Loved ones are gathering for a celebration. They are greeted with hugs and smiles as they arrive. The bar is set with an assortment of libations. You know it's a special time when you see liqueurs line up next to the usual bottles of wine, liquor, and mixers. You glance at the flavors and see which catches your attention. You reach for the bottle without a label. What could it be? You learn it is Apricardamom, a homemade apricot cardamom liqueur.
Liqueurs come in a multitude of flavors. The spectrum includes fruity, spicy, floral, nutty, and creamy. The selection is so large it is hard to decide which one to try next. Some can be rather pricey too. However, what I discovered is many of them can be easily made and wind up less expensive than store-bought. Plus it is more fun to make your own. Imagine all the varieties and flavors.
Where to begin with making liqueur at home? A start would be getting the book Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits
by Andrew Schloss. A copy arrived at my door and I could not wait to dig in and check it out. There are so many tempting recipes in the book. It was difficult to decide which one to make first. However, Apricardamom stood out because I thoroughly enjoy the flavors of apricot and cardamom. I am glad I chose it as it is now one I will sip and also serve to my family and friends.
The recipe book is well designed and informative. It has all the information you need to get started concocting your own special libations. It provides a foundation on which you can expand with your own variations. The photography is excellent and the recipes are easy to read. They are divided up into chapters on the type (fruit, vegetable, herb, nut, floral, etc.). I highly recommend it to every level of cocktail enthusiast from beginner to mixologist. You can purchase a copy on Amazon by clicking on the photo of the book (affiliate link):
Have you made your own liqueur? What did you make? Oh, and take a look at my apricot nut cake (just in case you like apricots). I also have a nice fizzy drink made with Apricardamom to share soon. Stay tuned…
Apricardamom – Homemade Apricot Cardamom Liqueur
Ingredients
- 1 fifth vodka 750ml / 3 ¼ cups, 80-100 proof
- 15 dried apricot halves finely chopped
- 20 green cardamom pods crushed
- 1 cup simple syrup
Instructions
- Muddle the vodka, apricots, and cardamom with a wooden spoon in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten everything.
- Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of apricot and cardamom, 3 to 5 days.
- Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid.
- Stir in the simple syrup.
- Seal and store in cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Notes
Disclosures: I receive a copy of Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits recipe book at no charge. I was under no obligation to post a review. All opinions are my own unless otherwise stated or contained within a guest post. This post contains affiliate links.
As as cardamom lover this is certainly an appealing homemade liqueur. And with dried apricots, so easily available too! Such a unique recipe Renee! I just love the idea of mixing homemade booze, something I used to think was impossible to do right at home.
I also thought making homemade liqueur was impossible until recently. Then to find out how easy it is. Wonderful!
Thanks for the recipe.... I really like making my own liqueur. I've made Kahlua and Baileys to give as gifts.
You are welcome and both Kahlua and Baileys are on my to-make list.
Oh this looks very intriguing! I enjoy apricots and cardamom but never had them together, especially in a liqueur.
I've used apricot and cardamom together in baking and it was why I had to try it as a liqueur. I'm so glad I did. It's yummy.
These are ingredients I always have at my house, Renee, so I'll definitely give it a try. We love apricots and cardamom!
Thanks Stacy and it was the same with me and those ingredients. I put it together in moments and just had to wait for it to infuse.
This looks delightful. I had close to 400 Meyer lemons this season from my tree, and it inspired me to make my first Limoncello liqueur.
Apricot and cardamom is a beautiful flavor pairing-no doubt I would love it.
Happy holidays.
Wow! 400 meyer lemons had to be a fabulous harvest. It's great it inspired you to make your first Limoncello liqueur.
Apricot liqueur??? Sounds amazing!
It really is amazing with the cardamom flavor with the apricot too.
I pinned these yesterday and knew it was your recipe...just love these photos, Renee! I bet this tastes delightful! Happy New Year,my dear friend.
i never heard about apricot liqueur, so i0m very interested about making it!:) thx a lot for your recipe!:)
You are welcome Angelica
Huge disappointment! I even let the apricot cardamom mixture age longer, about 2 weeks. It's tastes a bit like Cardamom, but mostly like vodka. I wouldn't make again.
I'm so sorry you were not pleased with the liqueur. I enjoyed it along with the friends I shared it with. I also made a sparkling cocktail with it (mixed with sparking wine). Perhaps contact the cookbook author and discuss alternates to tweak it to your liking.
Thanks for sharing. I followed the recipe, but it's way too much cardamom and not enough apricot. Can I add another round of fruit after I've added the simple syrup, or is that setting me up to get yeast/fermentation products? I wonder if where I went wrong was the instruction, apricot "halves." Each piece of dried fruit is an entire apricot, so I adjusted accordingly. Perhaps it meant 15 apricots? .When you made it, how do you judge what portion the dried fruit is?
You can either add more fruit in step 1, or let it sit for another day or so in step two. Or both. I wouldn't add fruit after adding the simple syrup, for the reason you mentioned.
The amount of fruit isn't exact; it's more to taste than anything else. So you can play around with the amount of fruit in step 1. And just reduce the cardamom. Hope this helps!
Thanks, Katie. It seemed like the cardamom mellowed out a bit after it sat (already filtered) for a few more days. It's great with a little ginger beer added. I will definitely add more fruit next time.