It is summer time ad what is better than sipping a well chilled tipple in the garden of an evening with friends. This homemade summer thyme liqueur is just perfect for summer sippin and also makes a great foodie gift for any time of year.
This is rather like lemoncello liqueur, that gorgeous drink so loved by the Italians. You will find two recipes for lemoncello on this blog, one for standard lemoncello and the other for super quick almost instant lemoncello.
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Love your lemons
You will want unwaxed lemons for this recipe but if you can’t get them just use normal lemons and give them a good scrub in hot soapy water, rinse well and pat dry before using.
You want the zest of the lemons here so use a peeler and avoid that bitter white pith. Once you have zested the lemons you can cut in half and squeeze out all that lovely tangy juice.
What is a liqueur?
A liqueur is a sweet drink, the alcohol has sugar dissolved into it which is what gives it that sweetness. An infusion on the other hand contains no sugar and is merely the fruits or herbs soaked in the alcohol of choice till it takes on their flavours. This is a liqueur so you will want to add sugar.
I’m using vodka as my base so I’ll have a standard 750ml bottle and 6 lemons plus 200g of sugar, 500ml of water and also thyme. Yes thyme is what makes this recipe for summer thyme liqueur different from the standard lemoncello. Thyme has a lovely taste, almost earthy. You can get so many different varieties, even lemon thyme which would give this liqueur even more of a lemony zing.
You just need 4 tablespoons of thyme leaves stripped from the plant and crushed to release the flavour.
Mix all ingredients in a jar and pop on a lid and shake well. Store in a dark cupboard and shake every day for a week. After this poour through a muslin or kitchen towel (double thickness) lined sieve and pour into sterilised bottles.
Serve this summer thyme liqueur well chilled, you can keep a bottle in the freezer. It will keep for up to a year so makes a great foodie gift too.
Cheers!
K x
SUMMER THYME LIQUEUR
Ingredients
- 6 lemons unwaxed or well washed
- 750 ml/1 1/4 pints vodka
- 200 h/7oz sugar
- 500 ml/1 pint water
- 4 tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 large bunch thyme
Instructions
- Peel the zest from the lemons in strips then squeeze out the juice into large jar
- Add the vodka, water and sugar to the jar
- Bruise the thyme before adding to the jar and popping on the lid
- Shake well and store in a dark cupboard shaking every day for a week
- Strain through double layer of either muslin or kitchen roll and pour into sterilised bottles
- Will keep for up to a year
- Serve well chilled
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