Summertime Fruit Liqueurs
Sweet liqueurs from ume, loquat, rhubarb, plums, and other local fruit.
Over the past few summers I’ve soaked various fruit in a mix of alcohol and sugar: ume from the Davis farmers market in vodka with white sugar; loquats from a roadside tree in brandy with brown sugar; rhubarb from our back yard in gin; and many more. The tartness of the fruit, the amount of sugar and when its added (e.g. initially packing the fruit in dry sugar to draw some flavors and oils out of the peel), and how long they rest before straining all affect the flavor. Some ended up too sweet or too boring, but in summer 2022 I tasted and bottled my favorites.
The best I’ve ever made may still be the just-starting-to-ripen pluot liqueur from 2017, after it had aged for a year.