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 