How to Make Homemade Liquors or homemade brandy. This homemade fruit brandy recipe is so easy & makes excellent gifts for the holidays or any occasion.
It’s now September, can you believe that? That means the holidays are literally around the corner. I can’t keep up.
However- I am doing little things like planning ahead on some things. I decided that I would start now & share with you all How to Make Homemade Liquors or sometimes called sipping brandy in a few of our favorite flavors. These make great gifts & I usually also use them in holiday recipes.
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You will love just how simple this is to do. But you have to start now so they are ready in time for the holidays.
It should be ready to strain & bottle just in time for the gift giving season. People are always so impressed when they find out its homemade liquor, which is why it makes a wonderful hostess gift for all those holiday parties or for handing out to the neighbors or co-workers.
How to Make Homemade Liquors
You can see I just used some painters tape on the top & wrote the date & a reminder of when the jar should be upright. This helps to remember if you have turned them each day or not- unless you forget for a couple of days 🙂
Keep in cool, dark place & just turn, turn, turn. You are just a couple months away from your own homemade fruit liquors.
I put these together the night before I took the pictures. As you can see the sugar had almost completely dissolved & the liquid had started turning color already. I’m really going to love watching this process over the next couple of months. I have between now & then to find some really pretty bottles for the finished product & I’m so excited.
Here are some commonly asked questions
Where can I find those bottles?
I completely understand your frustration in trying to find these bottles. I think I had picked these up at a craft store or something many years ago & can’t find the exact ones now.
However, here are some links to some similar ones & some other really cool ones that I have picked up since then when I make this for gifts.
They are all still cute, interesting & unique, making them so great for gifts. 17 Oz Glass Bottle Set with Swing Top Stoppers – Glass Beer Bottles with Swing Top Cap – Swing Top Square Glass Bottles – 16 oz Kombucha/Beer Glass Bottles Clear Leak Proof.
HOW DO YOU MAKE Homemade Liquors?
- Sterilize your jars & allow to cool.
- Fill with your fruit to the neck of the jar.
- Add sugar.
- Pour in your vodka- to the neck of the jar.
- Put on the lid making sure your seal is tight.
- Add a strip of tape & write the date on it.
- Store on the counter – does not have to be a particularly sunny or dark place.
- Flip every day for 3 months – once the fruit shrinks & is floating in the liquid it’s okay to just give it a good shake every day.
- When the 3 months is up- strain out the fruit pieces through a colander.
- To make the brandy more clear- strain again through a coffee filter.
- Transfer to airtight decorative bottles if giving as a gift.
How to Make Homemade Sipping Brandy
What is the best way to store homemade liquors?
Once you have transferred the final liquor into the bottles continue to store in a cool, dark place like a cabinet or pantry. This will help prolong the life of this recipe.
To make this recipe you will need…
- 2 pint jar- per flavor
- fruit of choice or enough to fill the jar
- *note- if making apricot brandy you can add the apricots whole- do not pit or skin
- granulated sugar
- Vodka least expensive- plastic bottle to fill
Products I love when making Homemade Liquors…
This Homemade Liquors recipe is so simple and delicious – and you probably already have many of these items on hand like I do! OR If you’ve never made liquors at home recipe before, you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love the how great these are for gift-giving season. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this delicious recipe.
- 17 Oz Glass Bottle Set with Swing Top Stoppers
- Glass Beer Bottles with Swing Top Cap
- Swing Top Square Glass Bottles
- 16 oz Kombucha/Beer Glass Bottles Clear Leak Proof
- granulated sugar
- jars
- measuring cups
- wet ingredient measuring cup
- measuring spoons
If you love this Homemade Liquors recipe, you’re going to love these other quick & easy liquor recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
easy homemade liquor
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How to Make Homemade Liquors
Ingredients
- One - 2 pt jar per flavor
- 2-1/2 cups fruit of choice or enough to fill the jar
- *note- if making apricot brandy you can add the apricots whole- do not pit or skin
- 12 tbsp granulated sugar
- Vodka least expensive- plastic bottle to fill
Instructions
- Sterilize your jars & allow to cool
- Fill with your fruit to the neck of the jar
- Add sugar
- Pour in your vodka- to the neck of the jar
- Put on lid making sure your seal is tight.
