Cordial Making at Home - Make Your Favorite Cordials and Liqueurs Better & Cheaper Than Store Bought
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About this ebook
With the recipes and instructions included in this book, you can make your favorite cordials, liqueurs and aperitifs in you own kitchen for a fraction of the cost of store bought. Learn to make Amaretto, Irish Cream, Coffee Liqueur, Limoncello, Peach Brandy, and just about any other fruit liqueur you can imagine. It's easy, it's fun, and it's rewarding.
Dennis Wildberger
Dennis started his career in the restaurant and nightclub industry when he was just 16. Learning the business from the ground up, Dennis quickly realized what “customer service” meant. At 18, he took a job as a bartender’s assistant at an established restaurant. His first assignment was working with John, a 68 year old man who had spent his entire life as a bartender. John, like Dennis, started bartending when he was in his teens, working at a speak-easy during prohibition. John mentored Dennis, teaching him that working the bar was an art, and the only way to be successful was to know everything you could about your craft. Dennis learned all of the classic cocktail recipes, including some that hadn’t been called for in years. In no time, he began working shifts by himself. However, Dennis still had a lot to learn. The clientele of the restaurant would frequently request a cocktail that Dennis had never heard of. The few cocktail reference books there behind the bar were of little help. Most had only a couple of hundred recipes and rarely had the one that he was looking for. So Dennis would just ask, “Do you know how to make it?” To his relief, most people did. In order to not be stumped again, he began to write the recipes down on 3x5 index cards, storing them in an alphabetical file box for quick reference. As time progressed, that file box grew rapidly. Dennis eventually moved on, plying his trade at some of the most popular nightclubs in the country. Each club he worked provided the opportunity to expand his cocktail knowledge. As time went by, his drink file expanded to more than 10,000 recipes. Bartenders from restaurants and clubs all over, hearing about his amazing collection, would call Dennis if they needed a recipe that they couldn’t find. This “fame” led Dennis into bartender competitions. He won many, including Jose Cuervo's “Best Margarita Contest” and Baltimore’s Best Bartender. Dennis’s skill, experience, and knowledge of the bar industry naturally gave him the opportunity to coach and mentor young bartenders, much like John did for him all those years ago.
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Cordial Making at Home - Make Your Favorite Cordials and Liqueurs Better & Cheaper Than Store Bought - Dennis Wildberger
Make your favorite cordials, liqueurs and aperitifs in your own kitchen
Written and Compiled by
Dennis A. Wildberger
Copyright 2019 - DocWild Publishing Company - All Rights Reserved
FOREWORD
Whether they are called liqueurs, aperitifs, cordials, or ratafias, these delicious concoctions have been around for centuries. Using only two basic ingredients, fresh fruit (or spices) and a neutral spirit, like vodka or brandy, and a simple process called steeping
or infusing
, the sky’s the limit as to what can be created.
I have been involved in the restaurant and nightclub business for more than twenty years. In that time, I have tasted commercially produced cordials and liqueurs from all over the world. Many of those that I sampled were delicious; many were not. Some were very expensive (for what you got); some were not expensive, and tasted like it. One of my favorites was (and still is) Irish Cream Liqueur. I fell in love with the flavor of this nectar from Ireland
. I enjoyed it, sometimes over-enjoyed it, every chance I could.
One day, about fifteen years ago, a co-worker, who was aware of my fondness of this beverage, gave me a recipe for Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur
. It was a simple little recipe hand-written on a white three by five card. He claimed that his mother, who was of Irish decent, made it all of the time. It seemed easy enough, so I gave it a try. It was delicious! It was easy! It was inexpensive! From that moment on, I was hooked on making cordials at home.
I began searching for recipes for other types of liqueurs that I had enjoyed in the past, but they were few and far between. So I began developing my own. By combining ingredients in an attempt to re-create some of those liqueurs I’d tasted, I came up with recipes that closely imitated the original flavors. Some, I believe, are actually better that the original. Some of the liqueurs and cordials I created are unlike any that are commercially produced.
