I'm picking out the unusual recipes and then I'll go back and post some of the more common ones. please note that I usually cut way back on the sugar. some of these tend to be a bit too sweet and you can always add more sugar if needed. some of Jagendorf's comments and instructions are so charming that I quoted her.
All these recipes are from:
Folk Wines, Cordials & Brandies, by M.J. Jagendorf
Scottish Liqueur
fill a quart jar about 1/3 full of sugar, pour 1/2 oz cinnamon essence
over it and fill the jar with whisky. shake to dissolve the sugar and
let sit for a day before bottling.
Strawberry Brandy
put into a gallon jar a layer of strawberries and then a thin layer of white sugar, continuing in this way until the jar is half full. Pour over it brandy or vodka. stand in a warm place for a month or two. filter and bottle.
Bumpo
"In Adair, Ireland, the loveliest village in Europe, in a place where for the first time I tasted real poteen, I heard of drink called "bumpo." By the snakes of Erin, it was full-sized man's drink! Try it on a cold night or when you have a cold.
Boil 1 pint of water with 8 tbls brown sugar and a pinch of nutmeg. Pour this into a pint or two of rum. Add the juice of one to two limes and drink. All cold of any kind will disappear."
Shrub
begin with gentle fruit juices. Put a little less than 1 pint orange juice and the juice of 2 or 3 lemons into a half gallon or gallon jar.
before squeezing the lemons, peel the rinds very thinly and add them as well. add two quarts rum, cover and let stand for 3 days. put 1 lbs sugar into 1 quart water and bring to a boil. add the sugared water to the rum and let stand, covered, for two weeks. strain & bottle.
Usquebaugh
"Did you ever drink usquebaugh? I did, in an Irish home, and saints, what a drink! I was told one way to make it - there are many. It is worth a trial, for it will warm every cell of your skin and every bone in your body."
1 quart good brandy or vodka
1/2 lb raisins
1/4 oz ground nutmeg
1/2 oz ground cinnamon
1/2 oz ground cloves
1 pinch saffron
1/2 lb brown sugar
rind of 1 orange
"add all these good things to the spirits, cover and put in a dark place. Shake it well every day for at least 14 days, three weeks is even better. then strain and drink and you will sing the praises of Ireland, as I do."
All these recipes are from:
Folk Wines, Cordials & Brandies, by M.J. Jagendorf
Scottish Liqueur
fill a quart jar about 1/3 full of sugar, pour 1/2 oz cinnamon essence
over it and fill the jar with whisky. shake to dissolve the sugar and
let sit for a day before bottling.
Strawberry Brandy
put into a gallon jar a layer of strawberries and then a thin layer of white sugar, continuing in this way until the jar is half full. Pour over it brandy or vodka. stand in a warm place for a month or two. filter and bottle.
Bumpo
"In Adair, Ireland, the loveliest village in Europe, in a place where for the first time I tasted real poteen, I heard of drink called "bumpo." By the snakes of Erin, it was full-sized man's drink! Try it on a cold night or when you have a cold.
Boil 1 pint of water with 8 tbls brown sugar and a pinch of nutmeg. Pour this into a pint or two of rum. Add the juice of one to two limes and drink. All cold of any kind will disappear."
Shrub
begin with gentle fruit juices. Put a little less than 1 pint orange juice and the juice of 2 or 3 lemons into a half gallon or gallon jar.
before squeezing the lemons, peel the rinds very thinly and add them as well. add two quarts rum, cover and let stand for 3 days. put 1 lbs sugar into 1 quart water and bring to a boil. add the sugared water to the rum and let stand, covered, for two weeks. strain & bottle.
Usquebaugh
"Did you ever drink usquebaugh? I did, in an Irish home, and saints, what a drink! I was told one way to make it - there are many. It is worth a trial, for it will warm every cell of your skin and every bone in your body."
1 quart good brandy or vodka
1/2 lb raisins
1/4 oz ground nutmeg
1/2 oz ground cinnamon
1/2 oz ground cloves
1 pinch saffron
1/2 lb brown sugar
rind of 1 orange
"add all these good things to the spirits, cover and put in a dark place. Shake it well every day for at least 14 days, three weeks is even better. then strain and drink and you will sing the praises of Ireland, as I do."