Raspberry vodka recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Liqueurs | 149 comments
Home grown raspberries from our garden waiting to be made into delicious raspberry vodka
Note: Raspberry Vodka is probably the best and easiest of all homemade fruit liqueurs. It and raspberry gin are our all time favourite.
“One for me,” Gilbert popped a raspberry into his mouth, “and one for the bottle.” He pressed a juicy raspberry through the top of an empty vodka bottle.
“What on earth are you doing?”
Marjorie had sent me into the garden to join Gilbert. He was sitting on the terrace beside a large bowl of raspberries. Several bottles of vodka and a funnel beside him.
“Marjorie won’t let me into the kitchen, thinks that I’ll pour sugar into the cabbage.”
It took us just twenty minutes to make four bottles of raspberry vodka.
Always looking for new raspberry liqueur recipes, I asked Gilbert if it was a patent recipe. He nodded sagely and started to write the labels with a large, even hand.
“You better get the name right, before you note down the ingredients.”
Intrigued I got up and stood behind him, pen poised. The labels read, “Fiona’s patent Raspberry Vodka.”
“Is that me?”
He roared with laughter, “Of course it is, you goose.”
Tips and tricks for making the best raspberry vodka – printable recipe below:
- If you grow raspberries or have access to a “Pick your own”, you will make a liqueur that has a far fuller, fresher flavour than the supermarket raspberries that have been rattled around for miles (air and/or road). But even if you can’t find the freshest and best raspberries you will still make a fantastic liqueur (discard all bad ones). Our raspberry liqueurs (gin and vodka) are the two that people remember and natter about. And until a year ago, when our raspberry patch was finally established, we often bought the raspberries for this superb grog.
- Make notes on a label of your fruit/vodka/sugar ratio and stick it onto the bottle(s) so that you have a record When you make a particularly good batch you will need this info. The best production labels are made from decorator’s masking tape as these can be peeled off and passed from bottle to bottle. We also note our responses at the grog matures. It won’t be long before you will get a feel of what works well for your taste (and the notes will come into their own). In an ideal world it would be wise to make more than you need in the first year, so you can compare different vintages. This liqueur does improve over time. This can be difficult, even Gilbert has never managed to keep a vintage beyond three years.
- Keep your fruit vodka away from the light, unless the bottles are dark green or brown, as this will maintain the colour. If you are stuck with clear bottles, wrap them in brown paper to keep out the light or store them in a cool dark place that is dry and airy.
- Every couple of months take a tiny sip. At this time add sugar if it tastes too sharp. If it is too sweet it is difficult to go back.
- See how you can make your own labels
| Raspberry vodka recipe |
- 300g of raspberries
- 350g of white granulated sugar
- 1.5 litres (or more) of medium quality vodka (don’t be tempted to go for the cheapest or thr best)
- Sterilised 2 litre Le Parfait jar or 2-3 (70 cl) washed and sterilised vodka bottles
- Extra vodka bottles. We save a few empty bottles throughout the year as the raspberries and sugar fill about one third of each bottle
- Wash raspberries and discard any bruised/bad fruit. Place raspberries in either a large 2 litre Kilner/Le Parfait jar or divide the raspberries between 2 or 3 (70 cl) saved vodka bottles. If you have to squeeze fat raspberries through the neck it is fine.
- Using a funnel, add the sugar (divide the amounts if using several bottles) and top up with vodka to 2-3cm from the top.
- Shake every day until the sugar is dissolved and then store in a cool, dark place until you can resist it no longer (leave for at least three months, we usually let it mature for a year).
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Hi, I have found this site very interesting. Has anyone actually got a recipe for Blackberry whiskey? Certainly fancy giving that a try. I just happened to stumble upon this site as I was looking for recipies in which I could use raspberry vinegar.
I’d love to hear how you get on with the blackberry whisky.
fn, thanx for the reply.
i’m off to buy the whisky and to defrost the blackberries
Hi clatterpark,
Yes, raspberry gin is wonderful. I haven’t used it as a remedy for sleep, yet.
Would love to hear how your raspberry/blackberry vodka turns out.
Frozen hedgerow fruit would be fine for the whisky.
hi,
i have made raspberry gin and vodka for years, i find it is THE thing to help me sleep after night duty. ( that is my excuse anyway )
i also make blackberry gin and vodka and agree that it is best if the fruit is strained off after 3/4 months.
this year i have started a raspberry and blackberry (mixed together) vodka. not sure when i will need to strain this one. i’ll just have to keep tasting it to check on progress!
i had never heard of blackberry whisky but i think i will give it a go. would frozen hedgerow fruit be okay do you think?
by the by, i am also doing my usual damson gin – a particular favourite.
Yes, Rosemary, loganberries should work well. We make blackberry gin and vodka. This takes some time to mature (about a year) before this it is very sharp and full of tannin. Loganberries are a raspberry/blackberry cross so probably will work well. We have found that vodka suits our taste better than gin, in the case of blackberries. It would need more sugar. I would start of with 10-15g more than the raspberry recipe and top up if necessary after three months.
Please let us know how it works out. We have loganberries growing in a barrel. They’re flourishing so I might make some loganberry vodka myself.
Do you think it would work with loganberries as I am the only one in the house that likes them, and we have loads this year ?
I’ve never had anything like this before but it sounds absolutely delicious!! Raspberry is my favorite fruit, both red and black. We always have the jam for toast.
My husband is VERY interested in your recipe.
If it’s black, it’s not a raspberry, it’s a blackberry.
Actually, there are black, purple, golden and, yes, normal red raspberries. None of which are blackberries 🙂
Hi Amanda,
Raspberry vodka is good but raspberry gin is the queen of homemade liqueurs. Dangerous stuff. We keep ours in the barn, need I say more.
I’ve made sloe gin but raspberry vodka or gin sounds very good! Great idea to write the quantities on the bottle. I’ve made some really good ones and some pretty poor ones.
We managed to keep a bottle for over 10 years (pure fluke) We unpacked a box when we moved here last year and found a bottle of very old sloe gin. It had been in the loft, untouched for the whole 7 years of living in the old place. It was already nearly 4 years old when it went to the loft. It tasted great but there was only a thimble full. It was a special moment as the sloes had been picked and the gin made when we lived in the village before.
I hadn’t made sloe gin again until we moved back to the village last year and then the children helped pick the sloes. I think I was making up for lost time as we made far too much and I’ve been giving it away as presents ever since.
I think I’ll give the raspberry vodka a try – thanks for the recipe and the tips.