Chokeberry liqueur

Homemade alcoholic drinks made from a variety of fruits and herbs have always been very popular among the people, not only for economic reasons. After all, a drink prepared with your own hands carries much more benefits and energy than one made in production.And chokeberry liqueur is practically a cult drink, known since ancient times for its healing and wonderful taste.

How to make chokeberry liqueur

Still, from the very beginning you should define the terms a little in order to understand the difference in the manufacturing processes. For most consumers, liqueur and tincture are practically no different from each other. Professional chefs and winemakers know very well that liqueur is something that is prepared by natural fermentation without the addition of alcohol-containing liquids. In fact, liqueur differs from wine only in its increased sugar content.

But any tincture is made with the obligatory addition of vodka or moonshine (or other strong drink). As they say, they insist on alcohol. Thus, chokeberry liqueur and tincture are not the same thing at all. And these drinks differ, first of all, in their strength - the tinctures are much stronger and are more suitable for men.

But since this difference in terms in practical application is important mainly for professionals, the article will sometimes use the term “filling” as applied to tincture too.

To prepare homemade classic chokeberry liqueur, only fresh and completely ripe berries are used and without the addition of vodka. But with fresh chokeberry berries, not everything is simple either - it is better to use them for making liqueur after the first frost, when all the astringency has gone from them, and there will be no bitterness in the finished drink.

You can also use frozen berries; sometimes they are even specially frozen to speed up the manufacturing process.But from dry chokeberry berries you can only prepare a tincture with the addition of any alcohol-containing drink.

Before use, the berries are sorted, removing spoiled ones and those that are disproportionately small in size. Such fruits are unlikely to produce anything tasty; they are usually more bitter than usual.

Of course, it is necessary to remove all twigs, leaves and petioles - in this case they will not add anything useful to the drink.

If chokeberry liqueur is prepared at home according to the classic recipe, then you should not wash the berries - “wild” yeast lives on their surface, the presence of which will help the natural fermentation process.

Otherwise, chokeberry berries are washed under running water and then dried, spread out on a cloth or paper towel.

Classic recipe for chokeberry liqueur

It’s not for nothing that this recipe is called classic – this is the way black rowan liqueur was prepared at home hundreds of years ago.

For this, the only products you will need are:

• 3 kg of chokeberry berries;
• 1 kg granulated sugar.

The cooking process itself is quite lengthy, but the natural taste of the finished product is worth the effort.

1. Fresh, unwashed berries are crushed using a wooden masher or, as a last resort, using an immersion blender.
2. Place the berry mass in a glass container, add sugar and mix well.
3. Cover the container with a double layer of gauze and place it in a place without light with a temperature of + 18 ° C to + 25 ° C.
4. In this way, it is kept for several days, stirring the contents of the jar with a wooden spoon or stick once a day.
5. When obvious signs of the beginning of the fermentation process appear, a sour smell, white foam, hissing, a water seal or its equivalent is installed on the container - a rubber glove with a small hole in the finger.
6. The liqueur should ferment for 30-45 days.
   Attention! Signs of the end of the fermentation process are the lowering of the glove or the cessation of the appearance of bubbles in the water seal.
7. Trying not to touch the sediment at the bottom of the container, its contents are drained to another place through several layers of gauze or a cotton wool filter.
8. Then the liqueur is poured into bottles, tightly corked and kept for 70 to 90 days in a cool place (+ 10-16 ° C) without light.

Of course, tasting can be done earlier, but aging improves the taste of the drink. Homemade chokeberry liqueur according to this recipe is prepared without vodka or any other strong alcohol-containing drink, so its strength is low - approximately 10-13%.

Chokeberry liqueur with vodka

For those who are not satisfied with the strength of the drink described in the previous recipe, there is a more serious version of black rowan liqueur with vodka. Using this recipe, you can prepare the liqueur using natural fermentation, and at the last stage, fix the drink with vodka. The result is something between a liqueur and a tincture.

You will need:

• 2 kg of chokeberry berries;
• 0.5 kg sugar;
• 1 liter of vodka.

