Berry Cordial

A recipe from my friend Roy Heflin. Note that the recipe calls for blackberries so as to generate a useful nutritional panel (RZ doesn't have nutritional data for the generic "berries"), but any cane berry (blackberry, raspberry, loganberry, boysenberry, marionberry) as well as blueberries can be used in this recipe, as can a mixture of any of them. Frozen berries work fine, as long as they are not pre-sweetened.

• Ready In: 723 hrs
• Serves: 40
• Yields: 5 qts

Ingredients

• 4  quarts blackberries
• 1  quart water
• 5  cups sugar
• 5  cups vodka

Directions

1. Put berries in a 6-8qt pot and add water; bring to rolling boil. Reduce to bare simmer and cover for 20 minutes, or until berries lose their shape.
2. Drain and strain through cheesecloth, squeezing out as much juice as possible. Allow to cool to room temperature. Measure quantity of juice.
3. Wash out pot and return juice to pot. Add 1- 1 1/2 cup sugar per quart of juice. Return to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-20 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature again.
4. Add 1 cup alcohol (vodka or white brandy) per quart of sweetened juice. (I personally like a mixture of the two, in a 2:1 ratio, as I find this smooths out any imperfections in either alcohol.).
5. Allow to sit for at least 2 weeks before bottling. Can be drunk immediately or allowed to age - it is distinctly better with 4-6 weeks of aging. For longer aging, make sure it is TIGHTLY sealed.