Homemade Cinnamon Liqueur

Cinnamon. In ancient times it was a luxurious gift for kings and gods. Today it makes an appearance on our cinnamon rolls, apple cobbler and even french toast. 

Me, I just want to devour anything that tastes like it. Mix it with alcohol? Even BETTER. 

With no exaggeration, I LOVE cinnamon. It seems that the more I eat cinnamon my love for it just grows like a cinnamon tumour inside me. As I began making liqueurs I knew that cinnamon liqueur would be a key step in my quest for excellent homemade liqueur. 

Before I talk about the four cinnamon liqueur variants I made, let me rant a little on the things I learned about Cinnamon. 

You think that is Cinnamon on your Cinnamon roll. WRONG.

Cinnamon or Cinnamomum zeylanicum, also called Ceylon cinnamon is a small evergreen tree native to Sri Lanka. It is popular for it's inner bark which is used as spice called cinnamon. However, the big surprise is that if you are in the USA and various other countries, most of what you think is cinnamon is actually Cinnamomum aromaticum or Cassia. Cassia is in the same family as C. zeylanicum, but if you're talking about "true" cinnamon then C. zeylanicum is what you mean. 

Ceylon Cinnamon(left) and Cassia(right). Photo from wikipedia

Turns out, not only is there flavor differences between Cassia and Cinnamon, but in some countries various health agencies warn against a heavy consumption of Cassia due to the toxic component coumarin. Though it seems the consensus is that it may not be toxic enough to worry about unless you are consuming teaspoons and teaspoons of cassia every day. Ceylon cinnamon has coumarin as well, but a negligible amount. 

As far as the flavor differences go, both Cassia and Ceylon Cinnamon share similar essential oils except the Ceylon has less of the cinnamic aldehyde. From what I read, this ends up giving true cinnamon a lighter, sweeter flavor and cassia a stronger, harsh bittersweet flavor. 

So yes, after all of my excitement about creating a delicious cinnamon liqueur I discover that in fact I have created a Cassia liqueur. The more I thought about this I decided it might be okay since it appears that what I've known and loved as "cinnamon" was most likely cassia anyway. I mean a bakery here and there may use true cinnamon, but from a little googling it appears that cassia is the most popular "cinnamon" here in the states. If you go to the grocery store and buy "cinnamon sticks" it is probably cassia. To get your true cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon, order it online from a reputable spice dealer. I noticed this one shop at www.druera.com, that appears to be in Sri Lanka, and it prides itself on selling real Ceylon cinnamon. 

Anyway, note to self...make a ceylon cinnamon liqueur ASAP. For now, enjoy the Cassia. 

A taste of Cassia... err Cey.. Cinna.. whatev

Shut up and tell me if it taste good, right? Toxic? We are drinking alcohol here, that is toxic too. Yeah yeah, I'll get on with it. 

The Internet contains myriads upon myriads of recipes for everything under the sun, unless you are looking for Cinnamon Liqueur, then there is only one recipe you will find. 

Cinnamon Liqueur 

Yield:1 pint 

1 Cinnamon stick
2 Cloves
1 ts Ground coriander seed
1 cup Vodka
1/2 cup Brandy
1/2 cup Sugar Syrup 

Steep everything but sugar in alcohol for 2 weeks. Strain and filter and then add sugar syrup or sweetener to taste. Age for 1 week and serve. 

Hundreds of websites have this recipe with no attribution. I figured it was a good place to start even though I don't know the origin. 

I decided to make four separate batches and vary them to some extremes (why not?) I obtained my so called cinnamon from a local Indian spice store. This of course was Cassia as I found out after I made the liqueurs. 

Here is a list of the variations. For number 1 the only change I made was substituting clover honey for the sugar syrup. I did this for all of the variants. In my liqueur making experience so far, white sugar syrup just yields too simple of a taste. With honey, the taste becomes much more complex and better for sipping or drinking straight. 

Cinnamon(cassia) Liqueur #1 

Stuck with the recipe but substituted clover honey for the sugar syrup. (and in all below variants) 

Cinnamon(cassia) Liqueur #2 

Added 7 Key limes, just the meat quartered and some pith. Added 1tsp zest of a key lime. 

Cinnamon(cassia) Liqueur #3 

Added meat of one very large navel orange. Meat was cut approximately into eighths. Added zest from orange, about 1/4 of the orange peel. (went wild) 

Cinnamon(cassia) Liqueur #4 

Increased cinnamon by about %50. (1/2 cinnamon stick). Decreased sweetener (honey) by about %25. 

