Liqueur Making Recipes

Orange

Whole Oranges

• 3 whole sweet oranges, cut into wedges
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 whole cloves
• 3 cups vodka
• 1 cup sugar syrup

Place the oranges, lemon, cloves and vodka in a jar (vodka should cover the fruit) and steep 10 days. Strain and filter. Add sugar syrup. Mature 3-4 weeks. Yield: 4 cups.

Orange Peels

• Peels only from 4 medium size oranges, scraped and cut into large chunks
• 3 cups vodka
• 1 cup sugar syrup

Combine all into aging container. Steep 2-3 weeks. (Extra peels can be added to the mixture as you eat more oranges, but they must be scraped.) Strain and filter, add syrup, let mature. Yield: 4 cups.

Orange Juice

• 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) freshly squeezed orange juice
• Scraped and sliced peel of one orange
• 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) vodka or half vodka and half brandy
• 1 cup sugar syrup

Combine juice, orange peel, alcohol. Steep 4 weeks. Strain and filter. Add sugar syrup. Yield: 4 cups.

[Note: original recipe said "12 ounces (4 1/2 cups) orange juice", but I think they meant 1 1/2 cups.]

Orange Extract

• 1 1/2 teaspoons extract (pure, not "imitation")
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1 pinch caraway
• 1 pinch coriander
• 3 cups brandy or vodka
• 1 cup sugar syrup

Mix all the ingredients (including syrup) in the bottle and steep a few days. Yield: 4 cups.

Optional Flavorings

For any or all of the above orange recipes, a pinch or 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, coriander, whole cloves, or a piece of lemon peel scraped and cut. Also consider using honey instead of sugar syrup.

Recipes courtesy of Gunther Anderson.

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