Patience, Politics & Loquat Liqueur

Bermuda Loquat Liqueur in progress

Here we are at the end of May with another of our precious public holidays come and gone.  Oops - and a Premier too.

Next up is the Queen's Birthday or whatever we are calling the June public holiday now.  I think it is National Heroes' Day.  Given that there is usually a political agenda at hand when naming them, this year I'm sticking with the Queen.  She gets the 'duty to country' bit. 

The makers of home-made Loquat Liqueur [LL] have a longer outlook.  When we got the recipe from a very classy auntie, she first stressed that we had to wait until after Cup Match (aka Emancipation Day & Somers Day)  before even thinking about bottling the liqueur. As you can see from the picture, the fruit hasn't yet dropped to the bottom of the fermenting jars, which is precondition #2.

We use the traditional recipe -  Loquats (stems removed), vodka, and rock candy.  Put it all in a couple of big jars during loquat season, and let them sit per the above instructions. 

Other than having the patience to wait until August, the other trick to a nice loquat liqueur is in the preparation for bottling.  This is where that juicing tool on your big old stand mixer comes in handy.

You see, straining off the liquid from the fruit is not enough.  To extract the full aromatic flavour with that hint of almond, compress the fruit through the juicer.  You will be left with a dryish pulp and a deep colour syrup.  Combine this syrup with the first strained liquid.  Then run through a cheesecloth, then a couple of coffee filters until the liqueur is clear and transparent.  Pour into a pretty re-purposed bottle, seal, stash and enjoy in the run-up to Christmas.  If you can wait that long. 

If you have LL left from your 2013 stash, or some Bermuda Gold sitting around that you were wondering how to use, here's a refreshing cocktail to enjoy now or whenever the political silly season flares up again.

Loquat botanical (not mine)

Loquat Sour

1 oz. gold tequila
1 oz. loquat liqueur
1/2 oz. lime juice
Seltzer
Ice cubes

Shake together and serve in a chilled glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. 

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