a large glass container. Mash the berries, cover the mixture tightly, and leave for two weeks. This is the infusion.
  2. Pour the infusion through a wire strainer to remove the berry pulp. Discard said pulp.
  3. Make a simple syrup of the sugar and water on the stove. Cool to room temperature and combine with the berry infusion.
  4. At this point, with the dark raspberry flavour, the strong taste of alcohol, and the sickly sweet syrup, the solution tastes a lot like cough medicine. It needs the transforming power of lemon. Mix in the lemon juice, and allow some time for the flavours to combine. Strain through a chinois or a coffee filter to remove the finer sediment.

I finished with about 2.5 L of liqueur which was almost 30% alcohol by volume. It is surprisingly (and dangerously?) easy to drink straight, though most friends prefer it with sparkling water. Summer in a glass.