Ukrainian cuisine is multifaceted and diverse, here you have borscht, porridge, dumplings, delicious pastries, meat and mushroom dishes, various kisili and drinks. And if dumplings or borscht are now few people can surprise, then not everyone has tasted delicious, aromatic tinctures and liqueurs prepared according to old recipes. The basis for preparing tinctures and liqueurs is usually vodka and fresh berries or herbs. So when to try to prepare berry liqueurs if not in the summer, when the choice of fruits, berries and herbs asks to preserve their taste and aroma until the next harvest.
We offer you a selection of the most delicious, in our opinion, intoxicating berry and fruit drinks. Some of the proposed drinks can be used as an aperitif, while others are great as an addition to dessert. However, remember that the abuse of alcoholic beverages can negatively affect your health.
Agrusivka
To prepare agus liqueur you will need:
- ripe gooseberries -2.5 kg;
- vodka – 4 liters;
- boiled and cooled water – 8 liters;
- sugar - 800 grams.
Pour the washed and peeled berries into a glass container (it is best to use large-volume bottles), pour them with vodka and water. Cover the container with berries with gauze, put in the sun for 10-14 days and stir daily. When the berries float to the surface, strain the gooseberry juice and add sugar, stir everything well until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour the drink into a clean container and leave in a warm place, preferably in the sun, for another 24 hours. Then the liqueur must be placed in a cold, dark place for 10-12 days. Strain the finished liqueur again and pour into thick-walled bottles. Cork it well and leave to ripen in the cellar for another 2-3 weeks.
Cherry liqueur
Cherry liqueurs are aromatic, delicious with a slight tart note. This drink tastes a bit like a fruit liqueur.
To prepare a delicious cherry pie you will need:
- ripe cherries;
- strong vodka;
- sugar - at the rate of 300 grams per 1 liter of liqueur.
Divide the prepared cherries in half, clean one part from the pits and use the other part with the pits. Pour cherries into a clean glass wine bottle to ¼ of its volume. Pour vodka over the berries and leave in the shade for 3-4 weeks. Then strain the cherry liqueur and pour it into a clean container. Add sugar to the strained liqueur, cork it and leave in a warm place until the sugar dissolves. If you want the cherry liqueur to be sweeter, then you need to take 2 times more sugar and cook a thick syrup from it. Use this syrup to dilute the cherry liqueur. Cool and bottle it. Leave the poured and corked cherry liqueur in a cool, dark place for 6 months. After half a year, you can treat your guests. It is important to remember that the more aged the cherry liqueur is, the tastier it is.
Hetman's cherry
To prepare Hetman's cherry brandy, pour the cherries into a bottle, using half of the cherries with the stones and the other half with the stones removed. Pour in strong vodka so that the berries are completely covered with liquid, and leave to infuse in a cold place for 7-8 weeks. Strain the aged cherry brandy. Place the cherries in a linen bag and squeeze out the juice, it is most convenient to do this with a press. Leave the cherry juice to settle for a day. Mix the clear, settled juice with the previously drained vodka and pour into bottles. Cork the bottles tightly and seal them. Leave the Hetman's cherry brandy to mature in a cold, dark place for 12 months.
Old-world cherry blossom
Ingredients:
- cherries – 1 kg;
- strong vodka – 400 ml;
- sugar - 250 grams;
- cinnamon – 1.5 grams;
- nutmeg – 1 gram.
Mash the washed cherries together with the pits, transfer to a bottle and leave in a warm place for 3 days to ferment. Add vodka and spices to the "warmed" cherries. Leave the cherry liqueur for another 8 days in a warm place. When the liqueur becomes clear, drain it and strain it. Cook a thick syrup from the sugar and add it to the strained cherry liqueur. Mix everything well and pour into bottles.
Noble cherry wine
To prepare this cherry liqueur, soak 800 grams of sugar in water and boil a very thick syrup. Mix the syrup with 4 liters of alcohol. Fill a 10-12 liter bottle with slightly crushed cherries and pour over the alcohol-sugar solution. Leave the cherry liqueur in the sun for 14 days. Then strain the drink and bottle it. It is best to consume it chilled.
Cherry
Ingredients:
- cherries 1 kg;
- sugar - 400 grams.
In a wine bottle, pour sugar over the cherries. Cover the container with gauze and leave for 5-6 weeks so that the berries ferment. Then drain the cherries and strain. The finished drink is bottled and corked. The remaining berries can be poured with vodka and left for 2 months, then strain and bottle the resulting tincture.