- Add a strip of tape & write the date on it
- Store on the counter - does not have to be a particularly sunny or dark place
- Flip every day for 3 months - once the fruit shrinks & is floating in the liquid it's okay to just give it a good shake everyday
- When the 3 months is up- strain out the fruit pieces through a colander
- To make the brandy more clear- strain again though a coffee filter.
- Transfer to air tight decorative bottles if giving as a gift.
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Taste of the Frontier cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Patrick Repp says
Thank you so much Gina for this great fruit brandy recipe! Last weekend, I put together quarts of raspberry, blackberry, plum, green plum, blueberry, peach, white peach, pear, apricot, rhubarb, strawberry-rhubarb, strawberry, cherry and mango. Thinking of trying also some apple and a couple of citrus, like orange and pineapple. My daughter suggested I try cucumber mixed with lemon. What do you think?
Jackie says
I was just wondering if you didn’t store it for the full 3 months, if it would still be ok, maybe just not as flavorful? I want to make some for Christmas gifts and if I started within the next few days if it would still turn out alright as its only a week or so short?
Barbara Ingram says
I used this recipe and used blueberries. It has been about a week but the berries don’t seem to be shrinking is this normal?
Gina Kleinworth says
It’s totally fine. Eventually, they will break down. A lot of that will depend on how fresh they are when starting out. This is why they have to sit for so long, to make sure they have adequate time to soak.
Barbara Ingram says
I have a question I used this recipes with peaches about 2 weeks ago. This morning when I flipped it the top had popped open ( broke the seal) leaked out so I opened it and put it in a new container. Is this going to be ok or is it bad?
Gina Kleinworth says
Hi there. I’m so surprised to hear that happened. Because it is no longer airtight, unfortunately, it probably isn’t good anymore. I’m so sorry to hear that happened, I have never experienced that in all the times I have made these.
Poonam says
I want to make a liqueur with fresh pomegranate juice? Will it work? Can i add some fresh mint sprigs?
Gina Kleinworth says
I haven’t tried it using juice and I’m not sure that would work if it has added sugar. I had someone try this with a flavored vodka (meaning it had added ingredients and sugars) and the jars fermented too much and popped the lid. She ended up having to toss it all out. You might be able to do it with fresh pomegranate seeds. Mint is fine to add, but I will say that when I followed a similar method to make mint extract it didn’t produce a very appealing color at the end. If you try it I’d love to know how it turns out.
Cynthia Malding says
How long will the blackberry Lacore last in the cabinet? I’d love to use up 4 gallons of blackberrys from the freezer. I’m enjoying the small batch I made before!
Gina Kleinworth says
So since it is alcohol, in theory – if they were kept in sterile containers in the proper climate, they would last indefinitely. But with our last batch, the containers that were still unopened were still good after 6-7 years. The ones we had been occasionally using lasted less time before I felt they should probably be tossed based on the fact that they had changed color. I think it really depends on how they are stored and how many contaminants get around the seal each time you open them. I ended up giving away the rest of what I had that was still good, so beyond that 7-year mark, I can’t say.
Aida says
Can I use fruit that has been frozen?
Gina Kleinworth says
You can use frozen fruit, but I recommend thawing & patting dry before adding them to the jar. Frozen fruits contain a higher moisture content that will dilute the mixture and give a different end result.
Aida says
Can I use frozen Blueberries
Gina Kleinworth says
You can use frozen fruit, but I recommend thawing & patting dry before adding them to the jar. Frozen fruits contain a higher moisture content that will dilute the mixture and give a different end result.
Anna Lamartiniere says
Could you use tequila instead of gin with mulberries?
Gina Kleinworth says
Yes – you can. While my preference is to use vodka as you see in this recipe, you can sub in brandy, tequila, gin and change up the fruit varieties as well.
Linda Spillers says
I won’t actually know how this tastes until July 18 when the first jar comes ready but I’ve had fun experimenting! I also had one jar, blueberry, which blew its seal after 2 days. I sealed it back up and it stayed sealed. (Since then I’ve been careful to wipe the jar rims before sealing, maybe add that to the instructions?) I am hoping this jar will be OK. Thoughts? Also, would it be OK to use the marinated fruit after straining, like on ice cream? Or are they inedible?
