This is a fun way to flavor your own brandy; I found the recipe from Taste of Home. Its great on ice as a sipping drink.
It is a little sweet for my tastes so I think next time I would cut the sugar to 3 cups; or maybe serve it with club soda or seltzer.
I think it would be great to make this with your home-grown apples or apples from a local orchard!
Ingredients: {recipe makes about 2 quarts}
-4 cups sugar
-2 cup water
-4 lbs. apples {I used 11 average sized apples}, sliced
-1 liter brandy
-3 whole cloves
-1 cinnamon stick {about 3 inches long}
-Additional whole cloves and cinnamon sticks for storing, optional
Process:
1. In a large pan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil to dissolve sugar.
2. Place apples {I started with only 9 of the apples, just to be sure the container wouldn't overflow from the liquids} in a large plastic or glass container {I used a gallon sized pitcher}.3. Pour the brandy over the apples.
4. Add the cloves and cinnamon stick.
5. Pour in the sugar and water mixture.
At this point I squeezed in the remaining 2 apples I had saved.
6. Cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 weeks, stirring or shaking once a week. {I just placed mine on a shelf in a closet off of the kitchen where I knew no one would knock it over.}
7. Strain brandy mixture; discard apples and spices {I composted mine}.
8. Pour into glass bottles {I used canning jars and the empty liquor bottle below}.
9. Place 3 whole cloves and 1 cinnamon stick in each bottle. Enjoy!
I suppose you could give it a hot water bath for 10 minutes then it would have a longer shelf life or freeze it
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