I tried all of these right after the 1 week of aging time and at least 1 - 2 months after that. 

In regards to visual aspect, the color is an orangish brownish on all of these. It tends to be a bit darker on #4 due to the extra cinnamon and have slightly green and more orangey with #2 and #3 respectively. The viscosity is not too syrupy and typical to most liqueur. If you saw the picture up at the top of the article, that is the ol' #4.

If you love cinnamon with all your heart, then #1 and #4 will love you back. #4 has a very strong cinnamon taste and obviously less on the sweet side. Less honey decreased the sweetness and allowed more of the cinnamon profile to come through. #1 is fairly balanced yet is a touch too sweet for my taste. 

#2 and #3 I nearly threw out before deciding to let them sit another month or two. I'm glad I did so, because after aging a bit the overly intense lime and orange tastes have become less focused and have broken down into a broader spectrum of flavor. 

The key-lime in #2 comes through and maybe overpowers the cinnamon. It's ends up being an interesting key-lime liqueur with the cinnamon accompanying. I felt it more lime-sweet than lime-tart. 

#3 ended up with maybe too much juice from the orange as the alcohol bite is just not there. However the orange and cinnamon marry nicely after a few months. The orange is more bitter than I expected, yet it is quite delicious the way it is. If I do this again I'll likely use less orange or up the alcohol to get the bite back. 

I'm not used to the flavor of coriander, so it is hard to tell where it shows up in the liqueur. Coriander supposedly has a smokey, nutty and citrus notes

Summing it up

Overall I like each one in different ways. I would say the most drinkable as is, would be the #4 if you like strong cinnamon taste or #1 if you don't want the cinnamon to take over. I'm a big enough cinnamon fan that I can sip #4 straight and really enjoy it. I think after some tweaking, the recipe for #2 and #3 could work. Perhaps less of the fruits.

If there are any cocktails you love that include cinnamon liqueur please comment. I don't know of any popular ones off hand, but I imagine some coffee based cocktails would find cinnamon liqueur attractive.

Chambord Liqueur Royale de France

When I think of unique liquor or liqueur bottles; the first one coming to mind is almost always Chambord. For many years Chambord's easily identifiable bottle has stood out on the shelf. The gold belt over the deep purple liqueur and interesting globe shape make it very easy to recognize.

Before this liqueur review I had never tried it outside of a cocktail, so let's take a deeper look.

Background:

Chambord liqueur is said to be inspired by a raspberry liqueur once produced in the Loire Valley of France in the late 17th Century. To this day many delicious  liquors are produced in that valley, such as Cointreau, Triple Sec and Royal Combier.

The original liqueur inspiring Chambord was supposedly introduced to King Louis XIV during one of his visits to the Chateau de Chambord. Royalty in those times always had the best of the best and it was common for many fine spirits to be had with lavish meals.

Chambord's website says they craft this liqueur from the world's finest raspberries and blackberries, Madagascar vanilla, Moroccan citrus peel, honey and cognac. This is all done on the premises of a traditional Loire Valley Chateau south of Paris.

Their creation process includes steeping of blackberry and raspberry blends in French spirits for four weeks. Then they perform an extraction of the current infusion and a second layer of spirits is added to the fruit to capture essences of the whole fruit blend. The second infusion sits for two weeks before it is drawn off and they press the fruit to get the natural sugars and juices. Finally all of the infusions and juices are married with proprietary blends of cognac, all-natural extracts of the ingredients mentioned previously as well as un-specified spices and herbs.

The result is of course a complex set of fruit and herb flavors blended with elegant cognac.

Due to the recently ever incresing trend of organics I want to mention that they do specify the ingredients in Chambord are all-natural, but not whether they are organic. This means they are likely not organic. As organic is becoming a huge trend lately and if they were using organic they would probably want to push that. Maybe if I get bored I'll send them an E-mail and ask just in case.

The Royal Test:

As you pour it into a tasting glass you will think dark, very dark red wine, but with the viscosity of maple syrup. With a swirl the deep purple-red adheres to the sides of the glass so you can get a good aroma. The color looks royal in a fancy glass and someone might even think your classy, but we know your not.

The bottle itself is about as Royal as you can get. A gold lettered belt wraps an orb glass and climaxes with a royal crown on top. Research reveals that the style is meant to resemble a Globus Cruciger.

