The famous French liquor "Cointreau" is very popular in many countries of the world. It is part of a huge number of cocktails and is popular among lovers of drinks stronger. Want to add sophistication to your chocolate dessert? Add a little orange liquor to it and its taste will sparkle with new notes. Interestingly, this drink itself is prepared quite simply. This is brandy, which is insisted on orange zest with sugar syrup. And from here a completely logical question may arise: is it possible to make a cointreau at home yourself? Well, let's find out.
From the history of Cointreau liquor
Brothers Adolf and Eduard Quantro presented this wonderful drink to the world. Since 1885, liquor began to appear on store shelves and quickly gained popularity. Today, two types of such liquor are produced: classic and Black Cointreau, the latter is prepared using the famous Remy Martin cognac. Of course, the manufacturer is not in a hurry to devote to the mystery of creating a drink popular around the world, because this is a secret behind seven seals. But we still know some subtleties.
The basis for giving the drink a unique taste and aroma is the zest of sweet and bitter oranges with spices. It is insisted on purified alcohol, and after the product is subjected to double distillation. After that, the future cointreau is subjected to adjustment - level the strength and taste of the drink with the help of syrup and spring water. Preparing Cointreau liquor at home using such a recipe is quite difficult. But we will talk about the way that allows you to get a drink that is as reminiscent of the original as possible.
What do you need?
The list of ingredients is quite simple. Buy a liter of good vodka or use purified alcohol diluted to 45 degrees. Alcohol must be of high quality, because it will affect the taste of the drink.
You will also need 4-5 large oranges, grapefruit and lemon. First, the fruits must be washed in hot water and drain the peel from moisture. Then you should carefully remove the zest - the surface yellow layer, without white fibers. It is we who we will use to prepare cointreau at home. The peel should be clean, dense, juicy and without damage. Ideally, you need to use unripe fruits, their presence of essential oils is much higher than that of ripe ones.
Stock up on spices, a little of everything: a couple of peas of allspice, a bay leaf, black and red pepper.
You need a glass of granulated sugar per liter of vodka.
About the fortress
In the original, Cointreau may contain a different amount of alcohol. The strongest is liquor with 40% alcohol. It is mixed with other alcoholic drinks, lemon juice or ice is added. If you decide to cook a lighter cointreau at home, the recipe above must be supplemented with water. You can take a liter or half a liter of water, if desired. The preparation of such a lightweight drink will differ only in the fact that you need to make syrup from water and sugar, cool it and only then mix it with liquor. To make a stronger liquor, sugar must be added directly to alcohol.
Tara
It is important to choose the right capacity. We will cook cointreau for alcohol at home , which means that using plastic containers is unacceptable. Alcohol reacts with plastic, absorbs unpleasant odors, and the taste can significantly suffer (and it is harmful to health). Therefore, insist and store alcohol exclusively in a glass bottle or jar. It would seem a trifle, but it is very important.
Cooking strong Cointreau
So, everything we need is ready. Let's get down to the fun part: how to make a cointreau at home?
We take prepared containers, pour sugar, grated zest, 4-5 peas of allspice, bay leaf, a pinch of red and black ground pepper. Fill it all with vodka, mix, close tightly with a lid and leave to brew for 5-6 hours. After that you need to remove the bay leaf, close the container and shake the contents well again.
In this form, our drink will be infused in a dark place. It must be shaken periodically. Cointreau will be infused at home for a week. After it needs to be filtered, bottled and corked tightly.
Making light liquor
If you are preparing liquor of lesser strength, then you need to do as follows. The bookmark of all ingredients is the same as in the first embodiment, but without sugar. Vodka with zest and spices is infused for a week, and after it you need to filter and add sugar syrup. It is prepared easily: pour sugar in water and, stirring constantly, boil for 3-4 minutes. Then cool and add to the previously infused and filtered drink. Mix well. Now you can pour the liquor into the container prepared for storage and close it with corks. Such a cointreau is best stored in a cool place: in the basement or on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Under these conditions, the drink will stand perfectly for more than one year.
Well, we hope the result will please you. The liquor in taste and color is very similar to the classic "Cointreau" - a favorite drink of French gourmets. He will add a highlight to any festive table, make a warm and cozy evening in the company of close friends.
Good appetite!