Ginger Liqueur Part 1

It all started with a batch of ginger tofu soup (see April 2006) that I made today. The aroma of ginger lingers and lures all day long, and hours after the soup had been finished, I got to thinking. Wouldn't a ginger liqueur be nice? Something that really delivers a swift ginger kick in the pants, and has a nice, sweet, smooth liqueur base to sooth the burn.

















After some quick digging on the net, I found several recipes and decided to up the ginger amount and cut the curing time in about a third. I'd like for this to be done in two weeks, not six.

Here's what's brewing:

A quick note about peeling ginger: While you can use a knife or vegetable peeler, most ginger lovers will tell you to peel it thinly by scraping with a spoon. Supposedly a good amount of the potent juice lies just beneath the skin's surface.

1/2 c honey
1/2 c sugar
1 c water
6" ginger root, peeled and sliced thinly crosswise
rind of one lemon
1 1/2 c brandy

Boil the honey, sugar, and water in a heavy bottom saucepan for about five minutes. Skim any foam (that's beeswax) from the surface. Add the ginger and lemon rind and boil for an additional 10 minutes. Strain with a fine sieve and cheesecloth into a clean 1 quart jar. If you have the patience, use a coffee filter. Allow to cool for a bit and then add the brandy. Close tightly and allow to sit for what I hope will be just two weeks. This experiment will be continued.

The sliced ginger can be dusted with sugar and dried in a low oven to make ginger candy.

Optionally, you can boil the ginger again with some sugar water and make yourself some gingered simple syrup, or another batch of ginger schnapps, and then make the candy. Don't waste it if you can help it.