This year’s plum brandy is mighty fine.
It’s really more of a liqueur than a brandy, and we make it whenever we can get our hands on some President plums…
The process is simple – the halved and pitted plums are added to vodka, brandy and sugar, then left to brew in a dark cupboard for two months.
We’re supposed to let the moonshine mature for an extra month after it’s been filtered, but it was so good this year that we’ve been dipping into it early. It’s a sweet, smooth, quite alcoholic brew that is just a little too easy to drink. I like it neat or on ice, but our friend Dredgey prefers his with soda.
Pete swears by it as a sore throat cure. A couple of years ago when the whole street was down with the flu, we were distributing it in little bottles, strictly for medicinal purposes, of course.
We ended up with three litres this year, but given that a third of that has already been drunk or given away, we might need to ramp up production next time!
The original recipe comes from the Drink Mixer website – here is our slightly adapted metric version, which can be scaled up accordingly:
- 1 kilogram President plums, halved, pits removed
- 440g (2 cups) white sugar
- 500ml (2 cups) vodka
- 125ml (½ cup) brandy
1. In a large glass container, combine all the ingredients. Give them a good stir with a chopstick. Seal and store in a dark place for two months. Stir occasionally if you remember, and admire the colour as it develops. The sugar will dissolve completely into the liquid over time.
2. After two months, strain out the plums and decant the liquid into clean bottles. Seal them up and let them mature for another month if you can (we only lasted two weeks). Then share with people you love!
Note: the President plums are quite tart – you might want to reduce the quantity of sugar if you’re using sweeter plums.
Have a great weekend, folks!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
WOW! You did great job… I admire. Should be so nice. Thank you dear Celia, have a nice weekend, love, nia
Nia, it really is delicious, we’ve been having a tipple every night! Thank you! Have a great weekend too! :)
so do you eat the plums with ice-cream after curing?
Adrian, no we didn’t, as we squashed them in the sieve to try and get the last bit of flavour out of them. They were quite soft…
Celia – you don’t stop…… inspiring me. Moonshine :-) is such a great name
Oz, it’s an old word for illegally brewed alcohol – I’ve always referred to it as that, even though it’s neither home-distilled nor illegal! :)
moon·shine
(Informal). smuggled or illicitly distilled liquor, especially corn liquor as illicitly distilled chiefly in rural areas of the southern U.S.
Sounds good! I’ll bookmark that for this autumn.
Thanks Pat! You’ll have plums before we do again! :)
Just shown this to Himself and he’s keen, copied for when plums are back in season.
Sue, hope you both enjoy it! Next year I’d like to try with different plums as well!
Wonderful, Celia. I ought to try making my own flavoured alcohol! I think this is such a good idea.
Nick, it’s so easy! I’m always amazed by how many things can be used to flavour vodka (we make our own vanilla extract as well) but this has definitely been the most delicious! I’m currently experimenting with raspberries – will let you all know if it works! :)
Please do! I may try and use cherries if we get enough this year! If I do, I’ll let YOU know :D
My great Aunt did this with cumquats! so good!
Cumquats! What a fantastic idea, thank you! I think it would be delicious with citrus..
Brilliant! you may have found a use for the Rangipur limes I never use.
Many years ago- even before I was born, my father did a plumbing job for a family that lived not too far from us- and was paid in 3 gallons of moonshine.
My mother put dried apricots into the brew and several months later it was barely drinkable- it took a second batch of dried fruit to flavor and sweeten up that stuff.
But my older sister thought the apricots were totally delicious!
This looks like a good use of vodka ( I already use a quart to make my own vanilla!)- thanks Celia!
Heidi, that’s so funny, imagine being paid in homebrew! I tried infusing dried figs in rum once, and the results were delicious, and we used them for cooking. Hmm. I actually think I wrote that up somewhere…yep, here it is:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/04/21/figmented-brownies/
I just might try this, I’ve never made anything like it. I’ll begin collecting bottles now.. and watch for those plums!
Smidge, I always think it would make a nice Christmas present, but our plums are available in March, the plum brandy is ready to drink in late May/June and…there’s never any left at Christmas.. ;-)
Well, now that’s good to hear!
What a great colour – it would make gorgeous cocktails.
I’m surprised you squished the plums – I would have expected some boozy desserts made from them! Although I can also understand you wanting as much of the flavour as possible in the liqueur.
I’m averse to mushy fruit, Suelle. Pete tried them and didn’t think they had much flavour left…
your ‘moonshine’ reminds me of something i made in greece under the instruction of my elderly landlady..the recipe was sour cherries that were put into a bottle with brandy, sugar and spices and then left in the sun for a few months..it was then strained and drunk like a liqueur..it was too sweet for me but your vodka plum concoction sounds very drinkable..i must try it next summer..x
Jane, you and Nick (Frugal Feeding) have inspired me – I’m sure I have a bag of sour cherries in the freezer. I’m going to give cherry brandy a go! :)
If you don’t use all the sour cherries in your tipple, Ed and Marieke from weekend bakery have a lovely 3 stage rye bread I made with sour cherries.
Elaine, I keep buying sour cherries, thinking I’m sure to have a plan for them, and then I never quite get around to using them! :)
How very nice indeed! Actually (cough) I think (cough) I can feel a tickley throat coming on (cough,cough)…. Perhaps I need some ‘medicine’ too?