As you lift the Chambord to your nose the raspberry aroma comes on strong and brings up a mix of nearly grapey intense raspberry goodness with lingering hints of citrus and vanilla.

What will your tongue feel? It feels a bit like drinking raspberry honey. Honey, vanilla, maybe some orange, apple and grape. This stuff conjures up visions of a fruit basket. Whereas it is easy for most liqueurs to end up overly sweet, the flavors are so intense that it balances and moderates the sweet.

Final:

Many who have not acquired a love for liquor, liqueurs and wine will claim "cough syrup" or "medicine". Several of my non-alcoholic friends brought this up when I offered them a taste. However for me it smells, feels and tastes much more complex. I think when you are not used to a variety of alcohol based flavors that pretty much any cherry or raspberry type flavors will make a non-drinker think of cough medicine.

Personally I would drink this after or with a very savory meal, or just over a single ice cube. For my taste it is delicious and the honey texture with raspberry bitter-tart is amazing. I look forward to trying a round of cocktails with Chambord as a primary component.

Actually coming soon I have at least three treats for you

• Review of Chambord Liqueur Royale de France ( a Black Raspberry Liqueur )
• Reviews and recipes of not one, but FOUR home-made Cinnamon Liqueur variants (two including fruit)
• Cocktail recipes for Chambord and my home-made Cinnamon Liqueur

Frangelico Liqueur

Today we look at another classic liqueur, Frangelico. Similar to my last review on Southern Comfort, this is one of those liqueurs you see all the time but maybe have not tried. Sad though, since Frangelico has been around 300 years you should have had plenty of time to try it!

Like Chartreuse, Benedictine and others, Frangelico's origin also involves monks which usually ends up with deliciousness.

Background:

Frangelico is a Noisette and herb flavored liqueur. You might be unfamiliar with Noisette and that is because it is french for "Hazelnut" or "made from Hazelnut".

This ancient liqueur is produced in the Piedmont region of Italy, with origins dating as far back as 300 years. It is believed to have originated with Christian monks living in the area of that time. The name itself coming from one of those same monks, "Fra. Angelico" who resided in the hills of the Piedmont area.

The Frangelico web site has great information on the history and production process. Flavors imparted in this liqueur are set in throughout the production process during distillation and infusion. According to the site, they use local hazelnuts and concentrate the flavor by making a hazelnut distillate and blending this with further hazelnut infusion. All along the way they use various floral and herbal ingredients to add spice and round out the flavor.

Visual:

After being impressed by the unique bottle I expected more of the liquid itself. It's not that its bad looking, it is just a very light color. It has a very light amber-caramel color and when put up to the light it becomes almost a golden liquid.

The bottle on the other hand is awesome. It is designed to have the appearance of a monk wearing his habit, even down to the rope belt. An interesting bit of trivia on the net is that the monk resemblance would seem to represent a Franciscan friar, but Fra Angelico was likely a Dominican friar whom wore different robes. However after reading a description of the Dominican friar's habits, I think that the Franciscan look brings more to mind a "monk". Probably due to many movies having christian monks portrayed in a Franciscan style. Though I also think of the bright-orange wearing Shaolin monks from watching too many kung-fu movies.

Nose:

Ah, do I even need to mention sweet? It is a liqueur after all. When you take a whiff you will first get intense hazelnut then cinnamon and vanilla roll along. All of it is accompanied by not too sweet overtones. A hint of peanut butter is hiding in there somewhere. This could be one of my favorite smelling liqueurs so far.

Taste:

The taste and mouth feel are strange with this one. The taste is buttery in flavor, but not in feel. The feel is almost like water, very light and not very syrupy. It has hints of chocolate, spice, almonds, hazelnuts.

A good thing about the non-syrupy consistency is that the flavor does not stay too long. It is rich up front, but finishes maybe a bit too quick. The flavor does not hang around, but then this is great because it makes easier to drink more!

You definitely want to inhale while drinking this one. The aroma is a big part of the taste. Many liqueurs smell sweet and have a syrupy feel. I'm glad to find this one is different.

Final:

Overall I am very pleased with the Frangelico liqueur. I had no idea what to expect going in and then I was blown away by the taste. Especially the strange non-syrupy finish that I am so used too with other liqueurs.

