Recipe Cumquat liqueur

Cumquat Liqueur (many thanks to Max, for sharing his recipe)

Here is a wonderful recipe to use cumquats and make them into a truly spectacular liqueur. Very nice to enjoy neat in a small glass with a piece of dark chocolate and a good book!

    What you need

• 500 grams of ripe cumquats
• 700 ml bottle of brandy (Black Bottle, Chateau Chantelle, or similar)
• 900 grams of sugar
• A two-litre glass preserving jar with rubber seal (see photo)
• The empty brandy bottle + other bottles that all together can hold around two litres of fluid

Method

• Wash and dry the large jar, then pour bottle of brandy into it.
• Gradually add 900 grams of sugar to the brandy while stirring.
• Stir brandy/sugar mix regularly for half a day.  Not all the sugar will dissolve.
• After that half day, clean the cumquats, remove stalks and leaves, but do not remove the skins.  Do not cut up the cumquats.  It is okay if, by removing stalks, you make a little hole in some of the cumquats, but there is no need to deliberately make any holes or incisions in the skins.
• Add all cumquats to the mix, and stir so they are all immersed in the mix.
• Place the rubber seal on the jar, making sure it is evenly spread over the glass edge, then close the jar.
• Continue mixing sugar and liquid by tipping the jar over (shake it, then put it upside down on a bench) as often as you can.  Initially some sugar mix may escape via the rubber seal, but soon the mix will begin to seal the lid completely, and you can turn over the jar without any spillage.
• When all the sugar is dissolved (this takes 5 – 8 days), place the jar in a dark, cool spot for six months.
• Monitor the jar and tip it over from time to time during this period.
• After six months strain off the liquid into a large bowl.
• Put all the cumquats in another large bowl.  Press the cumquats in this bowl down lightly with a spoon, so some of the remaining brandy/sugar mix and fruit juices escape.
• Add this to the liquid in the other bowl and mix in thoroughly.
• Divide the liquid over the bottles.  Please label the bottles to indicate that they contain a strongly alcoholic drink.  Black Bottle brandy contains 37% alcohol.
• The cumquats will also be very nice to eat.