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Make Your Own Drambuie

Make Your Own Drambuie

Drambuie is an excellent Scotch liqueur, but as with most specialty liqueurs, it is very expensive. But the low end substitutes like awful. But you can make your that's very good quality for much, much less. It's easy. 

 For other liqueurs you can make, see this page.

Here's how:

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon  (0.5 fl oz, 15 ml) dried rosemary (or better still 2 tablespoons crushed fresh rosemary; obviously, fresh is better!)
• 1 teaspoon   ( .16 fl ounces, 5 ml)  whole fennel seeds
• 3 cups (750 ml) Scotch Whiskey - The original Drambuie has Chivas as it's whiskey, but you can use any good brand you prefer.
• 1 and 1/3 cups (325 ml) honey - my understanding is Drambuie uses heather honey, so if you can get that, great.  If not clover honey or similar will be fine.
• 1 cup (250 ml) water (filter or good quality water)

Equipment

• Large glass jar (quart jars or 1/2 gallon) with sealable lid
• Fine metal sieve
• Large size coffee filter to fit the sieve or funnel

 

 

Directions

Step 1 - Mix herbs, honey and water and heat

If you are using fresh rosemary, crush it. Then combine the  rosemary, fennel, honey and water in a saucepot and heat to a simmer. Heat until the honey is well mixed, about 5 minutes.

Step 2 - Let cool

Allow it cool to room temperature.

Step 3 - Add the Scotch and age

Add the Scotch and pour into very clean sealable glass jars (I use canning jars) Now let the flavors infuse the  eau de vie (alcohol). Gently carry the flask down to your barrel aging room 

What, don't have one?  OK, Put the jar in a dark kitchen cabinet for 1 week at room temperature.

Shake once or twice a day.

Step 4 - Strain the alcohol mix

 Pour the aged alcohol mix through a fine mesh strainer once to get the larger pieces. Discard the debris in the sieve than line it with the coffee filter and filter the liquid again.

Step 5 - Bottle

Pour into an old Drambuie bottle or glass jars.

 

Enjoy!

 

Cost comparison

• water - free
• Herbs - $0.50
• 1 cup honey - $4.
• 3 cups (720 ml) of Whiskey. Best prices are usually at Costco or Sam's Club, $60 for 1.75 liter of Chivas, blends for $40 for 1.75.  = $17.00 for 3 cups of a blend, $26 for 3 cups of Chivas.

Total cost: $10 per liter

 

Drambuie generally costs about $28 for a 750 ml bottle, (or $35/liter)  plus tax  (2020, Atlanta, GA retail)

 

So, the homemade is less than 1/3 the price. 

 

 

Conversions:

Units of measurement equivalents
1 cup = 8 ounces = 236ml
1 quart = 32 ounces = 944ml
1 tbsp (tablespoon) = 1/2 ounce = 15ml
1 fifth = 25.6 ounces = 750ml
1 tsp (teaspoon) = 1/6 ounce = 5ml
1 pint = 16 ounces = 472ml