This would be great for sipping on any time of the day or adding into your coffee and hot chocolate. I'm interested to try it in many cocktails including a recommendation I saw on a forum which was to halve it with fresh squeezed lime juice on ice.

Let me know if you find any cocktails with Frangelico you particularly like and I'll try them out.

Look forward to illustrations, photos and videos in the guide later on. As well as detailed pages on each individual step. There is a lot more that I could do with that page, but right now it will get you through the basics. Enjoy!

I can smell it, and I can taste it! I can't get it out of my mind! That is why the next Liqueurs I make will all be cinnamon based. In fact I have been doing some research on Cinnamon liqueur and schnapps recipes and I decided to make at least three variant cinnamon liqueurs. There are too many options and I wish I could afford the alcohol to make ten batches. There are several types of cinnamon to use, including: Indonesian cinnamon, Saigon cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon or the common cassia that everyone here in the USA uses in baked goods.

There are also a lot of spices that would go great with cinnamon like allspice, coriander, cloves or nutmeg, and then there are various fruits, berries, it is all just too much. Anyway I will have to man up, make a decision and get to steeping my ingredients. I'll let you know what I decide in the coming weeks. I hope in the mean time you will experiment with some cinnamon liqueur as well. Let me know if you do!

Southern Comfort Liqueur

Any traveler in the states has heard of southern hospitality, but have you heard of Southern Comfort? Chances are you probably have. It is just one of those liqueurs you always see, but maybe you have not given it a go. If you have not had the chance to try it, now is good a time. Everyone needs a little comfort and I'll take a look at it with you.

Background:

Southern Comfort has been around a good long while, since 1874 to be exact. However the formula has changed over time and even now as far as I can tell the exact formula is not known. What I do know is that it is pretty tasty and since it's inception back in 1874 has remained a popular liqueur for mixing and drinking straight.

The liqueur was created by Martin Wilkes Heron an Irish bartender in New Orleans Louisiana. It became popular very quick and by 1889 he moved to Memphis Tennessee where he patented his creation and later even won a Gold Medal for the liqueur at the 1904 World's Fair in St.louis Missouri.

Only the producers know the recipe now and it is kept secret like most, but some say the original recipe could have been as follows:

"An inch of vanilla bean, about a quarter of a lemon, half of a cinnamon stick, four cloves, a few cherries and an orange bit or two. He would let this soak for days. And right when he was ready to finish he would add his sweetener, he liked to use honey."^[

Sounds delicious, but how does it taste now? Let's get to the review, I'm getting thirsty over here.

Visual:

Nothing fancy here. This is a liquor you can definitely describe easily as caramel colored. It is a light toasty brown, and fairly syrupy as you swirl it around. In fact it does look a little like maple syrup.

Nose:

Southern comfort is comforting right from the first smell. It has a sharp mint and spice aroma. The mint is not overly strong but comes through the spice well. Even those that don't like peppermint or spearmint could still enjoy this. The spice leans toward cinnamon, but is not distinct. Some may not describe the nose as having "mint" in it, but I can't think of anything closer. Perhaps it is a muddled mint.

Taste:

As a note, this Liqueur comes in several proofs. I tried the 70 proof.

The mouth feel reminds me of whiskey with a little burn up front, then a buttery finish. Cinnamon, Honey, Vanilla, it is all here. I can't pick out any cherry but maybe it will be different for you. The sort of mint spark in the nose does not come through in the taste, and I am glad because myself, I'm not fond of too much mint.

In the tasting process I also tried the now classic "Soco and Lime" cocktail. I can see why this is popular, a little fresh or sweetened lime juice goes amazing with this. The acidic lime really brings a new character to the liqueur. It's a must try.

Final:

Delicious. I can drink it straight, I can mix it. It goes great in coke, ginger ale, many different mixers.

Many people say liquor gives you a warm feeling. I know some of that is due to the effects of alcohol itself, but I like to say that this stuff warms you with the nose and the taste. The spices and honey butter feel are great on a cold day. Now that I think about it, you could even put this in a hot drink like tea or coffee.

On the subject; I think the Raspberry Liqueur I made would be great for desserts if it wasn't already so sickly sweet. Perhaps in the next iteration I'll try to create something more smooth and deep flavored. If someone makes it without the additional sugar before I get a chance to, please let me know how it turns out.

In the mean time I will try to find something delicious to pour the Lime Liqueur into. Maybe a key lime pie? Maybe ice cream?