Preparation:

1. Unwashed chokeberry berries are poured into a glass jar of the appropriate volume, alternating them with layers of sugar. The topmost layer should be sugar.
2. The neck is tied with gauze and the jar is placed on a sunny and warm windowsill for 5-6 days.
   Important! During these days, the contents of the jar must be shaken at least once a day.
3. When fermentation begins, a glove is put on the neck or a water seal is placed, which is removed after about a month and a half, when the process is completely completed.
   
4. The liqueur is filtered through cheesecloth, vodka is added and mixed well.
5. Pour into bottles, seal tightly and place in a cool, dark place for 1.5-2 months to infuse.

The strength of the drink obtained at home can already reach 20 degrees.

How to make chokeberry liqueur with vanilla and orange

Using the same classic natural fermentation technique, you can prepare a very tasty homemade chokeberry liqueur with exotic notes of citrus and vanilla.

You will need:

• 3 kg chokeberry;
• 1 kg granulated sugar;
• zest from 3 oranges;
• a few vanilla sticks.

The cooking process is completely identical to the classic recipe. Vanilla and orange zest are added at the very beginning of the process.

Chokeberry liqueur with alcohol

And this recipe already presents an option for preparing a real chokeberry tincture in alcohol. Despite the decent strength of the drink, about 40%, it is very easy to drink and tastes good.

You will need:

• 1 kg of rowan berries;
• about 1 liter of alcohol 60%;
• 300 g sugar (optional).

Manufacturing:

1. Place washed and dried chokeberries into a jar.
2. Pour alcohol so that its level overlaps the berries by 2-3 cm.
3. If desired, add sugar and shake all the contents in the jar thoroughly.
4. Cover with a lid and place the jar in a warm place without light for 2-3 months. It is advisable to remember the jar and shake its contents at least once every 5 days.
5. Strain the finished tincture through a gauze filter and pour it into bottles, tightly capping them.

Chokeberry liqueur with moonshine

Using exactly the same technology, a chokeberry liqueur-tincture is prepared at home using moonshine.

If you take moonshine with a strength of about 60 degrees, then the ratio of the remaining ingredients will be exactly the same as in the previous recipe.

For taste, you can additionally add a few chips of oak bark or pieces of lemon zest to this homemade drink.

Chokeberry liqueur with cherry leaves

This recipe requires preliminary heat treatment of the chokeberry, but it allows you to extract maximum flavor and aroma from its berries.

You will need:

• 1 kg of chokeberry berries;
• 500 ml purified water;
• 1 l 95.6% food alcohol;
• 200 g cherry leaves (about 300 pieces);
• 400 g sugar;
• 8 g vanilla sugar or half of one pod;
• 4 buds of cloves.

Preparation:

1. Selected, washed and dried rowan berries are placed together with cherry leaves in a thick-walled pan, water and half the dose of sugar prescribed according to the recipe are added.
2. After boiling, cook over low heat for about 40 minutes, then leave to cool for at least 12 hours.
   
3. The next day, strain the puree, lightly squeezing out the pulp, which can be discarded.
4. The remaining half of the sugar is added to the resulting juice and everything is slightly heated to ensure its complete dissolution.
5. Pour into a glass jar of suitable volume, cool, add alcohol and spices, stir well.
6. The jar is tightly closed and left unattended for 3 or 4 months in a cool place without light.
7. After this period, the liqueur from cherry leaves and chokeberry is carefully drained from the sediment, filtered, poured into dry, clean bottles and allowed to brew for a couple more days before the first tasting.

Delicious chokeberry liqueur with cherry leaf and lemon

This recipe is in many ways similar to the previous one, only 2 lemons and 100 g of natural honey are added to the active ingredients.

The crushed zest from washed lemons is added to the berries before the very first cooking. And squeezed lemon juice with honey is added to the already strained drink after the last addition of sugar.

Recipe for black rowan liqueur with mint and cloves

The method of preparing a very aromatic liqueur at home using the following recipe is also simple.

