I'm interested in Gary's orange liqueur. Been playing mad scientist and turning inocent apple juice into something a bit more harder lately.
Gary uses vodka as his base. (Okay, he cheats.)
Ingredients:
8 oranges (roughly)
4 cups sugar
1 cup water
4 cups vodka
Cooking:
1) With a vegetable peeler, peel the 8 oranges. Take extreme care not to peel up the pith (white part). The pith is bitter;
2) Juice the oranges. Strain away as much of the solids as possible;
3) In a saucepan add the sugar and water and boil away until clear (simple syrup);
4) Pour 1 cup of orange juice into the simple syrup and bring to boil (sometimes I'll use all the juice, about two cups):
5) Cool the entire mess;
6) Divide and stuff the orange peels into two, 1 liter containers/bottles. I use the kind with the wired in ceramic stopper;
7) Divide and pour the orange/simple syrup stuff into the containers/bottles;
8) Pour 2 cups of vodka into the containers;
9) Seal containers and store in a cool and dark place for 30 days, (mark the calendar); and
10) Drink.
I use this stuff in my Margaritas, Sangria, BBQ sauce and general cooking and drinking. Much different than Grand Marnier which uses cognac as its base. This stuff is less harsh and Much smoother than Grand Marnier.