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Friday Cocktail – Homemade Crème de Menthe

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Have you read my Irish Flag Cordial post? Did you notice my Crème de Menthe wasn’t in a “store bought” bottle? There’s a good reason for that… I made it! :D
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When I looked at the ingredients for the Irish Flag I didn’t have any Créme de Menthe. At first I thought, “Ugh, I have to go to the liquor store!” Then I thought, “I wonder how hard it would be to make it.” Well, I checked the internet and sure enough it’s easy to make.

I’ve adapted the original recipe found at Boulder Locavore.

The Cast of Characters: vodka, sugar, water, REAL peppermint extract, green food coloring (optional) and a bottle to storage
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First, pour the water into a pan and place it on the stove. Add the sugar – yes my sugar is a light blonde color.
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The downside to my sugar… is the brown color, especially when you want clear… I ignore it or adapt, in this case I adapted. ;)

Next, bring sugar/water mixture to a near boil while stirring frequently…
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Watch for all the sugar to dissolve…
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When the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and let cool completely. See, it’s clear, but brown.
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When the sugar water has cooled, pour it into something that has a spout (like a large measuring cup). The volume increases some. I started out with 2 cups of water and ended up with just about 3 cups of sugar water. (gotta love chemistry… sorry, that was the geek in me) ;)
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Next, add the vodka…
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Then add the real peppermint extract…
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Stir it really well…
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I decided for this batch since I was making a St. Patrick’s Day cocktail (remember the whole reason I made this was for the Irish Flag Coridal) and because the mixture was brown, I went ahead and added some food coloring. This step is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL. It does NOTHING for the flavor. Stir real well to distribute food coloring.
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Then pour into a bottle. The green sure looks pretty! I’m kind of happy I went with the green. If it’d been brown it would have been close to the color my Homemade Amaretto and I wouldn’t want to confuse them! (of course they smell quite differently) ;)
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I was so surprised how simple this was and it saved me from having to go to the liquor store. I love it when I can make my own ingredients!

Now, I’ll have to find some more Crème de Menthe recipes to share! :) It’s even good sipping… Basically, it’s a diluted sweet peppermint vodka.

Do you have all the ingredients? Give it a try and let me know what you think.
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To get a printer friendly copy of the recipe, go here. (If link doesn’t work it is because the recipe is still under review.)

Crème de Menthe
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Serving Size: 3 Cups or 24 oz or 700 ml

2 Cups Water
2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Vodka
1 Tablespoon Real Peppermint Extract
4-6 Drops Green Food Coloring, optional

1. Pour the water into a pan and place it on the stove. Add the sugar.

2. Bring sugar/water mixture to a near boil while stirring frequently…

3. When the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and let cool completely

4. When the sugar water has cooled, pour it into something that has a spout (like a large measuring cup). The volume increases** some.

5. Add the vodka.

6. Add the real peppermint extract and stir really well.

7. If desired, add food coloring. This step is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL. It does NOTHING for the flavor. Stir real well to distribute food coloring.

8. Pour into a bottle.

**Mine starts out with 2 cups of water and ended up with just about 3 cups of sugar water.


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