You will need:

• 1500 g chokeberry berries;
• 500 ml vodka;
• 500 g granulated sugar;
• 50 g fresh mint leaves or 20 g dry;
• 3-4 buds of cloves.

Preparation:

1. Wash the glass jar or bottle and dry it in the oven.
2. Pour sugar into the bottom and add cloves.
3. Grind the chokeberry into a puree and add to the sugar and cloves, shaking well.
4. Cover the neck with gauze and leave for 3 days in a dark place.
5. On the 4th day, pour vodka into the container with the future liqueur, shake everything well again, tightly close with a plastic lid and leave to infuse for 2-3 months.
6. Strain the finished liqueur, pour into previously prepared bottles and store in a cool place.

Chokeberry: recipe for liqueur with prunes and star anise

Homemade chokeberry liqueur prepared according to this recipe will delight you with its somewhat viscous consistency and more intense color.

For a three-liter jar you will need:

• 1-1.2 kg of chokeberry;
• 1.5 liters of vodka;
• 300 g sugar;
• 100 g prunes;
• cinnamon stick;
• several stars of star anise.

Preparation:

1. Aronia berries are placed in a clean and dry jar, approximately up to the shoulders.
2. They are completely filled with vodka, the jar is closed with a lid and placed in a dark place for 2.5 months, remembering to shake it at least once a week.
3. After a set period of time, the liqueur is filtered and poured into another container.
4. Add prunes, sugar and other spices according to the recipe to it, close the lid and put it back in a dark place for 30 days, again remembering to stir the contents once a week.
5. The liqueur is filtered again, the spices and prunes are removed and distributed into bottles, tightly corking the latter.

Recipe for homemade liqueur from black and red rowan

An unusually tasty liqueur can be prepared at home by mixing both types of rowan: red and black. True, they differ slightly in the juice content of the berries, so red rowan must be crushed before use in order to extract the maximum amount of useful substances from it. The ratio of ingredients used is approximately as follows:

• 500 g red rowan;
• 500 g chokeberry;
• 1 liter of vodka;
• 300 g granulated sugar.

Another feature of using red rowan is the fact that a drink made from it requires a longer infusion.Otherwise, the process technology itself is identical to that described in the previous recipe.

Frozen chokeberry liqueur

From frozen chokeberry berries you can prepare a tasty and healthy liqueur or tincture according to any of the recipes described here. You just need to first defrost the berries and drain excess liquid from them. Then weigh and use in the same proportions as fresh.

Dried chokeberry liqueur recipe

But you won’t be able to make liqueur from dried chokeberry using natural fermentation. But dried berries are perfect for making tinctures with vodka, alcohol or moonshine. When using them, you just need to take into account some features:

1. When using them in recipes, the amount of dried berries should be halved compared to fresh ones.
2. Before infusion, it is better to chop the dried berries for a more complete and uniform release of their properties.
3. The duration of infusion when using dried chokeberry berries increases on average by 2 times and is about 4-5 months.

Homemade chokeberry liqueur with cognac and honey

A drink infused with cognac with the addition of honey turns out to be very tasty and healthy. This homemade tincture can provide effective help for colds. In addition, honey enhances some of the other healing properties of chokeberry.

You will need:

• 500 g chokeberry berries;
• 500 ml cognac;
• 3-4 tbsp. l. natural honey.

Manufacturing:

1. Chokeberry berries are mixed in any convenient glass container with cognac.
2. Add honey, stir, close the lid tightly and place for 3 months in a warm room without light.
3. Every week, shake the contents of the container thoroughly.
4. The finished tincture is filtered, poured into separate bottles and infused in a cold place for about a month.

Chokeberry liqueur with oak bark

Adding oak bark to homemade liqueur can in itself give the drink a cognac flavor. For production, it is best to use any fruit moonshine or grape alcohol.

The amount of ingredients is calculated approximately based, first of all, on the volume of a three-liter jar.

• from 800 to 1300 g of chokeberry berries;
• about 1.5 liters of moonshine;
• approximately 300-400 g of sugar;
• a pinch of oak bark;
• 1 tsp. citric acid.

