Afinată/Áfonya Pálinka (Blueberry Liqueur)

Directions

1. Wash blueberries. Put blueberries and sugar in a jar or bottle – shake or mix well. Lightly screw on the lid, so air can escape (this is important, gas will be created as the fruit ferments). Let this sit for at least four weeks.

2. After the fermentation period, add alcohol. Add some water and more sugar if needed.

3. At this point, you can strain out the fruit, or leave them in the liqueur. Drink or store, as you like. The liqueur will keep indefinitely.                                                                              

 

Notes:   Depending on the type of alcohol you use you may or may not need the water. You can use just about anything including vodka, grain alcohol, ţuică or pálinka (avoid alcohols that have a strong flavor or could make you go blind). If using pálinka (60-80 proof you may want a bit of water). If your berries are very sweet, you may cut the sugar, but don’t use less than ⅓ c. This liqueur is easy to make and makes an excellent gift – especially if you can find something other than an old coke bottle to put it in!

 

Variations: You can use this basic recipe to make vişinată/megyes pálinka (sour cherry liqueur) or most other types of fruit liqueur. We recommend blackberry, raspberry, apricot or peach – but you could probably get good results using melon as well.