Drinks

Calamondin Liqueur

By: Hannah Lee Leidy
Calamondin TimHussey
Photo by Tim Hussey

recipe heading-plus-icon

yields

1 quart

    Ingredients
  • 50 whole ripe calamondins*
  • 1 quart (32 ounces) unflavored vodka
  • 4 cups sugar
  • Note: Introduced to Florida in the early 1900s, Calamondins are a hybrid between the mandarin orange and the kumquat. The fruit is smaller than a golf ball and the thin peel is sweeter than than the tart juice.
steps
  1. Pinch skin of each calamondin just enough to pop it slightly.
  2. Place whole calamondins in a gallon glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Add vodka and sugar. Replace lid tightly on jar and shake until sugar beings to dissolve. Shake contents of jar once a day for at least 2 weeks by turning jar upside down, then right side up, repeatedly for about 1 minute. (After a few days, the sugar will dissolve into the vodka.)
  3. After 2 weeks, strain and discard fruit. Strain liquid through coffee filters, then transfer into a tall-necked glass bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Store in refrigerator. Serve in chilled cordial or brandy glasses.
  • from The Florida Keys Cookbook: Recipes and Foodways of Paradise

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  • Sweet Tart Calamondin Pie - Garlic & Zest
    August 1, 2022 at 11:48 am

    […] there are a multitude of recipes you can make with these aromatic little gems, from homemade liqueur to the marmalade that Mom made for everyone this year and this tangy, sweet calamondin fruit […]

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