from the bar: diy ginger liqueur

Last Christmas I made some peppermint liqueur, and at the time I wanted to make more fun tinctures, but the time flew by and here we are a year later.  Maybe I'll make it a holiday tradition.  But anyway, I love the flavor of ginger (whisky gingers are one of my favorite drinks!), and I've made some easy homemade ginger beer before to make whisky gingers with.  Ginger liqueur seemed like the perfect holiday spirit to make this year.  Bonus?  It's totally easy to make and only requires a few days to sit and steep!

For my peppermint liqueur recipe I used vodka, but for this one, I wanted a bit more flavor from the alcohol I included, so I used dark rum (I thought spiced rum would add too many other flavors), though you could try brandy too!


What you'll need:
2 oz ginger, peeled & diced
1.5 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
6 cloves
zest of half a lemon
1 1/2 cups dark rum (or brandy)

1. Peel the ginger and dice it into small pieces.

2. Bring the ginger, sugar, cloves, and water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until ginger is soft—about 20 minutes. Let this syrup cool, and don't strain it yet!

3. While you've got the ginger syrup on the stove, zest the lemon and place the zest in a sealable glass container (I used a mason jar).  Once your syrup is cool, add it (ginger chunks, cloves and all) to the container along with the rum.  Seal and shake, and then let this mixture steep for two days.

4. Strain mixture through a coffee filter or cheesecloth into your bottle or jar for storage. Let it sit for one more day before using to let flavors mellow.

Want an awesome recipe where you can use this tasty tincture?  Head over to Making Nice in the Midwest, where I'm sharing a fun holiday riff on a Cosmopolitan today!