The liqueur is prepared using the double infusion method.

1. So many berries are poured into the jar so that they take up approximately ¾ of its volume and sugar is added in an amount of 1/10 of the volume of the chokeberry.
2. Cover with a lid and leave for about 5 days in a dark room with a cool temperature.
3. Add citric acid, oak bark and pour in moonshine.
4. They insist for about a month in the same room.
5. Then the tincture is filtered, the liquid is poured into a separate container, and the berries are covered again with exactly the same amount of sugar.
   
6. Shake and leave in a warm room for another 5 days.
7. Strain the resulting syrup and mix it with the tincture obtained for the first time.
8. Bottle and keep in a cool place for another 1.5-2 months.

Chokeberry liqueur “100 leaves”

This recipe is very popular for a reason.After all, the resulting drink is difficult to compare in taste and aroma with anything similar. If you don’t know its composition, then most likely no one will be able to guess what ingredients such a homemade liqueur is made from.

In the standard version of the liqueur, not 100 leaves are used, but only 99. The number 100 in the recipe is named solely for the sake of a round number.

You will need:

• 250 g chokeberry berries;
• 33 cherry leaves;
• 33 blackcurrant leaves;
• 33 raspberry leaves;
• 200 g sugar;
• 500 ml of high-quality moonshine or vodka;
• 800 ml purified water;
• 1 tsp. citric acid.

But there is an alternative version of this recipe, in which the total number of leaves is actually 100. But in addition to cherry, currant and raspberry leaves, pear leaves are also used in this black rowan liqueur. They allow you to unobtrusively soften the taste of the finished drink and make it even more interesting.

The ingredients required for this option are as follows:

• 25 leaves each of raspberry, cherry, pear and black currant;
• 350 g chokeberry berries;
• 1 liter of vodka;
• 300 g sugar;
• 1 liter of water;
• ½ tsp. citric acid.

The technology for preparing the recipe at home is the same and does not depend on the composition of the ingredients. Everyone chooses for themselves which composition is closer to them, and if desired, you can try both options and choose the optimal one.

1. Chokeberry berries are peeled, washed and dried.
2. Transfer to a fireproof container and knead with a wooden pestle.
3. The leaves are kneaded in the hands and added to the berries.
4. Add citric acid and sugar, and fill everything with water.
5. Place the container on low heat and, without bringing it to a boil, simmer in such conditions for about half an hour.
   
6. Then filter the resulting liquid, squeezing the berries and leaves well.
7. Add the required amount of vodka, mix and place in a dark place for at least 3-4 weeks to infuse.
8. The finished liqueur is filtered again and distributed into bottles.

Recipe for a healthy and aromatic chokeberry liqueur with cardamom and ginger

You will need:

• 1 kg of chokeberry berries;
• 1 l 95.6% food alcohol;
• 1 liter of vodka;
• 3 cm dried ginger root;
• 3 cardamom seeds;
• 1 vanilla pod.

Preparation:

1. The chokeberry is poured into a clean and dry glass jar, all the spices are added and alcohol is poured in.
2. Infuse the drink in a cool room without light for about 3-4 weeks.
3. Strain, bottle and leave for another 6 months to develop a full flavor bouquet.

A simple recipe for chokeberry liqueur with apples

The combination of apples and chokeberries is considered classic.

You will need:

• 400 g chokeberry berries;
• 400 g Antonov apples;
• 1 liter of water;
• 700 ml vodka;
• 400 g sugar;
• 1 tbsp. l. honey;

Preparation:

1. The apples are grated on a coarse grater, the chokeberries are simply freed from the branches, washed and dried on a towel.
2. Boil water with sugar, add rowan and apple mixture and cook for 5 minutes.
3. The fruit and berry mixture is cooled, transferred to a clean jar, filled with vodka and left for 3-4 weeks, covered, at room temperature in the dark.
4. It is advisable to stir the liqueur 1-2 times a week.
5. Strain through several layers of gauze, add honey and leave for another couple of weeks in the same place.
   