Gina Kleinworth says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the process of prepping this. Yes, sometimes the seal can break if it isn’t tight enough of even if the jar or lid has any sort of bacteria or residue on it. It can be tricky to make sure you get all of the dribbles and anything else off the rim. I think since you resealed it and it seems to be holding, then it should be fine. However – if it breaks again after this point, I would probably toss it as a loss. As far as the remaining fruit – it will be pretty much disintegrated after the process – so I usually don’t try to use it for other things.
I’m so happy to hear you gave it a try!!! Have a great weekend.
Gina
Irene says
I used everclear for the liquor and honey as the sweetener. It seems really strong. Should air make a simple syrup to add to it? Would it mellow it out?
Gina Kleinworth says
Yes – Everclear is always going to be MUCH stronger than using vodka. You can add a simple syrup to weaken/dilute it – of you can use it as an ingredient for other cocktails instead of sipping straight.
Mike says
Can you use bourbon or whiskey
Gina Kleinworth says
Sure. That will work too. Overall end flavor will obviously be different, but still good.
Ron and Barb Schlaht says
Van you use a food safe plastic container to age the crab apples and vodka in or must you use glass? First time ever trying to make any type of liquor
Gina Kleinworth says
I have never used plastic. The mixture does create some pressure since the fruit is fermenting a bit – so it would have to be pretty sturdy to not break or pop the lid. (I have had readers come back and tell me that they even had glass mason jars pop the lid occasionally – in that case, they had to start over)
However- we are just flavoring the alcohol – not really creating alcohol – so there is less pressure than there would be if we were doing that.
If you give it a try – I’d love to know how it worked for you.
Stephane Moya says
Hi Gina,
These recipes look fantastic! I have made different liquors over the years and given as gifts, it is the best. My current favorite is Limoncello.
I want to try the fruit in the jar but you don’t give (at least I couldn’t find it) the size jars and the amount of sugar per jar.
I have huckleberries that I want to use in this recipe but I don’t want to waste them by getting the wrong ratio and not having the recipe work.
It looks like pint jars, but how much sugar?
Thank you-
Stephane
Gina Kleinworth says
Huckleberries sound great. There is a full printable recipe with all the details for ratios just above the comments section where you asked your question.
I think maybe you scrolled too far.
Diana says
Hi! Is it possible to use apples?
Gina Kleinworth says
It is – but the process is a little different and you’ll want to add a few spices since apples by themselves won’t yield a very strong taste.
To use apples – you’ll need about one pound – (I have an apple sizing guide here for reference https://www.kleinworthco.com/instant-pot-applesauce/ ) You’ll want to first quarter them and remove the core. Don’t peel them.
Then place the apples along with the sugar, vodka, and about a pinch of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp whole cloves in the jar. You let that sit for about 2 weeks – flipping each day as you would with the berries. Then strain it through a cheesecloth and then a coffee filter. Then transfer it to a clean jar and let it sit for the remaining 2-3 months – flipping isn’t necessary at this point now that it has been strained.
New Harbour Distillery says
Ohh!! Nice…I’ll try this at home..
Kerry DuPont says
Thanks for sharing this. I made 3 quarts of peach. My question is, though my caps are sealed, as in they no longer move when pushed on, I did notice that there was leakage on my counter after flipping them over for the day (day 2). Wondering if this is normal and if it happened before they completely sealed. Like I said there does not seem to be movement on the lids now (day 3).
Thank you,
Kerry
Gina Kleinworth says
Hmmmm – I have never had that happen before. I would probably remove the ring and verify that nothing is leaking out now. If you have anything seeping out, then you would need to discard it and start over as you don’t want bacteria getting in there. Best to start over early in the process. But if it looks like it is sealed, then I would put the ring back on and continue.
Nancy Burkhart says
I can not get my liquors to strain through coffee filters. The liquid just sits there like it’s too thick. Do I have the wrong coffee filters? So I use several layers of cheese cloth and it will drain through that. Just wondering why ……
Gina Kleinworth says
Some coffee filters are just like that. Less pourous. Cheese cloth or a fine mesh strainer are fine too.