Steep garden or hedgerow fruit in spirit for a few weeks to a few months, and you have a liqueur far better than the shop can sell. For over-18s.
🍸 18+ 🍸
Sloe Gin
⏱ 20 min + 2-3 months steeping · 🍶 About 1 litre Uses: Sloes (blackthorn), or damsons
The classic hedgerow liqueur and the easiest place to start - sloes, sugar and gin in a jar, then patience. Pick sloes after the first frost, or freeze them overnight to split the skins.
Ingredients
- 450g sloes, washed
- 225g caster sugar
- 1 litre gin
Method
- Prick each sloe a few times with a needle, or freeze them overnight so the skins split.
- Half-fill a large sterilised jar with the sloes and pour the sugar over them.
- Top up with the gin, seal, and shake to start the sugar dissolving.
- Store somewhere cool and dark. Shake every day for the first week, then once a week for 2 to 3 months.
- Strain through muslin into clean bottles. It keeps for years and only improves.
Tip: It is drinkable at 2 months but rounder at 3 or more. The gin-soaked sloes are lovely stirred through chocolate puddings.
🍑 18+ 🍑
Damson Vodka
⏱ 20 min + 3 months steeping · 🍶 About 1 litre Uses: Damsons or plums
Damsons make a deeper, plummier version of sloe gin, and vodka lets the fruit flavour come through cleanly. Any tart plum works.
Ingredients
- 500g damsons, washed and halved (stones left in)
- 200g caster sugar
- 1 litre vodka
Method
- Halve the damsons and drop them into a large sterilised jar, stones and all.
- Add the sugar and pour over the vodka.
- Seal and shake well, then store cool and dark.
- Shake every few days for a fortnight, then leave for 3 months, shaking occasionally.
- Strain into clean bottles.
Tip: A few cracked stones add a faint almond note, but do not overdo it - use only a handful and never blitz them.
🍒 18+ 🍒
Cherry Brandy
⏱ 20 min + 2-3 months steeping · 🍶 About 750ml Uses: Morello or sweet cherries
Tart morello cherries and brandy make a rich, festive liqueur that is worth the wait. Sweet cherries work too - just cut the sugar back a little.
Ingredients
- 500g cherries, washed
- 150g caster sugar
- 500ml brandy
Method
- Prick the cherries all over, or halve them and leave the stones in.
- Layer the cherries and sugar in a sterilised jar.
- Pour over the brandy, seal and shake.
- Store cool and dark, shaking now and then, for 2 to 3 months.
- Strain into bottles. The boozy cherries are a dessert in themselves.
Tip: Leave the stones in for a subtle almond depth, or take them out for a cleaner cherry flavour.
🌸 18+ 🌸
Raspberry Gin
⏱ 15 min + 4-6 weeks steeping · 🍶 About 750ml Uses: Raspberries
One of the quickest liqueurs - soft fruit gives up its colour and flavour fast, so raspberry gin is ready in weeks rather than months. Blackberries and blackcurrants work the same way.
Ingredients
- 400g raspberries
- 150g caster sugar
- 600ml gin
Method
- Tip the raspberries into a sterilised jar and lightly crush a few against the side.
- Add the sugar and pour over the gin.
- Seal and shake, then store cool and dark.
- Shake every couple of days for 4 to 6 weeks.
- Strain through muslin into clean bottles, pressing gently to get the last of the juice.
Tip: Wonderful topped up with sparkling water or prosecco. Use within a year for the freshest fruit flavour.
🫐 18+ 🫐
Blackberry Whisky
⏱ 15 min + 6-8 weeks steeping · 🍶 About 750ml Uses: Blackberries (brambles)
Free hedgerow blackberries and a modest whisky turn into something far greater than the sum of their parts. A late-summer forager's favourite.
Ingredients
- 450g blackberries
- 175g caster sugar
- 600ml whisky (blended is fine)
Method
- Put the blackberries in a sterilised jar and crush lightly.
- Add the sugar and pour over the whisky.
- Seal, shake, and store cool and dark.
- Shake every few days for 6 to 8 weeks.
- Strain into bottles and leave another month if you can.
Tip: There is no need for a good single malt here - a cheap blended whisky is transformed by the fruit.
🍓 18+ 🍓
Strawberry Vodka
⏱ 15 min + 3-4 weeks steeping · 🍶 About 750ml Uses: Strawberries
About the simplest liqueur there is, and a brilliant way to use a strawberry glut before it turns. Just hull the berries, drop them in a jar with sugar and vodka, and wait a few weeks - the vodka draws out the colour and that fresh summer flavour.
Ingredients
- 400g ripe strawberries, hulled and halved
- 150g caster sugar
- 600ml vodka
Method
- Hull and halve the strawberries and tip them into a large sterilised jar.
- Add the sugar and pour over the vodka.
- Seal and shake to start the sugar dissolving.
- Store cool and dark, shaking every couple of days, for 3 to 4 weeks.
- Strain through muslin into clean bottles.
Tip: Soft fruit steeps fast, so taste from 3 weeks. Lovely topped up with prosecco or lemonade. Use within a year.
