Homemade basil liqueur: the recipe for making an excellent digestive

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The homemade basil liqueur is fantastic nectar, very fresh, full of scents, enveloping, which you can drink as a digestive or you can use it to flavor cakes and biscuits or even use to make a thousand cocktails. Just put a few centiliters in a glass with rum, lime, sugar syrup and soda and make a super refreshing and delicious cocktail.

But like all very aromatic digestive liqueurs, the basil liqueur is not easy to make, because if you leave the leaves in infusion for too much, the liqueur will be bitter. On the other hand, you can’t even correct too much with post-production sugar, otherwise, it loses momentum and freshness, so it’s better to ponder doses before making this magic liqueur.

Another consideration concerns the other flavorings present in the basil liqueur, which are usually lemon and mint. Honestly, it is better not to overdo with the “aromatics”. The basil has a complete and totalizing flavor, better not to add too many suggestions or it becomes a babel of flavors and fragrances that goes nowhere. Lemon is more than sufficient as a companion, but if you want to try making mixes of aromatic herbs mint and lemongrass are an amazing couple.

Ingredients and doses for making the perfect homemade basil liqueur

• 2 liters of 96% alcohol
• 800 grams of sugar
• 30 basil leaves
• 1 untreated organic lemon
• 600 grams of water

How to make perfect basil liqueur

Let’s start with basil, of course, if you find the Genoese one even better: it has lots of aromas and an unmistakable flavor. Wash the leaves and spread them on a kitchen towel and pat to dry them.

Wash the lemon and peel it: the white part, the albedo, is bitter, so take only the rind.

Dissolve water and sugar in the pan to make the syrup, do not need hours, in a few minutes it is ready, just bring the solution of water and sugar up to 50 degrees and you’re done. If you want you can also prepare it by heating the water and then dissolving the sugar in it. It is not necessary to cook it!

Well, when you are done with the syrup, take a large container with a lid, put in the leaves, the lemon zest cut into strips, the alcohol, the sugar syrup and seal the container. Store in a dark place and leave to macerate for 8-10 days. Remember to shake the container gently every evening.

After ten days, open the jar, filter the liqueur and bottle it. If you use dark bottles it is better, the liqueur will avoid to oxidize, then plug it immediately after pouring it into the glasses.

How to serve your delicious homemade basil liqueur and which cocktails you should make

Well, now that you have made the basil liqueur, you can serve it in ice-cold glasses as a digestive or after dinner. But that’s not all, this green nectar has a thousand uses: remember that it is a perfect liqueur to flavor great sparkling cocktails like Gin Tonic, Gin Fizz or Bellini. But it is also excellent served in a glass with soda and lemonade.