Creme de Menthe

Hello, and I hope whoever reads this is having a good weekend

I've outdone myself this year buying mint plants, and now have 4 varieties settling into new homes around the yard. Mint's an easy plant to grow (if anything, the problem often lies in containing it) and has a rich history, named in the Bible as one of the hebs used to tithe.
It's been prized for its cooling properties, used to treat nausea or as a topical pain relief, and has a variety of uses in the kitchen.

I also just realized today that I can make my own creme de menthe and that it would probably make a cool gift to pour some in a corked glass jar (found some in bulk online) and drop it off with neighbors/family.

Have you made your own creme de menthe?

I looked up a recipe which called for
1 1/2 c. fresh, washed mint leaves,
1 1/2 c. vodka,
1 1/2 c. sugar,
1 c. water

The recipe, included below, instructed to tear up 1 cup mint leaves and place in a sealed glass jar; pour vodka on top, shake and let steep 12 hours. Strain out the mint. Bring water and sugar to boil, simmer 5 minutes, remove from heat and cool. Pour into mint infused vodka; tear remaining leaves and add to jar. Shake and let steep 10 hours.
Strain twice to remove all mint leaves (liquer will be a pale yellow green, add food coloring if wanted).
Store in sealed glass jar; will keep for 2 months.
www.seriouseats.com...

I read in the comments a person had used everclear and that the liquid was bright green. Any ideas about which type of vodka I should try, or whether everclear would be the way to go?



Either way, this is one experiment I look forward to trying out.

a reply to: zosimov

I've never tried this and I've drank bottles of this stuff in the past, refreshing stuff and it's up there with blue curacao for me.

I would suggest a reasonably quality vodka, Russian standard would be a good cheap choice and there's plenty of quality vodkas out there these days. Polish vodka is often good and neutral. You wouldn't want that strong icky cheap chemical taste chasing that fresh mint!

Another possibility is sugar itself may not give the best mouth feel, I've noticed this when at parties and the vodka flavoured by sweets/candy comes out. The mouth feel was always thin. An unflavoured cocktail syrup would add that authentic thickness to it.

Best of luck! I may try this myself.

a reply to: zosimov

I made some orange liqueur back in 1979 that was similar to your creme de menthe recipe. The difference was grated orange peals rather than shredded mint.

Hold on, I'll go check on it.
...
...
The sugars have totally crystalized!
Just kidding. I threw that out a long time ago.

Store in sealed glass jar; will keep for 2 months.

If you keep it past the 2 months, it will crystalize though.

Had a good 3 day weekend. The other people in this house took a trip to a lake, leaving me alone with the cat. I binge watched season 5 of Lucifer.

a reply to: RAY1990
Hi Ray Good to see you and hope you're doing well!
Good point about the sugars. I should look into an alternative sugar to the white granulated; my guess is that cane sugar might be a better option.

If you give it a try, let us know how you like the outcome! I agree with you that a good vodka is the way to go.

a reply to: pthena

pthena, it's great to see you!!


Mmm. yes. I do plan on trying some things out with dehydrated orange and lemon peels with my herbal teas this year--but orange liquer sounds really great too.

Glad to hear you've had a nice relaxing weekend. I've been reading, gardening, and sleeping a lot since finishing up with my latest work assignment on Fri

a reply to: RAY1990

Titos is always a good call.

Super high quality without an outrageous price.

Fun fact, it's rated higher than Goose or Belvedere.

Goose is decent compared to its price. They're just marketing geniuses and made an expensive looking product.

Titos also captures the heart of American tradition since its made from corn... Which also makes it gluten free if you're into that kinda thing.

a reply to: zosimov

I'm good thanks and hope you're well

I've got a vague memory of making homemade syrup once for mojitos, I'm sure I boiled granulated white at around 2:1 ratio. I can't remember any complaints! Cocktail syrups can be on the pricey side at times. Sugar cane would be a good choice imho. I've reluctantly used it in the past when there's been screw ups on stock ordering... Nobody noticed!
I guess gelatin could work in a pinch too?

It's been a while since I've had a good BBQ so I think I'll try this and a few other liqueurs. If I do I'll take some pics and share.

a reply to: RAY1990

I looked it up, and raw sugar might be the way I go

Great idea about the BBQ!! Hope you have a blast, and pics would be awesome. I will try to post some of my cool jars full of my own batch too.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

I'll have to try it out

The US spirits market has gone from strength to strength in the UK the last few years but I wasn't aware of this product. Goose is clean and I'll happily pay more if I'm drinking vodka neat. Tito seems to be a fairly priced over here.

That said I prefer paying for a product than a label... JD and coke anyone? Bad example actually, it's difficult to match coca cola and JD whilst keeping in the same price range.

a reply to: RAY1990

Didn't even really stop and think that some of the liquors I've been so critical about based on price are probably quite cheaper near their region.

The EU probably has some decent trade deals set up for alcohol. So I bet a lot of the things I associate with being too shelf are really around the middle there. Perhaps I should take that into account since they aren't necessarily intended on being my perception of over priced.

Whiskey and Bourbon are some of my favorites though since you brought up (I assume) Jack Daniel's. And that's something I'm sure I get spoiled on. Living in the south and being near one of the products America still excels in while still making it at home. There's a few that come to mind that I like quite a bit better than Jack... But that said it's a good product since they keep it consistent and it's pretty solid.

a reply to: pthena

I do that with oranges too, but I don't add alcohol until the last part of the process.

First I put the fresh orange peals on the jar and add just enough sugar to cover them. Then let it rest for about 2 weeks in a fresh place out of sunlight.

It'll turn into a sort of syrup, you won't see the sugar anymore and the peals will look like dry. That's when you add the alcohol and wait 2 weeks more.

Then you can enjoy it pure like shots or with ice.

a reply to: zosimov

Growing up, my mother would pour some Creme de Menthe over vanilla ice cream for us as a treat- it was delicious but I can't imagine drinking the stuff from a glass. In fact, I never knew people actually drank it.

Thanks for the recipe! I'm going to make some (to pour over vanilla ice cream).

a reply to: Iamonlyhuman

I hadn't really thought about what I'd use it for once I'd made it (thought maybe for baking) but on ice cream sounds awesome! I'll bet it's good in hot cocoa too.

Enjoy that ice cream and the memories it brings!

a reply to: zosimov

If you use Everclear or other over proof distillates you'll need to add at least the same volume in water or simple syrup, you're better with a 40-50 proof vodka.

You could make your own Andes mints

Repeat, YOU COULD MAKE YOUR OWN ANDES MINTS

I would think that the alcohol will play a big part in things here, so quality is a good idea. Good vodka tends to be highly distilled, so would probably be the best carrier medium for the other flavors.

Buuut, it might take some experiments to figure out what really delivers the best product.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Thanks for the good info!! I wish there were a way to preserve that bright color, but taste and quality are more important of course.

originally posted by: Serdgiam
You could make your own Andes mints

Repeat, YOU COULD MAKE YOUR OWN ANDES MINTS

I would think that the alcohol will play a big part in things here, so quality is a good idea. Good vodka tends to be highly distilled, so would probably be the best carrier medium for the other flavors.

Buuut, it might take some experiments to figure out what really delivers the best product.

Andes mints are such a worthy goal! Woah

Someone has to do all these "experimints" lol. I might as well take one for the team.

a reply to: vikramsingh

This recipe looks great

originally posted by: zosimov
Thanks for the good info!! I wish there were a way to preserve that bright color, but taste and quality are more important of course.

Try setting the chlorophyll in the mint first by blanching in boiling water for a few seconds and then refreshing in an ice bath.