Thursday, August 12, 2010

Home-Made Liqueurs, #2: Creme de Menthe

Part Two in the 'Home-Made Liqueurs' series finds us tinkering with Creme de Menthe, ('Mint Cream" for the non-multi-lingual!), a visually striking concoction that is surprisingly easy to brew up,

Home Made Creme de Menthe


Ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups water

3.5 cups 80 proof vodka

1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 drops of green food coloring


Directions:

Bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring frequently.

Lower heat and simmer for five minutes.

Allow to cool to room temperature.

Add flavorings, color and vodka and stir until mixed.

Store in a glass bottle in a dark place for one week.


This serious-looking minty green concoction can REALLY decorate a home bar's liqueur shelf. Put it in a nice bottle and you've got a real eye-catcher!
Creme de Menthe is an integral ingredient in cocktails such as The Grasshopper, The Girl Scout Cookie, The Green Lagoon, and the classic Stinger.

For the more artistic-types, who like to experiment and develop their own cocktail recipes at home, (*ahem*,) Creme de Menthe possesses a certain appeal. With it's luminous allure of bright green, it could be the perfect touch for any number of "sci-fi" themed drinks, creepy horror-themed beverages, and a nice rendition of the "Shamrock Shake," come St. Paddy's!

And, as with the Home-made Amaretto, presented in a really nice display-quality bottle, some home-made Creme de Menthe would make a really nice and unusual gift idea!

Cheers, Chris

2 comments:

  1. Hello Chris and Joe,

    We've selected you as our Foodista Drink Blog of the Day for 8/29! Your blog entry (regarding creme de menthe) will be featured on the Foodista homepage for 24 hours. This is a new feature that we recently launched and are thrilled to post your blog. Besides posting your link on the homepage, we will also post a couple shout outs on our Twitter and Facebook pages.

    Since you are now a part of the Foodista Featured Drink Blogger of The Day Community, we've created a special badge for you to display proudly on your blog sidebar. I couldn't find your email on your blog to send you the access code for the special badge, but I want to make sure you get it if you are interested. Please send me an email and I'll send it right away.

    We are really enjoying your blog and look forward to seeing your recipes, tips and techniques on Foodista! If you would not like to be recognized on Foodista please let me know and I will remove your blog from our queue.

    Cheers,
    Anneka
    anneka@foodista.com

    ReplyDelete