Mango-mint liqueur

Shopping list

Amounts scale with the batch size above. The method text uses the 2 L amounts.

Botanicals to order online

Know your botanicals

Peppermint Mentha × piperita

Polish: mięta pieprzowa · 4 g

In the bag: crumbled dark green leaf flakes with a strong, cool smell

Brings: the cooling finish that makes mango taste fresh instead of jammy

Check: same bag as the raspberry-mint liqueur; or use 25 g fresh leaves

Bitter orange peel Citrus aurantium

Polish: gorzka pomarańcza · 8 g

In the bag: thin gray-green to tan curls of dried rind

Brings: a faint bitter edge so the sweetness doesn't cloy (optional)

Check: same bag as the fig and raspberry liqueurs

Galangal Alpinia galanga

Polish: kłącze galangi · 1 g

In the bag: hard tan discs, rust-red ringed skin, fibrous core

Brings: a hint of gingery spice that suits mango (optional)

Check: same bag as the fig liqueur

Method

This is the quickest of the three. Mango gives up its flavor fast and starts to taste cooked if it sits too long, so the fruit comes out after about a week and the mint steeps for only two days. Blend day is about day 12.

1. Day 0

   Start the mango jar

   Cut the mango flesh into 2 cm cubes, add the dried mango if you have it, and cover everything with 1.25 L of the vodka in the big jar. Seal it, keep it dark, and swirl it gently every day or two.

   

2. Day 0

   Start the orange jar, set some vodka aside

   Put the orange peel and galangal in the quart jar with 500 ml of the vodka. Seal the last 250 ml of vodka in the pint jar and keep it for the mint. Skip the orange jar entirely if you want a purely fruity liqueur, and use its vodka in the mango jar instead.

   

3. Days 7–10

   Strain the mango and the orange

   Pour the mango vodka through a sieve, then press the fruit gently in cheesecloth; pressing hard pushes pulp through and makes it cloudier. Strain the orange jar through a coffee filter at the same time.

   

4. Days 7–10

   Let the mango settle

   Mango is full of pectin, so the extract will be hazy. Chill it for 2 to 3 days, then carefully pour the clear part off the sediment. A little haze is normal and does no harm.

5. Day 10

   Start the mint jar

   Add the peppermint to the 250 ml of vodka you set aside. Steep it for 2 days only, shaking now and then, then strain it through a coffee filter.

   

6. Day 12

   Make the syrup and blend

   Warm the sugar and water in a saucepan just until the sugar dissolves, and let it cool completely; don't caramelize it, so the color stays bright. Combine the mango extract with half the syrup, then add the orange extract, the mint extract and more syrup a little at a time until it tastes right. Finish with a squeeze of lime if it tastes flat.

   

7. Then 1–2 weeks

   Bottle and rest

   Filter through coffee filters, bottle, and rest it for at least a week. The mango aroma is at its best young, so plan to drink it within about six months.

   

To serve

Serve it well chilled or over ice. For a long drink, top 50 ml with 100 ml of tonic or soda water and add a mint sprig and a slice of mango.