Sweetening liqueurs without adding water

[jrshaul]

A major problem I've encountered with liqueurs is the issue of dilution. In order to dissolve more sugar than is possible at room temperature, many recipes call for a 2:1 supersaturated sugar solution or, occasionally, corn syrup. While some (such as my cranberry liqueur) benefit from the dilution, many would likely be better without it. Using everclear to compensate for reduced proof is possible , but it's expensive and can accelerate the diffusion of unpleasant cellulose flavors.

I've encountered a solution to this problem while trying to rescue a botched liqueur. Trying to make a sort of caramel schnapps, I made up a heavy caramel and combined it with vodka. However, the caramel had been overcooked into toffee, and after two weeks only a minority had dissolved.

Seeing as how I had a surplus of mason jars and wasn't too worried about losing the liqueur, I put the jar in a bath of boiling water canning-style and let it cook for about twenty minutes, shaking the jar occasionally to further mix the contents. The end result wasn't very good (I overcooked the toffee), but the technique works flawlessly.

By placing the infused spirit and dry sugar in a canning jar, you can dissolve the sugar completely without adding water. While some alcohol may evaporate, it isn't leaving the jar, and will rapidly condense as soon as you take it out.

Now, all I need is a sack of organic oranges to take another crack at triple sec.....

Edited July 12, 2011 by jrshaul (log)

[mkayahara]

While some alcohol may evaporate, it isn't leaving the jar, and will rapidly condense as soon as you take it out.

Isn't it illegal to evaporate and then condense alcohol?

In the past, I've made liqueurs (notably damson gin, following the instructions in this eGCI thread) that used granulated sugar. If you shake it regularly, the sugar does fully dissolve into the alcohol, though it takes a little while. (Of course, I suppose in that case you're adding water from the damsons, too.) I can certainly see heat speeding up the process!

[bostonapothecary]

A major problem I've encountered with liqueurs is the issue of dilution. In order to dissolve more sugar than is possible at room temperature, many recipes call for a 2:1 supersaturated sugar solution or, occasionally, corn syrup. While some (such as my cranberry liqueur) benefit from the dilution, many would likely be better without it. Using everclear to compensate for reduced proof is possible , but it's expensive and can accelerate the diffusion of unpleasant cellulose flavors.

I've encountered a solution to this problem while trying to rescue a botched liqueur. Trying to make a sort of caramel schnapps, I made up a heavy caramel and combined it with vodka. However, the caramel had been overcooked into toffee, and after two weeks only a minority had dissolved.

Seeing as how I had a surplus of mason jars and wasn't too worried about losing the liqueur, I put the jar in a bath of boiling water canning-style and let it cook for about twenty minutes, shaking the jar occasionally to further mix the contents. The end result wasn't very good (I overcooked the toffee), but the technique works flawlessly.

By placing the infused spirit and dry sugar in a canning jar, you can dissolve the sugar completely without adding water. While some alcohol may evaporate, it isn't leaving the jar, and will rapidly condense as soon as you take it out.

Now, all I need is a sack of organic oranges to take another crack at triple sec.....

i've had tremendous success simply stirring granular sugar into my liqueurs. it just takes a little patience. for some reason a magnetic stirrer barely speeds up the process.

heat will definitely speed up the process but i wouldn't bother tightening the lid and building up pressure. you don't have to get the liquid anywhere close to boiling to get even large amounts of sugar to dissolve. if you must heat just treat it like a bain-marie. liqueurs don't even really go above 500 g/l of sucrose.

i wouldn't worry about alcohol evaporating. as volatile as alcohol is, it takes tremendous energy to make a dent in your alcohol content. just keep the water bath under 70 Celsius to be safe.

[Shalmanese]

As long as you're willing to shake it once in a while, the sugar will all eventually dissolve.

I don't know how oxidation will affect liqueurs but throwing it all in a blender and running for a minute can get it dissolved much faster.

[jrshaul]

I've had some trouble with sugar not dissolving in the past, though this may be because I use granulated sugar instead of castor sugar. However, I do feel it has significant promise for recipes that call for caramelized sugar in one form or another, as is found in several formulas for homemade kaluha.

[rotuts]

perhaps castor sugar is 'super-fine' sugar. if not and you know how to keep your cuisinart blade very sharp just wizzz regular sugar in the Cuisi and you have superfine 'bartender' sugar. thats if you are in a hurry.

you simply are increasing the surface area of the sugar significantly

thats how I used to make my own liqueurs in the past. blending in a blender helps but you will loose some of the alcohol.