🫐 18+ 🫐
Blackcurrant Vodka
⏱ 15 min + 6-8 weeks steeping · 🍶 About 750ml Uses: Blackcurrants
Strip the currants off their stalks, throw them in a jar with sugar and vodka, and you have the makings of a homemade cassis. Deep purple, intense and tart - a little goes a long way in a glass of fizz.
Ingredients
- 400g blackcurrants, stalks removed
- 200g caster sugar
- 600ml vodka
Method
- Strip the currants off their stalks and lightly crush a handful against the side of a sterilised jar.
- Add the rest of the currants and the sugar, then pour over the vodka.
- Seal and shake well.
- Store cool and dark, shaking every few days, for 6 to 8 weeks.
- Strain through muslin into clean bottles, pressing gently to get the last of the juice.
Tip: Very concentrated - try a splash in sparkling water or white wine before drinking it neat. Redcurrants work the same way for a lighter result.
🌷 18+ 🌷
Rhubarb Vodka
⏱ 15 min + 4-6 weeks steeping · 🍶 About 900ml Uses: Rhubarb
One of the prettiest things to make from the veg patch - raw rhubarb turns the vodka a soft blush pink and gives it a clean, tart flavour. Forced early rhubarb gives the brightest colour, but any works. No cooking needed.
Ingredients
- 500g rhubarb, chopped into 2cm pieces
- 200g caster sugar
- 700ml vodka
Method
- Chop the rhubarb (no need to peel) and pack it into a large sterilised jar.
- Add the sugar and pour over the vodka.
- Seal and shake to start the sugar dissolving.
- Store cool and dark, shaking every couple of days, for 4 to 6 weeks until pink and fragrant.
- Strain into clean bottles.
Tip: Use only the stalks - rhubarb leaves are toxic and must never go in. Wonderful long with tonic or soda and a slice of orange.
🔵 18+ 🔵
Blueberry Vodka
⏱ 15 min + 6-8 weeks steeping · 🍶 About 750ml Uses: Blueberries
Garden blueberries make a smooth, rounded liqueur with a gorgeous inky colour. As easy as it gets - crush a few, jar them with sugar and vodka, and leave them to it.
Ingredients
- 400g blueberries
- 150g caster sugar
- 600ml vodka
Method
- Tip the blueberries into a sterilised jar and lightly crush about a third of them against the side.
- Add the sugar and pour over the vodka.
- Seal and shake.
- Store cool and dark, shaking every few days, for 6 to 8 weeks.
- Strain through muslin into clean bottles.
Tip: The vodka-soaked berries are lovely spooned over ice cream. Use the liqueur within a year.
🟣 18+ 🟣
Plum Vodka
⏱ 20 min + 2-3 months steeping · 🍶 About 1 litre Uses: Plums, greengages
When the plum tree gives more than you can eat, this is the answer - halved plums, sugar and vodka in a jar, and a warm, autumnal liqueur by winter. Greengages and mirabelles work just as well.
Ingredients
- 600g plums, washed and halved (stones left in)
- 225g caster sugar
- 700ml vodka
Method
- Halve the plums, leaving the stones in, and drop them into a large sterilised jar.
- Add the sugar and pour over the vodka.
- Seal and shake well.
- Store cool and dark, shaking every few days for a fortnight, then now and then for 2 to 3 months.
- Strain into clean bottles.
Tip: A couple of the stones cracked open add a gentle almond note - use only a few and never blitz them. It only improves with keeping.
🍇 18+ 🍇
Garden Berry Vodka
⏱ 15 min + 6-8 weeks steeping · 🍶 About 750ml Uses: Any garden or hedgerow berries
The recipe for a mixed glut - a handful of this and that from the summer garden, all steeped together. Strawberries, raspberries, currants, blueberries, blackberries, in any proportion you happen to have. There is no wrong mix.
Ingredients
- 450g mixed berries (whatever you have)
- 175g caster sugar
- 600ml vodka
Method
- Tip all the berries into a large sterilised jar and lightly crush a handful against the side.
- Add the sugar and pour over the vodka.
- Seal and shake to start the sugar dissolving.
- Store cool and dark, shaking every few days, for 6 to 8 weeks.
- Strain through muslin into clean bottles, pressing gently.
Tip: Add the berries as they ripen through the summer if you like, topping up the vodka and sugar - just start the clock again each time. Use within a year.
🍋 18+ 🍋
Limoncello
⏱ 30 min + 1-2 weeks steeping · 🍶 About 1 litre Uses: Lemons (unwaxed)
The Italian classic, and all about the zest - it is the oils in the peel, not the juice, that carry the flavour. Use unwaxed lemons and take only the yellow, never the bitter white pith.
Ingredients
- Zest of 8 unwaxed lemons (yellow only)
- 500ml high-proof vodka or grain spirit
- 350g sugar
- 400ml water
Method
- Pare the zest thinly, avoiding the white pith, and put it in a sterilised jar.
- Pour over the spirit, seal, and steep cool and dark for 1 to 2 weeks, until the spirit is bright yellow.
- Make a syrup: warm the sugar and water until dissolved, then cool completely.
- Strain the zest out of the spirit, stir in the cooled syrup, and bottle.
- Rest a few days, then keep in the freezer and serve ice-cold.
Tip: Keep it in the freezer - it will not freeze solid, and limoncello is meant to be drunk almost frozen.