Hehehe…you’d be surprised how many people went down with “sore throats” once the bottles started being sent out.. ;-)
Oh Celia, surely you can come up with some ways to use the strained plums. Honestly, I am disappointed you did not, how about something like plum pudding?
Don’t be disappointed.. :) I’m averse to mushy fruit and these were pretty soft after a couple of months soaking. Plus Pete tried them (I didn’t) and he said they were ok, but didn’t have a lot of flavour left. I think we actually threw them out after squishing them into the sieve – we didn’t even put them in the worm food, for fear of getting them all drunk! :)
*Cough*… I feel a cold coming on Celia, please send some my way ; ) You are amazing!
Lizzy, you’re too funny! Becca (InTolerant Chef, see above) has a sore throat too – maybe there’s something going around in Canberra? ;-)
Could you make a puree out of the plum flesh?
Nic, possibly, but we didn’t try. They were quite spent, and most of the flavour has gone into the brandy!
What a great idea. I love the photo of all those ‘medicinal’ looking bottles. I think this would be just wonderful as a calming, relaxing drink at the end of the day – especially nice at this time of year when this could be enjoyed in front of an open fire. Have a lovely weekend Miss C xx
Charlie, the “medicine bottles” were a clearance item at Plasdene last time we were stocking up on jam jars, and I couldn’t resist them… x
I wonder if I’ve got enough left over plums to try this? I could enjoy a sip or two I’m sure :)
Tandy, I hope you do! Will it work with fructose, do you think?
It is worth a try!
Wonderful and inspirational!!
Thanks for stopping by, Maya! :)
This sounds a lot like our sloe/damson gin/vodka episodes! We have never done it with brandy though, that sounds much more like something Brian would enjoy, strictly for medicinal purposes of course.
I did keep a tub of sozzled damsons one year, in my mind I was going to mix them with melted chocolate and then enrobe them in more chocolate – I have a feeling they are still in the freezer, hee hee.
Jo, I keep hearing sloe gin mentioned on River Cottage episodes – I’m sure I’ve asked before, but are sloes a type of plum?
OOOOH yay little hip flasks …… where do you live I know you are close!
http://www.mykitchenstories.com.au
Hehe…not close enough to walk you a bottle unfortunately, Tania! :)
Love that colour Celia – really stunning! It’s so odd to think that plums are in season for you – I’m really looking forward to all of our soft fruit starting, and the imported stone fruits being worth buying again after a winter of woolliness.
Caroline, they’re not in season now, but they were over Christmas/January. This particular variety are very late though – we usually only get to buy them around March (the start of Autumn here).
It’s so yummy it makes me want to get a sore throat!
Ha! Now you have a bottle in case of emergencies! :)
You’re teasing me!
Not on purpose, dear friend.. :)
Need to give this another go. We make a lot of sloe gin, but our plum brandy wasn’t great. Will see how the plums grow this year, definitely bookmarking recipe for later in the year.
Helen, I think it depends a lot on your plums – we tried making a batch from the plums that grew one year on our ornamental prunus, and it tasted decidedly “medicinal”.. ;-)
Those bottles look beautiful – what an amazing colour. I made pear vodka this year.
Pear vodka! Sally, that’s a great idea! Do you have the recipe for it on your blog?
Hahahaha! I laughed reading this lovely post! This drink looks just wonderful! I must make this tasty drink,…for the love of it & for medical reasons, of course!
Oooh Sophie, definitely for medicinal reasons.. ;-)
Hi Celia,
Don’t have President Plums, but I’ve got 4 other types growing in the yard – this looks nice and easy, and a great way to use up excess plums – think I’ll try it with mine – if I can keep the racoons from getting them first.
Thanks Celia.
Doc, I think they’d be wonderful with mixed plums! The Presidents are a yellow fleshed, quite tart plum, but I can’t help wonder how rosy the brandy would be if we used blood plums!
O.O
It’s the post I’ve been waiting for.
Imma make me a booze!
(Incidentally, I was a frequenter of Infusions of Grandeur (http://www.infusionsofgrandeur.net/) & an admirer of the scienticians who frequested that place. Ah, blog memories)
Thanks Lucas! I’m heading over to check out Infusions of Grandeur now! What a name! :)
What a beautiful colour. I’ve not tried a fruit brandy before, although I have various vodka and gin brews on the go. If ever I get hold of some red plums, I will bear this one in mind – sounds fabulous.
Choc, I think we’ll try with different plums as well next time. Like I said, I think we’ll have to ramp up production next year.. ;-)
Celia….I think I posted in 2011, or perhaps 2010, when I gave a whirl at making your Plum Brandy. I have just one liter of that batch left. I found it interesting that it was the classic red/purple plum color for almost 9 months but then I noticed it starting to change color. It is now a gorgeous golden color, crystal clear. And it works wonders with the flu, sore throats and the sniffles. My mother-in-law will only use it for medicinal purposes OR brushing on her fruitcakes. I have substituted other fruits and made an out of this world dried apricot brandy and a dried cherry brandy (it is still young, but wow it is so good). I just love gifting my homemade items to friends, along with a recipe card so they can make their own. I am looking forward to harvesting the blackberries and raspberries growing in my garden so I can devote some of those fruits to brandy making this year.
Sara, that’s fantastic to know, thank you! I’m trying my first batch of raspberry brandy right now, but I’m a bit concerned it might be too sickly sweet. I’ll be sure to report back on how I go. Love the idea of dried fruit brandies as well! :)