mint liquer worth the trouble?
April 28, 2022 7:57 AM Subscribe
CocktailFilter: Is creme de menthe just just mint + simple syrup + vodka/ethanol? Is it worth the bother to make compared to just having a good mint syrup around to add to drinks?
I am looking to make use of all the fresh peppermint I have, and I thought about making some mint syrup and/or creme de menthe for cocktails. But looking at the recipes, it seems like the creme de menth is really just vodka infused with mint plus syrup, rather than infusing the syrup with mint. Does steeping the mint in the vodka rather than the syrup end up with a mintier or somehow better flavor? I'm sure I'd use the mint simple syrup a lot if it turned out well, I'm not sure about the creme de menthe. Suggestions?
I am looking to make use of all the fresh peppermint I have, and I thought about making some mint syrup and/or creme de menthe for cocktails. But looking at the recipes, it seems like the creme de menth is really just vodka infused with mint plus syrup, rather than infusing the syrup with mint. Does steeping the mint in the vodka rather than the syrup end up with a mintier or somehow better flavor? I'm sure I'd use the mint simple syrup a lot if it turned out well, I'm not sure about the creme de menthe. Suggestions?
I adore mint and I come to second slkinsey. Commercial crème de menthe is using refined mint oils, not rough aqueous decoctions. The latter inevitably tastes like muddy hay with a mentholated top note (speaking from heartbreaking experience). This is a problem in perfumery, too--it's notoriously hard to capture mint-ness long term.
(Side note, slkinsey, I'm not familiar with Get and they're hard to look up online--is there a specific product link you can share? I can vouch for the Giffard recommendation!)
A suggestion: mint chutney. It goes great with savory dishes (I use loads of it on grilled eggplant with harissa, or as a salad dressing, or as a dip for anything). Used sparingly it would be interesting in some cocktails, albeit not in place of crème de menthe. Make a huge batch and freeze some of it in small portions.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 9:26 AM on April 28, 2022 [4 favorites]
(Side note, slkinsey, I'm not familiar with Get and they're hard to look up online--is there a specific product link you can share? I can vouch for the Giffard recommendation!)
A suggestion: mint chutney. It goes great with savory dishes (I use loads of it on grilled eggplant with harissa, or as a salad dressing, or as a dip for anything). Used sparingly it would be interesting in some cocktails, albeit not in place of crème de menthe. Make a huge batch and freeze some of it in small portions.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 9:26 AM on April 28, 2022 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the advice! As a side question then, what home infusions are worthwhile? Limoncello? Chocolate liquer? Coffee? I see lots of recipes but am never sure if this is one of those things that people make because it's better, or just because it's fun to have something you make yourself. I have vodka and 190 everclear available (as well as other liquors), if that makes a difference.
posted by skewed at 10:19 AM on April 28, 2022
posted by skewed at 10:19 AM on April 28, 2022
in my experience, none of the homemade infusions come close to what's available commercially, and that includes vanilla extract, which - turns out - is not actually made by steeping at all, but by extraction methods not possible at home.
It's very fun to steep things, though.*
*I once, at Internet suggestion, attempted to steep my citron left over from Sukkot. Luckily never used the resulting stuff. Found out later that the citron crop exported for ritual use is soaked in pesticides to avoid rot... very not appropriate for consumption.
If you do want to make fun booze yourself, there are recipes for homemade Irish cream that are very tasty and you can control the sweetness level which is a bonus. Actually your question has inspired me to investigate mixing up a bit of mint cream liqueur using creme de menthe.
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:33 AM on April 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
It's very fun to steep things, though.*
*I once, at Internet suggestion, attempted to steep my citron left over from Sukkot. Luckily never used the resulting stuff. Found out later that the citron crop exported for ritual use is soaked in pesticides to avoid rot... very not appropriate for consumption.
If you do want to make fun booze yourself, there are recipes for homemade Irish cream that are very tasty and you can control the sweetness level which is a bonus. Actually your question has inspired me to investigate mixing up a bit of mint cream liqueur using creme de menthe.
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:33 AM on April 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
Polish honey liquor or Krupnik is delicious and the homemade stuff is better than premade.
A neighbor gifted us a bottle and it’s so good in a hot toddy. Or by itself as a shot when you are feeling under the weather.
