"I'm the Gin in.....

.... the Gin Soaked Boy."

Neil Hannon, The Divine Comedy, 1999.

This has to be one of my favourite "makes", Gin Liqueur. It's so simple and so delicious.

I first had some of this at my friend's house one afternoon after lunch, when I asked her where she got it from I was amazed when she said she'd made it! I quickly got the instructions and the next day went into production. I'm pleased to say it worked really well and I have since given mini bottles of this as Christmas presents, I have only heard good things from the recipients.

Materials Needed;

Gin or white rum (I have been told vodka isn't a good spirit for this but I have used both of these and they work fine.)

Fruit- it's better if the fruit has a stronger flavour.

Sugar

2 glass bottles

Knife

Sieve

Small glass bottle - if you want to decant into smaller bottles as gifts, otherwise you can our it back into the original bottle.

In these pictures I was making mango,  mango & apple and blueberry. But I have also made strawberry & raspberry (using frozen fruit) and  orange & ginger (using powdered ginger!) which have both been delicious. The steps are the same, just substitute the fruit.

Here's what to do...

1. Cut up the fruit in to small pieces- they need to go into the bottle and come out easily.

 2. Put fruit into the bottle until it almost a third full (in all honesty I think I didn't use enough in the picture shown, but in other batches I used more)

3. Add about 1-2inches of sugar.

 4. Pour spirit into the bottle until it is full, leave about 3cm at the top of the bottle.

5. Give the mixture a good shake.

This is a bottle of strawberry & raspberry I had brewing at the time.

 6. Put the mixture in a cupboard and leave it! I usually take it out every few weeks and give it a shake.

7. After 3 months take the liqueur out and taste it, if you are happy with the taste move onto step 8.

If the fruity flavour is not really strong enough leave it in the cupboard for a bit longer (upto 6 months is fine) if it's not sweet enough add more sugar.

8. When you are happy with the taste, drain the liqueur through a sieve to remove the fruit. As the fruit has absorbed quite a lot of the spirit, I recommend using a spoon to help get the moisture out.

 I also placed the fruit in a bowl and found the liquid naturally drained out and I was able to refilter- I think I recovered another shot worth of liqueur doing this, so it's worth being patient!

9. When you've finished draining pour the liqueur into a bottle for the cupboard. These were presents so I collected smaller glass bottles from cafes and pubs, but also have some in the cupboard for me in a larger bottle.

And there you have liqueur, it's lovely after a meal sipped from a shot or sherry glass.