Peach Liqueur

Making your own peach liqueur takes patience, but the process is simple. Fresh ripe peaches steeped in vodka with lemon peel and a cinnamon stick for a couple of weeks, then strained, sweetened with sugar syrup, and aged for another six weeks. The result is a smooth, aromatic liqueur with real peach flavor that store-bought versions can’t match.

Choose yellow or cream-colored peaches that are fully ripe and fragrant at the stem end. Green peaches won’t ripen enough off the tree and leave the liqueur tasting flat and vegetal.

Squeezing every drop of juice from the strained fruit is key. The peaches have absorbed vodka and released their sugars during the infusion, so that pressed juice is concentrated peach flavor you don’t want to waste.

Kitchen Tips

• Use a mid-range vodka, nothing bottom-shelf. The peach and spice flavors can’t cover harsh alcohol.
• Shake the jar every few days during the first two weeks. Agitation helps the peach flavor extract faster.
• Taste the sugar syrup amount before adding it all. Peach sweetness varies and you may need less.
• Filter through cheesecloth or a coffee filter for a crystal-clear finished liqueur.

Variations

• Add a split vanilla bean during the vodka infusion for a peach vanilla cordial.
• Use brandy instead of vodka for a warmer, more complex spirit base.
• Swap peaches for nectarines or ripe apricots for a different stone fruit liqueur.