Mint liqueur: 5 recipes at home

Fans of mint liqueur primarily appreciate this very specific drink for the illusion of freshness and coolness it creates in the summer heat.

There's more to make from mint: tincture, syrup

Tips before you start

1. It is best to use Peppermint or Garden mint.

2. The roots and stems of the plant impart bitterness, so do not use these parts.

3. If you want to keep the drink from turning from green to brown for as long as possible, keep it in dark glass bottles.

4. Collect fresh mint during the flowering period, away from roads, in ecologically clean places.

Classic mint liqueur

Ingredients

1. Chopped fresh peppermint leaves - 2-4 tbsp. spoons

2. Sugar - 200 g

3. Water - 250 ml

4. Vodka - 750 ml

The method of preparation

1. Rinse and dry the tops of the mint, collected before flowering, tear off the leaves and chop them.

2. Place the chopped leaves in a bottle of vodka, tightly seal and leave to infuse in the light.

3. Shake the contents of the bottle from time to time.

4. After 3 weeks, cook sugar syrup.

5. Then, strain the mint tincture through cheesecloth in 4-5 layers and squeeze the leaves lightly.

6. Combine the strained tincture with the syrup, bottle and cork. Store the liquor in a horizontal position in a dark place.

Simple mint liqueur

If you want to make an unpretentious cool refreshing drink that tastes a bit like toothpaste, this recipe is indispensable. In this case, instead of the suggested amount of sugar, you can use 200-250 g of honey.

Ingredients

1. Fresh mint - 6 sprigs

2. Vodka or 45-degree alcohol - 1 liter

3. Water - 250 ml

4. Sugar - 350 g

Method of preparation

1. Put the prepared leaves and inflorescences in a jar and pour alcohol.

2. Keep a tightly closed container for 2 weeks in a warm, dark place, shaking it vigorously every 3-4 days.

3. After the specified period, cook simple syrup. When using honey, do not boil the water; instead, stir the honey so intensively that it dissolves before the temperature of the liquid reaches 40 degrees.

4. While the syrup is cooling to room temperature, strain the alcohol infusion and lightly squeeze the vegetable cake into it.

5. Thoroughly mix the cooled syrup with alcohol, pour the drink into bottles and seal them hermetically.

6. Send the liquor to the cellar or refrigerator for 20 days, then taste it.

Mint and lemon liqueur

As you know, mint and lemon are just made for each other.

Ingredients

1. Fresh Mint leaves (preferably Peppermint) - 100 g

2. 45-degree alcohol - 500 ml

3. Water - 500 ml

4. Sugar - 400-500 g

5. Lemons - 3 pieces

Method of preparation

1. Put the slightly crushed leaves in a jar.

2. Remove the peel from the lemon, separate the yellow zest from it, and discard the white zest.

3. Cut the lemon pulp into small pieces and add to the jar with the zest.

4. Keep the tightly closed container for 5 days in a warm, dark room.

5. After the specified period, boil sugar and water simple syrup.

6. While the syrup is cooling to room temperature, filter the alcohol through thick cheesecloth and squeeze the cake into it.

7. Add syrup to the resulting liquid, stir, close the lid again and return to a dark, warm place for another week.

8. Then, strain the drink again and bottle it.

9. Store the liquor in the basement or refrigerator. It is advisable to give it another couple of weeks to finalize.

Mint liqueur-ratafia

Ratafia is not so much a drink as a separate category of particularly strong alcohol, which includes some liqueurs.

Ingredients

1. Dried mint - 40 g

2. 45-degree alcohol - 1 liter

3. Water - 200 ml

4. Sugar - 200 g

The method of preparation

1. Put the mint in a jar, pour it with alcohol and close it tightly.

2. Leave the container in a dark, warm place for a week.

3. Filter the liquid.

4. Boil simple syrup. If you are not satisfied with the classic 70-degree strength of the finished ratafia, you can increase the amount of water and sugar (maximum allowable proportions: 1 kg of sugar and 1.25 liters of water per 1 liter of alcohol). It should be realized that the result will not be ratafia, but an ordinary liqueur with a stumbling block.

5. As soon as the water and sugar boil, remove the foam from it and pour in the alcohol in a thin stream, stirring the substance constantly.

6. Cool the result, filter and pour into a clean jar.

7. Put the tightly closed container in a cool, dark place for another week.

8. Then, if desired, strain and bottle the drink again.

9. Store the liquor in a cool, dark place. Start active tasting after 3-4 weeks.

Menthol liqueur

This recipe will delight fans of core menthol lollipops. The main condition is the presence of a moonshine still in the house. In case of acute intolerance to cumin, the latter can be replaced with dried zest cut from ¼ orange and ¼ lime.

Ingredients

1. Dried peppermint leaves - 50 g

2. Vodka or 45-degree alcohol - 500 ml

3. Water for infusion - 150 ml

4. Water for distillation - 1 liter

5. Sugar - 300 g

6. Cumin - 10 g

The method of preparation

1. Put the dried leaves, cumin/peel, alcohol and 150 ml of boiled water in a jar.

2. Leave the tightly closed container in a warm, dark place for a week.

3. Then, carefully strain the liquid and squeeze the cake into it, after which the latter can be thrown away.

4. Pour 50 ml of the resulting tincture into a small glass container, close it with a lid and put it in a dark place.

5. Mix the bulk of the mint alcohol with boiled water in a 1:1 ratio.

6. Distill the result, taking 30 ml of "heads" and 600 ml of "body". The remaining raw material can be distilled into a clean vessel in 50 ml portions and added to the main fraction. As soon as the distilled liquid begins to emit an unpleasant odor, it should be discarded into the "tailings".

7. Add 150-200 ml of boiled water to the resulting distillate.

8. Boil 100 ml of water and 300 g of sugar in a small saucepan saturated syrup. Add sugar to the water in small portions. Each subsequent portion should go into the saucepan after the previous one has completely dissolved. If foam appears in the process, be sure to remove it.

9. Add 150 ml of the resulting syrup to the distillate. The rest of the sugar solution can be used for any other purpose (preparing 150 ml of syrup from sugar and water in a 3:1 ratio seems to us an unrealistic task; if you think otherwise, you can try and share your experience with us).

10. Color the finished liqueur by adding 50 ml of tincture previously set aside.

11. Pour the drink into bottles, carefully cork and store in a cellar or refrigerator. Serve no earlier than 2 weeks after bottling.

Update: 30.06.2018

Category: Liqueurs and Tinctures