Read Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits: Innovative Flavor Combinations, Plus Homemade Versions of Kahlúa, Cointreau, and Other Popular Liqueurs for Free Online Page B

Hence it has a longer tincturing period than other fruit liqueurs.
    Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients
2 pints blueberries, stemmed, or 1 1 ⁄ 2 pounds frozen blueberries, thawed
2 cups Simple Syrup
2 1 ⁄ 4 cups vodka (80–100 proof)
1 cup fruity red wine, like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon
1 ⁄ 4 cup aged balsamic vinegar
Instructions
1. Muddle the blueberries and simple syrup with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir in the vodka, wine, and balsamic vinegar.
2. Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of blueberries, about 7 days.
3. Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
4. Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
    Cheers! Sip after dinner or drizzle over fruit for an elegantly simple dessert.

    Double Raspberry Copycat Chambord
    Chambord comes in a pretentious spherical bottle caged in gold plastic and capped with a hoop crown. Its form is reminiscent of the globus cruciger , an orb crowned with a cross that was used by medieval church-states to symbolize Christ’s supremacy over the world. Illusions of grandeur for a berry liqueur, don’t you think? But Chambord is no ordinary berry liqueur. The fruit is tinctured twice in Cognac and finished with honey, vanilla, and orange. My recipe is a good replica; the bottle is up to you.
    Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients
1 quart fresh red raspberries or 1 1 ⁄ 2 pounds frozen raspberries, thawed
1 quart black raspberries
1 cup Simple Syrup
1 ⁄ 2 cup honey
2 cups vodka (80–100 proof)
1 1 ⁄ 4 cups brandy (80 proof)
Finely grated zest of 1 ⁄ 2 orange
1 ⁄ 4 of a vanilla bean (Madagascar or Bourbon), split
Instructions
1. Muddle the red and black raspberries, simple syrup, and honey with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir in the vodka, brandy, orange zest, and vanilla.
2. Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of raspberries, about 7 days.
3. Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
4. Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
    Skål! Makes a killer Kir — try it with Champagne!

    Sweet-and-Sour Cherry Copycat Cherry Heering
    All cherries are from the drupe fruit genus ( Prunus ), which includes apricots, peaches, and plums. Within the genus there are two subcategories of cherry: Sweet (or black cherries) are P. avium and sour cherries (or pie cherries) are P. cerasus . The two are no more alike than a grape and a plum.
    Sweet cherries — dark or golden-skinned, meaty, and taut — are the more common in markets, largely because they are best consumed fresh. Sweet cherries have a longer growing season and greater resistance to disease than sour cherries, which are too tart to be eaten without sweetening and are somewhat loose in their skins. And yet our notion of cherry flavor — tart, tangy, and bright — is 100 percent sour cherry, as enervating and unnerving to the palate as glancing directly into the sun. This liqueur is a diplomatic blend of the two, both civilized and naughty, just the right thing to make your Singapore Sling blush.
    Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients
3 cups black cherries, stemmed and crushed (no need to remove pits)
1 1 ⁄ 2 cups Simple Syrup
2 cups vodka (80–100 proof)
1 1 ⁄ 2 cups brandy (80 proof)
2 1 ⁄ 4 cups dried sour cherries, coarsely chopped
Instructions
1. Muddle the black cherries and simple syrup with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir in the vodka, brandy, and dried sour cherries.
2. Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of cherries, about 7 days.
3. Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
4. Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
    Sláinte! Make a Bittersweet Sour Cherry ( page 246