Ginger Liqueur Recipe

Liqueurs are surprisingly easy to create. They are essentially just some fruit, nut, or vegetable extract plus sugar and alcohol.

Ingredients

• 250 g fresh ginger root more or less
• 1 liter unflavored vodka or white rum
• 500 ml granulated sugar

Step 1 - Create a ginger extract

1. Break up the ginger root as much as you can by hand.
2. Cut off any dead or ugly parts.
3. Scrub off any remaining dirty parts with the rough side of a kitchen sponge. Don't worry about getting every speck as the alcohol will sterilize it and the solid material will be strained out anyway.
4. Chop the remainder into chunks and put them in a blender.
5. Add just enough alcohol to blend into a thick mash. Do not blend any longer than needed to produce a mash. To get it to blend, you may want to do this in 2 or 3 batches or to stop and stir a few times or add a little more alcohol if those things aren't enough. Just try to use the least amount of alcohol that will do the job.
6. Pour the mash into a mason jar and let it soak for 24 hours at room temperature, shaking occasionally.
7. Strain out the extract. This cannot be done through filter paper as it contains a lot of fine particles that will clog. I suggest using 2 or 3 layers of cotton cloth such as clean handkerchiefs over a large mixing bowl. Yes, that sounds weird but it's fine. Just know that it will stain any light colored cloth. Twist the mash into a ball and firmly wring out.
8. Pour the result back into the mason jar. Congratulations, you now have a ginger extract!
9. The extract will have a lot of fine particles that you will want to decant. Just let it sit overnight and then carefully pour off the clear extract. You may want to do this 2-4 more times depending upon how clear a result you want. Once it's fairly well decanted, you can use coffee filters to get most of the rest. A bit of cloudiness is fine and largely unavoidable.

Step 2 - Create a ginger liqueur concentrate

Note how much extract you ended up with and add the same amount of sugar. Do not heat it up as it will disolve on it's own. You can shake it a few times to speed that up. You now have a ginger liqueur concentrate! This concentrate can be used in many ways, such as drizzling onto ice cream or added to drinks. A tiny bit goes a very long way.

Step 3 - Create the final ginger liqueur

To produce the final drinkable liqueur, simply mix one part ginger liqueur concentrate with 2 to 4 parts alcohol depending upon your taste. You can convert it all immediately, make small batches as needed, or just mix up one cordial glass at a time at whatever concentration you prefer at the moment. Fill attractive clear bottles to make excellent gifts.

This is just a basic ginger liqueur that I developed on my own, and the same approach can be used with other things. Experiment with other proportions or additives that interest you. Maybe add some lemon extract, mint, or clove. Get creative and enjoy your very own refreshing ginger liqueur!