This recipe looks similar to what we used
posted by MadMadam at 11:37 AM on April 28, 2022
A neighbor gifted us a bottle and it’s so good in a hot toddy. Or by itself as a shot when you are feeling under the weather.
This recipe looks similar to what we used
posted by MadMadam at 11:37 AM on April 28, 2022
Agree with above posters for mint. However I have to say that homemade limoncello is both very easy and better than many commercial offerings.
posted by turkeyphant at 11:47 AM on April 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by turkeyphant at 11:47 AM on April 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
late afternoon dreaming hotel, here’s a listing for Get
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 11:54 AM on April 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 11:54 AM on April 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
As a side question then, what home infusions are worthwhile?
Nocino, maybe, if you have access to a black walnut tree and the ability to harvest early while the kernels haven't hardened.
posted by holgate at 1:29 PM on April 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
Nocino, maybe, if you have access to a black walnut tree and the ability to harvest early while the kernels haven't hardened.
posted by holgate at 1:29 PM on April 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
what home infusions are worthwhile? Limoncello?
Oh my god yes to limoncello. I lived in SOuthern California for a long time and my exes' ex--in-laws (ha!) used to give us bottles of their homemade limoncello at Christmas. I'd never had limoncello before that and developed a taste for it. Commercial stuff doesn't compare to homemade, especially if you find a batch of super fragrant lemons that really floats your boat. Please go forth into limoncello-making! You will be thrilled at the results, I promise!
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 1:37 PM on April 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh my god yes to limoncello. I lived in SOuthern California for a long time and my exes' ex--in-laws (ha!) used to give us bottles of their homemade limoncello at Christmas. I'd never had limoncello before that and developed a taste for it. Commercial stuff doesn't compare to homemade, especially if you find a batch of super fragrant lemons that really floats your boat. Please go forth into limoncello-making! You will be thrilled at the results, I promise!
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 1:37 PM on April 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Seconding limoncello and also, any time I use any type of citrus the zest goes into a "scrap jar" of vodka under the counter and then every few months, woooh, citronella! I have also steeped regular ol' Luzianne tea bags in vodka and then made a "cello" out of that. Mixed with lemonade (or limoncello) if you wanna get snockered, it's a delicious pool drink.
posted by cyndigo at 1:48 PM on April 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by cyndigo at 1:48 PM on April 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
Should you have access to the young pine cones of the Austrian Stone Pine you could try to make Zirbenschnapps? Though similar infusions can presumably be made with other varieties of pine.
Austrian Nussschnapps is presumably like the Noccio mentioned above, green walnuts infused with spices and sugar.
posted by pipstar at 1:57 PM on April 28, 2022
Austrian Nussschnapps is presumably like the Noccio mentioned above, green walnuts infused with spices and sugar.
posted by pipstar at 1:57 PM on April 28, 2022
Nthing limoncello. That has become my Official Apartment House Drink for "I've just had a VERY nasty work-related shock" because it softens the blow nicely.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:40 PM on April 28, 2022
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:40 PM on April 28, 2022
I wonder about using mint in a largely water-based liquid, not stored under refrigeration, and the faint possibility of contamination. I'm not knowledgeable about this but I have read that some things--basil, mushrooms--need to be cooked before they're soaked.
BTW, I third the votes for lemoncello. I've made it a couple winters and it's been excellent and, in truth, some time in waiting but not much work.
posted by tmdonahue at 2:42 PM on April 28, 2022
BTW, I third the votes for lemoncello. I've made it a couple winters and it's been excellent and, in truth, some time in waiting but not much work.
posted by tmdonahue at 2:42 PM on April 28, 2022
I'll backtrack what I said and note that from what I saw in Sicily, limoncello is typically made at home. (It's also made commercially) but my point is that it actually is a simple infusion process, unlike mint, vanilla etc. Citrus is probably worth experimenting with, especially if you have a tree.
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:16 PM on April 28, 2022
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:16 PM on April 28, 2022
You can definitely make good mint syrup at home. The hard part is keeping it from turning brown, which it will normally do in less than 24 hours. Blanching the mint first can get you up to a week of brilliant green coloring.
It's been awhile, but I'm pretty sure the method I used to use was as follows:
Make a batch of simple syrup of approximately the volume you expect to go through over the course of a week. I typically used the "quick and dirty" method of filling up a container halfway with sugar, adding enough hot water to fill the container, and then stirring until it has dissolved.