Malinovka
Fill the bottle with raspberries to ¾ of its volume. Pour strong vodka over the raspberries and leave for 2 days. Drain the vodka and remove the berries from the bottle. Pour fresh raspberries into the bottle, to ½ the volume of the container, and pour the same vodka that was previously drained from the berries. Leave the drink for another 48 hours. It is important to remember that it is not recommended to infuse raspberries for more than 48 hours, as the berries will give off too much acid and spoil the taste of the liqueur. Drain and filter the vodka infused on the berries. Boil a thick syrup from sugar; to prepare the syrup, you need to take the same amount of sugar as the vodka that was drained. Gradually mix the syrup with vodka. Pour the finished drink into bottles and cork. Leave the raspberry liqueur for another 4-5 months in a dark place to mature.
Plum liqueur or slyvyanka
Fill a wide-necked wine bottle with ripe and fragrant plums and pour strong vodka over it. Tightly cork the container with plums and put it in a cool, dark place to infuse for 5-6 weeks. Then drain the plum vodka and set it aside for a while in a dark place. Pour sugar over the plums and leave to infuse for another 2-2.5 weeks. Use as much sugar as will fit in the bottle with berries. Alternatively, you can use chilled syrup prepared in the following proportion: 400 grams of sugar per 1.5 liters of water. Then drain the plum syrup and mix it with the previously infused vodka. Mix everything well, strain and bottle it. Leave the well-corked bottles with the drink in a dark place for 6 months to mature. After the plum wine has “ripened”, you can enjoy it.
Old World Gooseberry Wine
Pour ripe gooseberries into a wide-mouthed bottle and pour strong vodka over it. Leave to infuse for 4 months in a dark place. Then cut the rye bread into slices, soak in thick syrup and dry. Add sweet rye crackers to the container with gooseberries and alcohol and infuse for another 4 months. It is important that the container with the drink is tightly corked throughout the infusion. Pour the finished gooseberry wine into bottles.
Strawberry rasp
A quick, tasty and aromatic drink made from juicy summer strawberries.
Ingredients:
- strawberry berries – 1 kg;
- sugar – 1 kg;
- vodka – 300 ml.
Wash the berries and remove the stems. Grind the strawberries with sugar and pour vodka over them. Let them steep for a few hours and you can enjoy.
Hetman's Tertukha
Ingredients:
- strawberries - 800 grams;
- sugar -1 kilogram;
- strong vodka – 200-250 ml.
Pour the washed and sorted strawberries into an enameled dish in layers, sprinkle each layer of berries with sugar. Cover the dish with a lid and put it in a cool place for 3 days. Then drain the liquid from the berries and strain it. Pour the strained and infused strawberry juice into thick glass bottles, add a little vodka and cork. The corked bottles are osmylated and stored at low temperatures, in an upright position in the sand.
Noble berry
Ingredients:
- any berries - 4 kilograms;
- water – 12 liters;
- strong vodka – 1.5 liters;
- sugar - 2.5 kilograms.
Pour the prepared berries into a wide-mouthed wine bottle, pour water and vodka. Cover the neck of the container with gauze and leave the berry in the sun until the berry shelves float to the surface, usually this happens in 10-14 days. Then strain the liquid from the berries and dissolve sugar in it. Pour our drink into a clean container of suitable volume (this container should be completely filled). Leave the infusion for 18 days in a dark, cool place. Then strain the drink and bottle it. Store the berry in a cool, dark place.
Mint stumbling block
For cooking you will need:
- leaves from one bunch of mint;
- vodka – 1 liter;
- sugar - ½ cup.
Pour vodka over fresh mint leaves and let them steep in the sun for about a week. Then, make syrup from sugar and add it to the mint tincture. Mix everything well and strain. Pour the finished styptic into bottles and store in a dark place.
Rose-ringed stumbling block
To prepare such an unusual and tasty snack, prepare:
- tea rose flowers – 100 grams;
- sugar - 300 grams;
- alcohol or strong vodka - 3 glasses;
- water - 2 cups.
- For the rose syrup, choose flowers that have just begun to bloom and sprinkle them with sugar. The top layer of sugar should be quite thick. Cover with a cloth napkin and place in a cold place for 24 hours. Then put the roses in a sieve and rinse with 2 cups of water. Add alcohol to the rose syrup, mix everything well and pour into bottles.
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