Home made Cointreau

I have taken the photos for this post ages ago, and I would have waited a bit longer if I had not seen KyotoFoodie's blogpost about Quince liquor. I find it interesting that some recipes are rather universal. In France, sour cherries are commonly used for making liquor ('cerises a l'eau de vie', my favorite!), and although we had quince in the garden, we never made liquor with it, instead we made jelly and paste with it. However I have tasted some Quince eau de vie in Strasbourg, and I consider it my favorite alcohool, it is so tasty!!
So in this post, I'll give you a recipe to make your own cointrea. You need

- 1 ORGANIC orange (or a few kumkat or a few smaller citrus)
- 1 preserve jar
- strong alcohol (eau de vie)
- sugar (1/3rd of the volume of alcohol)
- 1 bit of kitchen string

Pour the alcohool in the jar with the sugar, then suspend the fruit(s) above the alcohol - without direct contact - then place in a dark place for 3 months, that's it!

You can use the fruit(s) cut in little pieces in crepes or pancakes, it is delicious!

The famous Singapore Sling

The famous Singapore Sling

When I was in Singapore, I went to the Raffles hotel, where the Singapore Sling was invented. I had to try this cocktail! I found it too sweet -I am definitely not a sweet tooth-, but it was worth trying.

Before I ordered the cocktail, I asked a member of staff what was in it and he pulled out a card from his pocket with the recipe and gave it to me with a smile, it was the recipe for the cocktail. I was quite impressed by the service...

Here is the recipe that was on the card:

Raffles Hotel’s Hainanese-Chinese bartender, Mr Ngiam Tong Boon, created the world-famous Singapore Sling, based on Peter Heering’s cherry brandy, in 1915. This gives the Singapore Sling its distinctive pink colour.

Recipe of Singapore Sling – Created at the Legendary Raffles Hotel

- 30 ml Gin
- 15 ml Heering Cherry Liqueur
- 120 ml Pineapple Juice
- 15 ml Lime Juice
- 7.5 ml Cointreau
- 7.5 ml Dom Benedictine
- 10 ml Grenadine
- A Dash of Angostura Bitters

Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry

Source: Raffles Hotel, Singapore