Calculate the strength and sweetness of a liqueur after combining the infusion with juice, syrup, sugar or honey, and how much spirit or water to add to reach the planned strength.
What alcohol should I pour over fruit?
Alcohol of 60–70% is most often used for maceration. This strength extracts colour and aroma well without “burning” delicate fruit. Hard fruit and spices can take stronger alcohol, soft fruit weaker.
What strength should the finished liqueur have?
Most fruit liqueurs have 30–45%. Sweet liqueurs often have 25–35%, dry and herbal ones 40–50%. The calculator also labels the sweetness: dry, semi-sweet, sweet or liqueur.
How we calculate
Dissolved sugar takes up about 0.63 l/kg, honey about 0.7 l/kg (it contains about 18% water). Strength = volume of pure alcohol / total volume (approximation without contraction, difference < 1 percentage point).
Frequently asked questions
What strength of alcohol should I pour over fruit?
Usually 60–70%. Higher strength extracts aromas better but can “burn” delicate fruit; lower strength preserves less well.
How long should fruit macerate?
Usually 2–6 weeks in a dark place, shaking the jar daily or every few days. Delicate fruit (raspberries) needs less time, hard fruit (quince, chokeberry) longer.
Why is my liqueur cloudy?
Most often because of fruit pectins or racking off the sediment too early. Letting the liqueur rest for a few weeks, racking it off the sediment and filtering through paper filters helps.
How much sugar per litre of liqueur?
It depends on the fruit and your taste: 100–250 g per litre of finished liqueur. Sour fruit (quince, chokeberry) needs more sugar than sweet fruit (cherries, raspberries).