Pick the mint leaves off of the stalk. I can't remember what my mint to simple syrup ratio was anymore (maybe 1 pound per gallon?), but the more mint you use the mintier with will be.
Bring a pot of water to a low simmer and have a container of ice water handy that big enough to fully immerse the amount of mint you're working with. You'll also need something like a wire mesh fryer scoop for this to safely handle the mint in the boiling water.
Immerse the mint leaves in the water for about 10 seconds, then remove and immediately plunge them into the ice water bath. I used to make big batches of this syrup so I'd do this a bunch of times until all the mint had been blanched.
Take the blanched mint out of the ice water and put it in a blender. Fill the blender up to a safe blending level with the simple syrup you made and blend it up real good.
Pour the blended syrup through a fine mesh strainer (the finest you can get your hands on, I used to use a bouillon strainer like this) into your storage container. Press down on all the plant material in the strainer to squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can, that's where the flavor is!
Keep it refrigerated and it should stay good and green for at least a week. You'll probably need to experiment a bit to figure out the proportions.
In general, I find the "blend and strain" method of making flavored syrups from stuff (ginger, basil, mint, etc) will give a much fresher and more intense flavor than trying to infuse those things into a syrup or alcohol. If this particular syrup wasn't straight out of Jeffrey Morgenthaler's The Bar Book it was at least inspired by it. I definitely first heard of blend and strain from his writing.
posted by Jawn at 4:11 PM on April 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
It's been awhile, but I'm pretty sure the method I used to use was as follows:
Make a batch of simple syrup of approximately the volume you expect to go through over the course of a week. I typically used the "quick and dirty" method of filling up a container halfway with sugar, adding enough hot water to fill the container, and then stirring until it has dissolved.
Pick the mint leaves off of the stalk. I can't remember what my mint to simple syrup ratio was anymore (maybe 1 pound per gallon?), but the more mint you use the mintier with will be.
Bring a pot of water to a low simmer and have a container of ice water handy that big enough to fully immerse the amount of mint you're working with. You'll also need something like a wire mesh fryer scoop for this to safely handle the mint in the boiling water.
Immerse the mint leaves in the water for about 10 seconds, then remove and immediately plunge them into the ice water bath. I used to make big batches of this syrup so I'd do this a bunch of times until all the mint had been blanched.
Take the blanched mint out of the ice water and put it in a blender. Fill the blender up to a safe blending level with the simple syrup you made and blend it up real good.
Pour the blended syrup through a fine mesh strainer (the finest you can get your hands on, I used to use a bouillon strainer like this) into your storage container. Press down on all the plant material in the strainer to squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can, that's where the flavor is!
Keep it refrigerated and it should stay good and green for at least a week. You'll probably need to experiment a bit to figure out the proportions.
In general, I find the "blend and strain" method of making flavored syrups from stuff (ginger, basil, mint, etc) will give a much fresher and more intense flavor than trying to infuse those things into a syrup or alcohol. If this particular syrup wasn't straight out of Jeffrey Morgenthaler's The Bar Book it was at least inspired by it. I definitely first heard of blend and strain from his writing.
posted by Jawn at 4:11 PM on April 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
In terms of worthwhile home infusions, we regularly infuse tequila with jalapeño for a whole variety of cocktails (DM me if you want any suggestions!). This product probably exists commercially, but I wouldn't purchase it. There's no need, since doing it yourself is stupid easy - just chop up some pepper, let it sit for a bit, and then strain. You'll find a huge range of steeping times online, but Death & Company says just 20 minutes, and that's what we go by. Jalapeño is very potent!
Also, always be super careful handling the peppers! I've gotten the oil in my eye and oh my that was hell.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 7:30 PM on April 28, 2022
Also, always be super careful handling the peppers! I've gotten the oil in my eye and oh my that was hell.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 7:30 PM on April 28, 2022
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The good brands of creme de menthe are Get and Giffard. If you want something with more complexity minus the electric green color, I recommend Fernet Branca Menta. Audrey Saunders' "Goodnight Irene" (bourbon and Branca Menta over crushed ice) is a favorite nightcap in the slkinsey household.
posted by slkinsey at 8:38 AM on April 28, 2022 [9 favorites]