Ginger Liqueur

I have a pretty well stocked liquor cabinet. In fact it's so stocked that sometimes things get 'kicked out' since there is no space left. The very affordable -not really drinkable on its own- brandy that I bought to make mulled wine was one of them. It's been living in the back of the fridge for the past five months with no drinks in sight. Well I certainly don't want to throw it out, so I thought a face lift (or two) would be fun! 

Serious Eats is a pretty fun place to play. I found this recipe/article about DIY vs. Buy, and resolved to DIY. In hindsight I should have made it less sweet, but the ginger flavor is outstanding. Spicy and sweet this is really good, however syrupy it may be.

I followed the recipe exactly, even weighing my ginger root out to 2oz! I got this super big pack of vanilla beans from Amazon. There are a few suppliers on there that sell them, they are a better price than in the grocery store. I once paid about $10 for TWO beans at Whole Foods in desperation and nearly cried haha.

It was suggested to peel your ginger root with a spoon, it worked well! I used almost this whole root to get 2oz.

Peeled and sliced. I went back and sliced some of these disks thinner after this picture was taken.

Halved vanilla bean.

All simmering on the stove with water and sugar. I suggest white refined sugar. I used an organic kind in my rose syrup and it had its own taste besides just sweet. I didn't want any molasses taste interfering with the other flavors I was adding.

Zesting my orange. I use a micro-planer.

Everything in this small pitcher! It has to go a few days before it should be consumed.

I covered it with plastic wrap and tied it up.

I added an additional day onto this process and I'm glad I did. Day one: make everything, day two: remove vanilla bean, day three: strain through fine mesh strainer into large opening jar, day four: strain through extra fine filter. The extra day allows the sediment to sink to the bottom. Then you can use a ladle or baster to remove the liquid off the top. Making the final straining easier.

Coffee filters take FOR-EV-ER. And you go through a lot of them since they get clogged quickly.

I changed it up half way and used a clean (washed in the washing machine) piece of fabric. If you follow that arrow you can see the steady stream of liquid, not just a drip-drip.

It still takes quite a while and I'd like to say you should set it and forget it, but you can't... since you need to keep pouring more liquid in. I'd suggest doing another task concurrently, it seems less torturous if you're distracted while it filters. It made quite a lot. I almost wish I had made a half portion, as I wonder if I will be able to drink this in a year!

You can see here how it's cloudy but filtered. Nothing has settled on the bottom since. What a pretty color! I'll follow up with ways/cocktails in which to actually use this stuff!