Late Spring! The branches in my little berry patch are getting heavier every day, and everyone’s eyeing them off. The birds, the toddler, and me. Soon it will be time to set up the nets. Not that it will stop anyone, but I’ll feel like I’m trying.
I’m sure I’ll be able to get just a few to make some whiskey. Fruit whiskey is the easiest liqueur I know how to make, more a method than a recipe. You can do it without any special equipment, and all you need in terms of skill is the ability to walk away from a jar and forget that it exists for a while. The longer you leave this alone, the better it will be.
If you don’t like whiskey very much, you may still like this recipe. It’s not berry flavoured, not whiskey flavoured, just something quite special and its own very glorious self. The kind you use is up to you (not the worst, but please also not the best! I’ve had good results with Aldi’s Highland Earl, and I save my Laphroaig for Friday nights). The fruit can really be anything that has a full flavour and a good bite. The only fail I’ve ever had was with super sweet midsummer blackberries, which would have been better sent straight down the hatch.
Method:
Fill a clean jar three quarters full of some berries or cherries. In the photo above are some sour Morello cherries, and a mixture of mulberries and blackberries that somehow escaped my kid’s attention over summer. Pour sugar in until the fruit is half covered, then top the whole lot off with whiskey. Shake it a bit every day until the sugar dissolves, then stash it somewhere dark and forget it exists. With your least good clothes… behind books you don’t read very often… with the Christmas decorations. I’m sure you can find somewhere. six months later, at least, decant the whiskey and enjoy.
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