Raspberry-mint liqueur
Sweet raspberries, cool peppermint and lemon zest over a light bitter-orange base. It is fruitier and gentler than the fig liqueur, and it uses three of the same botanicals. Treat the amounts as a starting point and tune them by taste.
- Vodka in
- 2 L
- Liqueur out
- about 2.6 L
- Strength
- roughly 28–30% ABV
- Start to bottle
- about 5 weeks
Shopping list
Amounts scale with the batch size above. The method text uses the 2 L amounts.
Botanicals to order online
| Got it | Botanical | Per batch | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitter orange peelCitrus aurantium | 15 g | Brewer's Best bitter orange peel, 1 oz amazon.com/dp/B00ZPVFRY8 |
|
| GalangalAlpinia galanga | 2 g | Deliherb dried sliced galangal, 4 oz amazon.com/dp/B093WN5B6Y |
|
| Angelica rootAngelica archangelica | 1 g | Angelica root, cut, 100 g (grown in Poland) amazon.com/dp/B0BQ4FF75L |
|
| PeppermintMentha × piperita | 3 g | Ecovista organic peppermint leaf, cut, 4 oz amazon.com/dp/B0GH7DTXDP |
Grocery store
Liquor store
Equipment
Know your botanicals
Bitter orange peel Citrus aurantium
Polish: gorzka pomarańcza · 15 g
In the bag: thin gray-green to tan curls of dried rind
Brings: a backbone of bitter citrus and orange aroma under the fruit
Check: left over from the fig liqueur? Same bag. Otherwise bitter or Curaçao peel, not sweet orange
Galangal Alpinia galanga
Polish: kłącze galangi · 2 g
In the bag: hard tan discs, rust-red ringed skin, fibrous core
Brings: a little peppery warmth so the fruit doesn't taste flat
Check: same bag as the fig liqueur
Angelica root Angelica archangelica
Polish: arcydzięgiel · 1 g
In the bag: gray-brown woody chunks, pale inside, musky smell
Brings: a quiet musky depth that stops it tasting like a cordial
Check: same bag as the fig liqueur; archangelica, not dong quai
Peppermint Mentha × piperita
Polish: mięta pieprzowa · 3 g
In the bag: crumbled dark green leaf flakes with a strong, cool smell
Brings: the cool mint note that lifts the raspberry
Check: peppermint (Mentha piperita), not spearmint; or use 20 g fresh leaves instead
Method
Two jars start on day 0, raspberries in one and the bitter-orange base in the other. The mint and lemon go in last and only for two days, because mint turns grassy if it steeps too long. Blend day is about three weeks in.
-
Day 0
Start the raspberry jar
Put the raspberries in a jar (thaw them first if frozen) and cover them with 1 L of the vodka. Seal it, keep it dark, and swirl it gently every few days rather than shaking, so the fruit doesn't break down into pulp.
-
Day 0
Start the orange jar, set some vodka aside
Put the orange peel, galangal, angelica and cloves in the second jar with 750 ml of the vodka and shake it once a day. Seal the last 250 ml of vodka in the small jar and keep it for the mint.
-
Days 10–14
Taste, then strain the orange jar
This base should stay in the background, so strain it as soon as the orange tastes clear and the bitterness starts to show, first through a fine sieve and then a coffee filter.
-
Day 14
Pour off the raspberries, then sugar them
Pour the raspberry vodka into a clean bottle without pressing the fruit; this is the first extract. Cover the fruit left in the jar with the 300 g of sugar, seal it, and turn the jar once a day. Over a week the sugar pulls a deep red syrup out of the berries.
-
Day 19
Start the mint and lemon jar
Zest 2 lemons into the 250 ml of vodka you set aside, taking only the yellow skin, and add the peppermint. Steep it for 2 days only, shaking now and then, then strain it through a coffee filter.
-
Day 21
Press the syrup and blend
Strain the sugared raspberries through cheesecloth and press them well, then combine the syrup with the first raspberry extract. Add the orange extract and then the mint-lemon extract a little at a time until the balance suits you. If it tastes flat, finish with the juice of 1 lemon.
-
Then 2+ weeks
Bottle and rest
Raspberries throw a lot of sediment. Let the blend settle for a few days, pour it off the sediment, filter it through coffee filters and bottle it. Leave it at least two weeks so the mint and fruit come together.
Keep it safe
- Use unwaxed lemons, or scrub waxed ones in hot water, because the zest goes straight into the drink.
- Sort fresh raspberries and throw out any with mold; one bad berry can taint the whole jar.
- Keep the jars sealed, dark and away from heat, and label them with the start date.
Tuning the next batch
- Too sweet: use 250 g of sugar on the fruit next time, or add a squeeze of lemon now.
- Mint tastes grassy: steep it for one day, or switch from fresh leaves to dried peppermint.
- Too thin or fruit-juice-like: blend in more of the orange extract; it gives the liqueur its backbone.
- Color turning brown: raspberry color fades in light, so store the bottles in a dark cupboard.
To serve
Serve it well chilled as an aperitif, or on ice. For a long drink, top 50 ml with 100 ml of soda water or tonic and add a slice of lemon, a few raspberries and a mint leaf.