Homemade Lime Liqueur

Anyone who has a drink with me will soon learn that I love lime. I love lime anything really, limes, lime juice, key lime pie, lime candy and any drinks that go well with lime in them. When I was looking through some various recipes for Liqueur, I saw the word lime and knew exactly what I was making next.

I proceeded to browse through the various recipes Gunther Anderson has collected and I found a nice one. I reformatted the recipe so it is a bit easier to read and added in my own directions below.

Homemade Lime Liqueur (Andrew Gnoza) recipe

• 6, Limes (i used persian limes)
• 2, Whole Cloves
• 1/8 tsp, Ground Cinnamon
• 7 oz, Clover Honey
• 12 oz, 100 proof vodka

1. Clean and scrub limes then cut them into quarters and place into a glass container for steeping.

2. Add in the rest of the ingredients, pouring the vodka in last.

3. Shake well to mix.

4. Keep in refrigerator for about 2 weeks, stirring or shaking every 3 days.

5. Strain and Filter. Age for 1 to 2 weeks. The tartness will die down a little.

*note: after straining and filtering I added in 3/4 Cup sugar syrup because it was a little too bitter for my taste.

She put the lime in the coconut..

After a week or so I got this song out of my head and then went in for a close examination.

Visual:

At first the Lime Liqueur is very cloudy, seemingly due to the cinnamon which adds a brownish  hue and the honey which adds a golden color. After aging for about two weeks the cloudiness settles and color is much better. It is definitely a dark lime green (the picture above is before aging), though with a hint of gold\brown due to the other ingredients. The color is more pleasing than the food color ultra-lime greens you would see at the store.

Presenting this liqueur on the rocks only makes it look better.

Nose:

You get a primary honey with a secondary citrus tart that is distinctly lime. There is a bit of spice aroma but it is not a standout.

Home made Lime Liqueur

Taste:

Honestly this is the first homemade Liqueur coming out of my kitchen that I could deem worthy of sipping on after dinner. The mouth feel is just right, not too viscous, not too runny. Honey is surprisingly dominant in this Liqueur, Tart and acid hits you before the bitter rolls in. Normally bitter would give me a sad face but it is somehow welcome in this party of flavors. The cinnamon and clove add a nice spice at the end to round things out.

Final:

I really like this one, but I can still be picky. The lime flavor itself could stand to be more intense, maybe a tad less bitter and more spice. Overall I like it how it is! (it probably would have been great even without the 3/4 cup sugar syrup I added in) The recipe came out pretty good if just a bit bitter. In doing more research on fruit extracts I discovered the bitterness might be due to leaving on the peels and not removing the pith. Next time I will include the only the zest, meat and juice, leaving out the pith.

Homemade Pineapple Liqueur

Almost everyone who drinks has enjoyed a Pina Colada. You can't deny the deliciousness of a good Pina Colada or that pineapple is a key part of the flavor. Though shame on you if you have never tried a Pineapple liqueur! What better way is there to enjoy pure pineapple flavor with a nice alcohol bite and plenty of sweet?

I found a simple pineapple liqueur recipe on Gunther Anderson's liqueur site and tried my hand.

Homemade Pinapple Liqueur Recipe

• 2 cups pineapple
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups vodka
• 1/2 cup sugar syrup

"Steep 1 week, strain/squeeze and filter, add syrup, age 1 month.

Notes: Sharp - more sugar? Another recipe calls for rum, which might be smoother."

As you can see; quite simple. I didn't deviate from this recipe at all and the produce that resulted is mighty fine.

You might wonder if you can use canned pineapple or do you need fresh? I can only tell you that I used fresh cut pineapple from the Publix grocery store. I would think canned pineapple might have a more intense flavor especially if you add the juice in. However I was worried the juice would throw the mix off and the recipe did not specify.

It turned out really well, but I am not going to do a deep review because it simply taste like Pineapple and alcohol  with a touch of sweet. This is exactly as I would expect, though as it has aged the pineapple aroma is still really strong, and the tastes are less distinct, the alcohol bite blending with the fruit. I can't forget to mention that the color is just the perfect pineapple yellow tint you would imagine. This will be an amazing mixer especially in Pina Colada-like fruity drinks. Goes down great when chilled too!

Homemade Pineapple Liqueur

I'll probably make this recipe again, but try variants with spices and maybe honey instead of sugar. I would like a more rounded, complex Pineapple liqueur for sipping on.