All of the recipes in this book are tried and tested. Many appear in print for the very first time. And that recipe for Irish Cream Liqueur that got me started all those years ago, along with three other Irish Cream recipes that I have become fond of, is included here also.
Please keep in mind, these recipes are not carved in stone. By adjusting the amount of an ingredient, or the type of fruit you use, or even the aging time, you can create cordials and liqueurs that are truly personal. But do yourself a favor: write down exactly what you do and when you do it. When you invent that liqueur that is more delicious than anything you’ve ever tasted before; it is so much easier to make it again if you can refer to your notes.
Well, I hope that you enjoy my book, and always remember: never drink and drive.
BEGINNING
Supplies
It is always easier to gather all of the supplies you will need before you begin making cordials, rather than wasting time searching for an item as you need it.
Always wash all supplies thoroughly with soap and hot water, and dry completely before using. You can also run supplies through a dishwasher before each use. Using unclean utensils may cause mold to develop on your cordial or liqueur, rendering it useless.
Below is a list of items and their descriptions. You will not need all of these items for all of the recipes:
STEEPING AND AGING CONTAINER - A 2-quart glass or ceramic container with a tight fitting lid is always needed. If the container doesn’t have a lid, try covering it with a good quality plastic wrap. Make sure it completely seals.
I have found that a half-gallon glass jar with a screw top lid works the best. Line the inside of the lid with a layer of plastic wrap or waxed paper while using.
Never use a metal container to steep or age you cordials. Metal may cause a chemical reaction to occur within your recipe, changing its color or flavor, producing some really nasty stuff.
BLENDER OF FOOD PROCESSOR - Use these items only if the recipe calls for it. Most of the time, a better cordial is produced if the fruit or spices are chopped by hand. It is also easier to strain and filter your cordials if there is a bit of size to the fruit.
SHARP KNIFE AND CUTTING BOARD - For cutting the fruit and spices to usable size.
SLOTTED METAL OR WOODEN SPOON - Used for mashing fruit before using, and stirring your cordial per recipe directions.
FINE MESH SIEVE - Used for straining your cordial prior to aging.
CHEESECLOTH - Available at most grocery and notion stores, this tightly woven linen cloth is used for straining your cordials. It is excellent for separating the solids from the liquids. If cheesecloth is not available, you can use a funnel lined with dampened coffee filters with similar results. The filters do tend to clog a lot quicker, so you will need to change them several times during straining.
MORTAR AND PESTLE - Used for crushing fresh spices. A small clean coffee grinder also works very well if mortar and pestle are not available.
MEASURING CUPS AND MEASURING SPOONS - Helps you to accurately measure the ingredients in your recipe. Remember that it is easier to duplicate a recipe later if you know exactly how much you put in it now.
SELECTING FRUITS AND SPICES
When selecting fruit for a specific recipe, choose only the freshest available. Under-ripe fruit will not produce a quality product. Allow fruit to ripen to its peak before using. It is all right to use over-ripe fruit, but discard any fruit that has even the slightest evidence of molding or severe bruising. Many grocers will discount the price of over-ripe fruit or fruit that is slightly blemished. These fruits are excellent for cordial recipes, provided they are not moldy.
Choose recipes with fruits that are in season. It makes better economic sense to make, say, Peach Brandy, in the summertime when peaches are in season and less expensive.
Same is true of spices. Use only fresh spices when available.
Fresh ground spices, such as nutmeg and ginger, are far more superior in flavor than commercially ground bottled spices. Bottled spices lose their essence and taste with time. If bottled spices are all that is available, you can still use them. However, you may need to increase the amount in specific recipes to achieve the same result as fresh.
AGING AND STORING
During the steeping and aging process, always store your cordial in a cool, dark place. A kitchen cabinet where the temperature is a constant 50