The Lingonberry Forest Liqueur

My favourite season, by far, is Autumn. There probably are multiple factors contributing to this, but I think it is mainly due to the nice memories I have created during that time at a defining age. Some of my fondest memories, not just of this season, but of my life and childhood, are the memories of going berry picking in forest with my grandma. This time of the year reminds me of the wonderful moments that I shared with her, enjoying the smells and sights of the beautiful Nordic forests. After a long and successful day in the forest we would head back home and make all the goods out of the harvest we gathered. Pies, juice, lappapuuro (a whipped lingonberry porridge) and other things were among the goods that formed the culinary landscape of my childhood.

These memories, smells and tastes are what inspired me to create a liqueur out of lingonberry. I wanted to be able to “bottle up”, so to speak, this memory of walking on a brisk autumn day in the forest with my grandma with buckets full of lingonberries. What I managed to come up with, is a sweet bright red liqueur, that in my opinion does have all those elements in it: the smells of the forest achieved by combination of lingonberry and rosemary and the taste of my grandma’s baked goods with vanilla and cinnamon. It’s great on its own, as a digestive after a meal or with dessert, but in my opinion it works best as a part of an aperitif, for which you will find a recipe here too. The combination of sweet and sour elevated with herbs and spices is a great inducer of appetite.

My grandma is getting old and can’t come to the forest with me anymore, but when I go, I’ll always bring a bucket or two for her, for old times sake.

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Lingonberry forest liqueur

A signature Nordic homemade liqueur, an aromatic Lingonberry Forest Liqueur and the recipe for a Nordic Lingonberry Aperitivo.

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Nordic

Serves: 800 ml

Author: Klaus K.

Ingredients

For the lingonberry forest liqueur

• 70 cl vodka 40%
• 250 gr lingonberries
• 200 gr sugar
• 2 Rosemary twigs
• ½ Vanilla stick

Optional:

• Orange peel & cinnamon stick

For The Lingoberry Aperitivo

• 1 oz The Lingonberry Forest liqueur (30 ml)
• 1 oz Vermouth Bianco (30 ml)
• 3 oz Tonic water (90 ml)

Instructions

For the lingonberry forest liqueur

• Add the lingonberries to a bowl and squeeze them to get some juice out.
• Add all the rest of the ingredients and mix. Leave under a cover for 3-4 days while mixing once or twice per day.
• Filter and bottle up. Store in refrigerator.

For The Lingoberry Aperitivo

• Fill a wine glass with ice, add all ingredients and stir.
• Garnish with a slice of orange or lemon.

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Craving for an alcohol free version? Find on the Instagram page of Cocktails Adagio a recipe for a refreshing Lingonberry Mocktail Aperitif!

View this post on Instagram

Are you struggling to find new ways to use those last year’s lingonberries that are still taking space in your freezer? (Writing that down, though, made me think that this might be a particularly Finnish problem 🤔) Try this deliciously refreshing mocktail, a nonalcoholic lingonberry aperitif! You’ll need: -1,5 oz (45 ml) lingonberry syrup (I just juiced lingonberries and added simple syrup in approximately 50/50 ratio for that) -1 oz (30 ml) freshly squeezed grapefruit juice -3 oz (90 ml) tonic water Fill a wine glass with ice, and build the drink in that order. Mix well and garnish with orange slices and rosemary. Up our sleeve we have a great alcoholic version of this aperitif and we’ll share at a later date.

A post shared by Cocktails Adagio • Klaus K (@cocktailsadagio) on May 18, 2020 at 9:45am PDT