It’s the end of july and for us here in Berlin, germany, it’s the time to harvest blackberries. And that means: Time for homemade blackberry liqueur! I make this sweet, fruity alcohilic beverage with whisky and a hint of green cardamom.

While I translated my recipe for blackberry liqueur from german to english language I discovered, that the french version of this spirit is called “Crème de Mûre”. You live and learn. 🙂

Harvesting and storing Blackberries

The time for blackberries goes here from july to october. 10 years ago I planted one little blackberry bush in the really shadowy backyard of the apartment building (built around 1912 for worker families). Every autumn I’m fighting the well-fortified tendrils down and crop the plants. Yes, you read correct. Plants. Lot’s of blackberry babys. Eeeevery year. And no, I didn’t know that there really are sorts without thorns. My blackberries are the real thing, they let you pay with blood for their fruits. 😉
I don’t want to give a replay of the Sleeping Beauty for the whole house, so I have to force them back to their granted corner. But who am I kidding. There are blackberry baby plants everywhere. If you live in Berlin and want one – give me a call.
Anyway.. I got a little bit carried away. Back to the recipe for the Crème de Mûre (Ha! That really sounds posh.)

Because blackberries never get ripe at the same time, and you can only keep them in the refrigerator for one day or so, I always freeze mine. During harvesting season I have a box or bags in my freezer and collect the cleaned fruits there till the end of the season. That is a good advice – espacially when your plants are growing in the shadow and don’t bear masses of fruit.
Needless to say, that this beverage is a really nice gift from the kitchen.

How to serve blackberry liqueur

I mostly serve my blackberry whisky liqueur pure, but sometimes also as an aperitif with ice or as an iced shot. You also can use this fruity witches brew to spike up a glas of Crémant, cocktails or you can simply pour it over your ice cream.

I’m sorry that the photos are a litte bit blurred – my thanks go out to the wasp who was deeply interested in buzzing curiously around the tightly closed flask and my ear. (This buzzing-sound creeps straight through my backbone to an ancient part of my brain and everything I can do is *not* to break out in screeching noises.)

Recipe for Blackberry Liqueur with Whisky and Cardamom (Crème de Mûre)

700 ml whisky
400 g fresh blackberries (Cleaned, washed and drained. You can also use deep-frozen blackberries. As you can see on the photo I added 10 lonely late currants I harvested on the same day – but nevermind)
1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds*

For the simple syrup later: 200 ml water, 200 g white sugar

Needed Equipment: Big Jar* with the capacity for over an litre (sometimes I reuse big pickle jars – but they must really cleaned good), mortar and pestle, spoon, fine sieve* or a cheesecloth* this muslin fabric is also available as pouches.

Preparations

• Put the cardamom seeds into a mortar* and roughly crush them with the pestle. Just a little bit, we don’t need powder.
• Give the crushed cardamom seeds together with the blackberries into a big preserving jar.
• Pour the whisky over the fruits and the spices, stirr (bear in mind not to harm the fruits) and put the lid on.
• Put the jar in an undisturbed corner for 3 – 4 weeks. Only shake the glas now an then a little bit.
• After the maceration I filter the blackberry liqueur two times through a fine meshed sieve or through muslin. It may take some time. Don’t get impatient and crush the fruits. Put the drained fruits away in a jar in the fridge. You usw this little whisky-bombs later in cakes, marmelades, sauces, drinks or just one ice cream.
• To cook the simply syrup just put the water and the sugar in a pot and heat it up, until – under stirring – the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Let the syrup cool down. Mix the cooled down syrup good with the strained liqueur, bottle and label the blackberry whisky liqueur and think about who you will be delighted to taste your homemade delicacy. 😉

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