Homemade Liqueurs

The recipes are easy and fun. What a nice hobby! There are very few books available with so many interesting and unusual recipes for brandies and liqueurs. Try it!

I really enjoyed starting to make my own liqueurs from this book, which I picked up at a yard sale for a quarter. I have thought about liqueur-making in the past but never had clear enough instructions to begin, and this book gave a lot of recipes and good instructions. The best thing is they tell you why they use some techniques and not others in certain recipes, so you really can get an idea of how it all works. I tried a flower petal liquer and didn't trust their measurements, so I ended up using WAY too much lavender. Now that I am tasting it, I should have listened to them. The Coconut liquer I tried exactly as directed and it was a very authentic coconut flavor - like fresh coconut, not like commercial flavors. So that was a surprise, but a rather pleasant one. It isn't a flavor everyone likes, but those who do like it a lot. I also made some spice liqueurs using chai spices without any black tea, and that came out well using their basic directions for infusing spices. But the almond liqueur I tried was terrible - really odd-flavored and full of sediment. I like that they give personal stories and tips in the book - I feel like I am being shown this by a friend who is very good at it, because of their writing style. Overall, I am happy with this book, but I am glad I got it on the cheap. I think buying it used is really the way to go - it is a good starter book to just see if this is something you'd like to get into, but due to its age and lack of photos I wouldn't pay too much for it.

If you want to learn to make liqueurs, start here. There are other books that can give you fancy recipes that purport to taste like all manner of commercial liquors, but if you want to actually know what you're doing, this is the book. Beyond its wealth of recipes, it's filled with knowledge and understanding about the process of liqueur-making. It gives you not only variations on its recipes but completely different approaches for some flavors. By reading and paying attention to the recipes, you will come to understand why some things work and some don't; you will come to understand what sorts of changes you can make to a recipe; and you will finally be able to make your own recipes with confidence. Because no book can give you all the liqueur recipes there are. Other books can tell you how to make liqueurs, but this book teaches you how to make the recipes. I recommend it strongly to any liqueur-maker who wants more than just rote instruction.

If you want to learn to make liqueurs, start here. There are other books that can give you fancy recipes that purport to taste like all manner of commercial liquors, but if you want to actually know what you're doing, this is the book. Beyond its wealth of recipes, it's filled with knowledge and understanding about the process of liqueur-making. It gives you not only variations on its recipes but completely different approaches for some flavors. By reading and paying attention to the recipes, you will come to understand why some things work and some don't; you will come to understand what sorts of changes you can make to a recipe; and you will finally be able to make your own recipes with confidence - because no book can give you all the liqueur recipes there are. Other books can tell you how to make liqueurs, but this book teaches you how to make the recipes. I recommend it strongly to any liqueur-maker who wants more than just rote instruction.