Homemade Kiwi Liqueur
Originally Posted July 28. 2010. Updated 10/19/2021.
Liqueur making is a lot of fun, and can lead the creation of all kinds of liqueurs you can’t find in stores. Here’s my Kiwi Liqueur recipe.
Back when we were shooting for The Spirited Baker, most of the shots were "bake and eat".
One particular shot, however, gave us something to look forward to in the future!
Making Homemade Liqueur
The first chapter of the book deals with how to infuse spirits, as well as to make various syrups, bartender mixes, etc - grenadine, sour mix, lime cordial syrup.
When shooting the divider shot for that chapter, we infused FIVE LITERS of vodka with various flavors.
We made coffee vodka.. strawberry, jalapeno, earl grey with lemon, and more.
Not only did it make for a great photo, it left us anticipating the tasty finished products that would come!
This weekend, we made liqueurs from all of our infused vodka, and had some friends over to sample.
I'd love to share the recipe for one of the biggest hits - Homemade Kiwi Liqueur.
This is a very smooth, drinkable liqueur with great flavor.
Ingredients for Kiwi Liqueur
There are only 3 main ingredients to make this liqueur, but there’s a little bit you should know about each:
Kiwi Fruit
Use fresh kiwi, as ripe as you can find it.
Be sure to trim all the skin off the kiwis, to ensure the best flavour!
Vodka
We go fairly cheap - but still decent - with the vodka. Think “vodka you’d use in a mix”, rather then “vodka you’d drink straight”.
For more robust flavors, any difference in quality of vodka – using more expensive brands – is totally lost.
Save the upgrades in base vodka for infusions you’ll be drinking straight - the sugar smooths out the vodka!
Sugar
Granulated white sugar works best for this, as any form of brown sugar tends to mask the flavour of the kiwi.
How to Make Kiwi Liqueur
Actual recipe follows at the end of the post, but here is a pictorial overview:
Peel and chop kiwis into small pieces – at least 8 chunks per fruit.
Place into one large clean Mason jar, or divide among 2 medium sized jars.
Cover with vodka, cap the jar(s) tightly.
Give the jar(s) a quick shake once a day or so for 2 weeks.
At the two week point, taste for doneness.
If your infusion lacks flavor even after steeping for a couple of weeks, just add a bit more kiwi, and continue infusing until it’s just right!
Once desired flavor strength is achieved:
Strain spirit through a fine mesh strainer, discard the fruit, and make simple syrup.
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool before using.
Stir about 1 ½ cups of the syrup into the strained liqueur.
Once fully combined, taste.
Adjust ingredients for desired sweetness – I like doing a 1:1 ratio of syrup to infused vodka.
Once you are happy with the sweetness, carefully pour your liqueur into a clean bottle.
After bottling, you should let it age for about a week in the fridge before drinking it – IF you have that kind of patience!
Aging results in a smoother, more mellow flavor.
The Spirited Baker
If you enjoy making and/or cooking with liqueur, you should check out my first cookbook, The Spirited Baker. It’s FULL of fun, tasty recipes using spirits and liqueurs for flavour!
Combining liqueurs with more traditional baking ingredients can yield spectacular results.Try Mango Mojito Upside Down Cake, Candy Apple Flan, Jalapeno Beer Peanut Brittle, Lynchburg Lemonade Cupcakes, Pina Colada Rum Cake, Strawberry Daiquiri Chiffon Pie, and so much more.
To further add to your creative possibilities, the first chapter teaches how to infuse spirits to make both basic and cream liqueurs, as well as home made flavor extracts! This book contains over 160 easy to make recipes, with variation suggestions to help create hundreds more!
Order your copy here on my website, through Amazon, or through any major bookseller.
More Homemade Liqueur Recipes
Liqueur is a fun project, tasty to drink, and great to give as gifts. Looking for more ideas? Here you go!
Boozy Fun with Fresh Citrus Fruit
Creamy Nutella Liqueur
Homemade Blueberry Liqueur
Maple Butter Tart Liqueur
Miruvor Recipe
Share the Love!
Before you drink up, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense.
Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
Anyway, on to that recipe!
Homemade Kiwi Liqueur
Ingredients
- 3 cups decent quality vodka*
- 6 Ripe kiwis
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
- 1 lemon, optional. ***
Instructions
- Peel and chop kiwis into small pieces – at least 8 chunks per fruit. Place into one large clean Mason jar, or divide among 2 medium sized jars. Cover with vodka, cap the jar(s) tightly.Give the jar(s) a quick shake once a day or so for 2 weeks.
- At the two week point, taste for doneness. If your infusion lacks flavor even after steeping for a couple of weeks,just add a bit more kiwi, and continue infusing until it’s just right!
- Once desired flavor strength is achieved:
- Strain spirit through a fine mesh strainer, discard the fruit, and make simple syrup.
- Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool before using.
- Stir about 1 ½ cups of the syrup into the strained liqueur. Once fully combined, taste. Adjust ingredients for desired sweetness – I like doing a 1:1 ratio of syrup to infused vodka. Once you are happy with the sweetness, carefully pour your liqueur into a clean bottle.
- After bottling, you should let it age for about a week in the fridge before drinking it – IF you have that kind of patience! Aging results in a smoother, more mellow flavor.
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