6. Without touching the sediment at the bottom, strain, pour into bottles and leave for another month, after which you can taste the homemade liqueur.

An ancient recipe for quickly making black rowan liqueur

Unlike other recipes, in which the liqueurs are infused for many months, it is possible to get a drink that is wonderful in taste and consistency at home in just a week. True, for this you will need to find ceramic or cast iron cookware with a fairly tight-fitting lid with a volume of at least 2 liters. The remaining components are quite traditional and their selection will not cause any particular difficulties.

• from 1 to 1.5 kg of chokeberry berries (it is more convenient to measure the amount in liters - there should be about 2 liters of berries, depending on the volume of the container found);
• such a quantity of vodka that the berries are completely covered with it;
• sugar and spices - to taste and desire.

Preparation:

1. The sorted, washed and dried chokeberries are poured into a prepared container, filled with vodka and spices and sugar are added if necessary.
2. Close the lid and coat the outside with sticky dough (water + flour) so that not a single crack remains.
   Advice! There is no need to be afraid of spoiling anything here - the dough is necessary solely to seal the container, so that not a gram of alcohol comes out when heated.
3. Place the container with the future filling in the oven at a temperature of + 70 ° C for one hour. It is important that the temperature on the sensor in the oven corresponds to reality, otherwise the alcohol may boil already at a temperature of + 78 ° C, and nothing good will come of it.
4. Then you need to keep the container in the oven for 1.5 hours, reducing the temperature to + 60 °C.
5. And finally, another 1.5 hours - at a temperature of + 50 °C.
6. Then turn off the oven completely and keep the container with the filling there until it cools completely.
7. After which they move it to any convenient dark place in the room for another 4 days.
8. After 4 days, having previously peeled off all the dough from the cracks, the contents of the container are poured through a colander lined with several layers of gauze.
9. The main liquid is immediately poured into a bottle and sealed, and the entire cake is suspended in a gauze bag over the pan, giving it several hours to completely drain.
   
10. Do not squeeze the berries too much to speed up the process; as a result, a cloudy sediment may appear in the liqueur.
11. The drained liquid is added to the previously spilled liqueur, mixed and tasted.
12. Homemade liqueur is ready, but if desired, you can add some more sugar to it.

Rules for drinking alcoholic drinks from chokeberry

Chokeberry, or chokeberry, has long been considered a miraculous healing berry. Liqueurs and tinctures from it can provide real help for hypertension, atherosclerosis, joint diseases, thyroid diseases, intoxication and inflammatory processes.

But, on the other hand, it should be understood that berries also have properties that may not be useful to everyone. After all, they contain substances that thicken the blood, complicate the work of the heart and slow down the blood flow. For some people, these properties can be very dangerous. You should not use chokeberry liqueur if you have the following problems:

• increased blood viscosity, high hemoglobin levels;
• varicose veins and thrombophlebitis;
• gastritis and stomach ulcers with high acidity;
• some types of cystitis;
• hypotension;
• haemorrhoids;
• acute liver diseases and poor kidney function.

In addition, the insidiousness of chokeberry liqueur is that it has a very pleasant rich taste, and even the strongest drinks from it are drunk very easily - the degree is practically not felt.

Typically, alcoholic drinks made from chokeberry are used for medicinal and preventive purposes.

• In order to normalize blood pressure and treat atherosclerosis, drink the liqueur in a course of 1 tsp for a month. 3 times a day.
• For insomnia, it is useful to drink 40-50 g of the drink in the evenings.

Homemade chokeberry liqueur is often added to hot drinks or baked goods.

Of course, it can also be consumed as a dessert drink, but strictly observe the measure.

Rules for storing chokeberry liqueur

It is advisable to store the finished chokeberry liqueur in cool conditions in tightly sealed bottles. The stronger the strength of the drink, the longer its shelf life. On average it is 3 years.

Conclusion

Chokeberry liqueur is a very tasty and healing drink that is easy to make at home, even for beginners. But you should be very careful with its use.

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