One of the most popular drinks on the globe is liquor. The recipe for its preparation is known to many peoples. However, the composition of the drink, its consistency, strength, bouquet varies greatly. And the cooking method may vary depending on the components. A common feature for all liquors is sweetness and a divine aroma.
From the history of the drink
The liquor, the recipe of which we will present in the article later, is an ancient drink. They started to produce it for sale already in the Middle Ages. And he owes his appearance to the elixir of life, or rather, to his seekers. As a result of various experiments of monks, alchemists and doctors, amazing drinks appeared, many of which are still produced. Some liquors bear the name of the place of their invention, a religious order. Often these drinks are mentioned in tourist guides, as they are considered a real attraction of a city or country.
What it is?
So what is liquor? We will give it a recipe in various versions later, and now we will tell the reader about the features of this drink. As a rule, it is very sweet (more than 100 g of sugar per liter of liquid) and contains ethyl alcohol in an amount of 15-75%. It is based on infusions of roots, aromatic herbs, spices, as well as juices of berries and fruits.
They serve liquor as a digestive aid, as well as tea and coffee (at the end of the meal). You can drink it in its pure form, and the drink is often included in cocktails or other dishes.
There are dessert, strong and liquor creams.
The most famous liquors
There are drinks whose names are heard even by people who do not really like liquor. We will tell a little about the most famous of them.
- Amaretto is an Italian masterpiece made from apricot kernel kernels, almonds and spices.
- "Baileys" - cream liqueur based on Irish whiskey.
- Becherovka is a strong drink infused with herbs, originally from the Czech Republic.
- "Old Tallinn" is an Estonian strong dark brown liquor with rum content.
- "Curacao" is a complex drink that can be of different shades (blue, white, orange, green).
- Sheridans is an Irish liquor that consists of two parts - white and black, placed in different sections of the bottle. The white part has a vanilla-creamy taste, the black part has coffee and chocolate.
Cooking yourself
The original liquor, the recipe of which is kept in the strictest confidence by the manufacturer, costs a lot. But I want to treat my relatives and friends with something delicious! Many housewives prefer to prepare this drink on their own, using different ingredients. The most popular in our area are cherries.
To make cherry liquor at home, you will need this set of products:
- 0.5 kg of cherry (fresh or frozen), and berries with pits and without them are suitable;
- leaves from a cherry tree in an amount of 200 g;
- half a lemon;
- 0.5 kg of sugar;
- 1 liter of water;
- 1 sachet of vanilla sugar;
- 0.5 l of vodka.
How to make liquor? Wash berries and leaves, fill with water and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and cook for ten minutes. Now it’s time to add sugar and lemon and, while stirring, hold on the stove for the same amount. The mixture is removed from the heat, filtered, cooled, poured vodka and bottled. About 1 liter of the finished drink is obtained in the toga. You can use it as a battle, but if you let it brew for a week, then the taste will be much better.
Cherry liqueur is prepared in another way - the berries are sprinkled with layers of sugar, poured with vodka and insisted for a month in a dark place. And only then they filter and pour vodka. But in this case, it is imperative to remove the bones, as they contain a toxin that can trigger poisoning.
Sweet raspberries
It’s no harder to make raspberry liquor. For him, you will need a pound of sugar and ripe berries, a liter of vodka. Raspberries are poured into a bottle and poured with vodka. Next, you need to tightly close the neck with a gauze swab and hold the container in a cool place for about a month. Now prepare the syrup from sugar and 250 g of vodka. We mix both parts, filter, bottle and close. Raspberry liquor prepared in this way becomes tastier the longer it is stored.
There is another way to make a drink from this berry. You need 500 ml of raspberry juice, a kilogram of sugar and 2 liters of vodka. Bring juice with sugar to a boil, but do not boil (foam must be removed!). Cool the mixture, add vodka, mix and bottle. You can drink in a month.
Ripe strawberries
You can make liquor from the queen of berries - juicy strawberries. The drink has a beautiful color and an amazing aroma. For it, you will need 1 liter of alcohol, vodka, rum or cognac, 0.5 liter of water, half a kilo of berries and sugar. Now we sort, wash and cut the strawberries in half, put them in a glass jar and fill them with alcohol (the liquid should cover the berry 2-3 cm). We put a closed container in a sunny place for two weeks. After this time, filter and filter the mixture, add the syrup, cooled to room temperature. It is advisable to let the liquor infuse for seven days in a dark but not cold place. And you can store it for two years.
This strawberry liqueur resembles the famous "Xu-Xu" - a German drink that appeared in 1997, and has already conquered half the world. It is desirable to drink it chilled, it goes well with ice cream and sparkling wines.
A few general cooking rules
There are a lot of recipes for this drink. But there are several general rules that must be observed:
- berries-fruits should be taken only ripe, washed and sorted, without rot;
- to preserve the aroma of liquor, it is poured into small containers and sealed hermetically;
- store bottles in a dark place, open immediately before serving;
- before drinking, it is better to cool the liquor or add ice cubes to the glass;
- serve the drink in small transparent glasses;
- alcohol must necessarily be of the highest quality, it is advisable to take vodka without additives.
Enjoy your meal! Just remember that liquor is an alcoholic drink, and therefore it should be consumed in moderation, despite the fact that it is so tasty and has the aroma of summer.