Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits: Innovative Flavor Combinations, Plus Homemade Versions of Kahlúa, Cointreau, and Other Popular Liqueurs (14 page)

Though the transition of liqueurs from medicine to libation was gradual, it exploded in late nineteenth-century France with the popular introduction of “the green fairy” (la fée verte) or absinthe, a vibrantly green, high-proof, licorice-flavored spirit. Its popularity brought about scores of imitators, which is the reason that a disproportionate number of liqueurs have a licorice flavor base.

Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, and Oscar Wilde were all huge fans of the stuff, and touted it as a wellspring of lucidity and creativity, giving absinthe a connection with bohemian artists and art that continues today.

Absinthe is flavored with anise and fennel seeds and tinted with a profusion of herbs and flowers, one of which, wormwood (Artemesia absinthium), made the popular liqueur infamous. In 1905, a Swiss laborer named Jean LaFray went on a bender after work, downing a considerable amount of wine and spirits, including several glasses of absinthe. Upon returning home he murdered his wife and children, and in media reports, absinthe was blamed for turning LaFray mad and precipitating the murders. Within a few years, absinthe had been banned in Switzerland, many other European countries, and the United States.

The ban, now lifted in many places, centered on thujone, a chemical component of wormwood. High concentrations of thujone were thought to cause hallucinations among absinthe drinkers. Current studies show that thujone causes neurons to fire more easily, improving cognitive functions like thinking and memory. In extremely high doses, thujone can cause muscle spasms and convulsions. However, the strongest absinthes contain less than 4.3 mg per liter.

The psychoactive effects of absinthe are more likely attributable to its high alcohol content (about 68 percent, or 140 proof). In the United States, foods or beverages made with wormwood must be free of thujone, even though several other herbs, notably sage, contain the chemical.

In the wake of absinthe frenzy (see Absinthe Makes the Heart . . . , above), hundreds of anise-flavored liqueurs were produced in France;
anisette
is an umbrella term for all of them. This version combines two forms of anise: anise seed (also spelled aniseed), which is the small seed of a flowering plant that grows in temperate climates throughout the world, and star anise, the dried fruit of an evergreen tree native to Vietnam and China. The spices are botanically unrelated but share a common chemical compound, anethole, which gives them a similar flavor. Anethole is also present in fennel.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• 1 cup anise seeds, crushed
  
• 12 star anise, cracked
  
• 1 cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Combine the vodka, anise seeds, and star anise seed in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of anise, 1 to 3 days.
   
3. 3.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
4. 4.
   Stir in the simple syrup.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

L’chaim!
Mix up make an Apertivo (
page 245
) or an Italian Kamikaze (
page 252
).

Yet another anise-flavored absinthe knock-off, Herbsaint is made by the Sazerac Company in New Orleans. Originally produced by J.M. Legendre & Co, it was called Legendre Absinthe, but the name was changed when the Federal Alcohol Control Administration objected to the sale of “absinthe.” Herbsaint never contained wormwood, so there was no violation of law, but the name was changed to Legendre Herbsaint. This version, cleverly renamed to avoid trademark violation, is also wormwood-free.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 cup vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• 2 cups dry vermouth (18% ABV)
  
• 1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup anise seeds, crushed
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup chopped fresh basil
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cup chopped fresh tarragon
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  
• 1 cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Combine the vodka, vermouth, parsley, anise seeds, basil, tarragon, and rosemary in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of herbs, 3 to 5 days.
   
3. 3.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
4. 4.
   Stir in the simple syrup.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Bottoms Up!
This is a classic choice for making a Brandy Sazerac, pictured (
page 249
), or an Allied Forces (
page 247
), or La Verenne (
page 255
).

The arid central hills of Provence are far from fertile, yet they are awash in herbs, including lavender, thyme, sage, and savory, and the bees that feed off the wildflower nectar produce a vast amount of honey. This fragrant liqueur is pale green, light, and airy — an interplay of honey, lavender, orange, rosemary, and fennel. As in most herbal liqueurs, the balance is delicate. It is pleasant sipped simply from stemware late in the afternoon, and it makes an effective replacement for vermouth in Martinis and Manhattans.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) vodka (80–100 proof)
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cup fennel seeds, crushed
  
• 3 tablespoons dried lavender blossoms
  
• 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, crushed
  
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup mild honey, such as wildflower or orange blossom
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Combine the vodka, fennel seeds, lavender, rosemary, orange zest, and honey in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar. Put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of orange and rosemary, 3 to 5 days.
   
3. 3.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
4. 4.
   Stir in the simple syrup.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Santé!
Use to make a Niçoise (
page 252
).

Gin and Tonic is my go-to summertime inebriant, so it is only natural that I would come up with a way of streamlining my route to bliss by creating tonic-flavored gin. Quinine, the flavoring ingredient in carbonated tonic, comes from cinchona bark. Cinchona is a small tree native to South America that was cultivated by the Quechua people of Peru for medicinal purposes. In the seventeenth century, Jesuit priests began using cinchona to successfully treat the symptoms of malaria. I figure I down enough each summer to have obtained full immunity.

Cinchona is available online in both bark and powder form (see
Resources
). The bark is preferable for tincturing.

Makes about 1 quart

• 1 fifth (750 ml/3
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups) gin (80 proof)
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup cinchona bark pieces
  
• 3 tablespoons juniper berries, crushed
  
• Finely grated zest of 2 limes
  
• 1 cup
  Simple Syrup
  

1. 1.
   Combine the gin, cinchona bark, juniper berries, and lime zest in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
   
2. 2.
   Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells of juniper and lime and tastes strongly bitter, 5 to 7 days.
   
3. 3.
   Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
   
4. 4.
   Stir in the simple syrup.
   
5. 5.
   Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
   

Salut!
To make a streamlined Gin and Tonic, pour this liqueur over ice in a tall glass and add seltzer to taste; garnish with lime.