Dandelion Liqueur

4 from 7 votes

Dandelion liqueur captures the sweet honey like flavors of dandelion petals in an easy to make liqueur that can be enjoyed year round!

Prep Time20

Cook Time14

Additional Time10

Total Time14 30

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dandelion cordial, dandelion infused vodka, dandelion liqueur, Dandelion Recipe, dandelion vodka, foraged liqueur, homemade dandelion liqueur

Servings: servings (about 3 cups)

Author: Ashley Adamant

Equipment

Fine Mesh Strainer

Ingredients

1 cup cleaned dandelion petals from about 1 quart of fresh blossoms
750 ml vodka or other neutral spirit, 80 proof or higher
1/4 cup light honey or 1/3 cup sugar, added after straining
1 large strip lemon peel optional

Instructions

Forage about 1 quart of fully open dandelion blossoms from an unsprayed area. Pick on a sunny morning when the flowers are fully open.
Pull the yellow petals away from the green base of each blossom and put them in a quart mason jar. Discard the green parts. You should end up with about 1 cup of cleaned petals; the jar should be about 1/4 to 1/3 full.
If using lemon peel, add a long strip to the jar with the petals.
Pour 750 ml vodka over the petals, filling the jar to within an inch of the top. Cap tightly and shake gently to mix.
Store at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for 2 to 3 weeks. Shake the jar gently every few days.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer, pressing gently on the petals to extract the last bit of liqueur. For a clearer finish, run a second pass through cheesecloth or a coffee filter.
Stir in 1/4 cup light honey (or 1/3 cup sugar) until fully dissolved. Taste, and adjust sweetness to your preference.
Bottle in clean glass bottles. Store at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Use within 1 year for peak flavor.

Notes

Picking and processing: Dandelion blossoms close up within a few hours of being picked, and once closed the petals are nearly impossible to extract. Process within an hour or two of picking, or freeze the cleaned petals (not whole blossoms) for batch-making later.

Plant identification: Use common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). Look-alikes including coltsfoot, hawkbit, hawksbeard, and cat's ear all have superficially similar yellow blossoms but different leaves and stems. Real dandelions have a single hollow stem with no branches and no leaves on the stem.

Spirit substitutions: Gin works well (try the dandelion gin recipe for a slightly different technique). White rum adds natural sweetness. Whiskey and brandy will dominate the delicate dandelion flavor.

Sweetener: Light honeys (clover, alfalfa, wildflower) complement the dandelion flavor; darker honeys overpower it. Demerara or turbinado sugar add caramel notes; plain white sugar gives a cleaner taste. Sweeten after straining, not at the start.

Petals: less is more. A jar 1/4 to 1/3 full of petals makes the best liqueur. More than that and the flavor turns vegetal. To make a larger batch, scale up the jar and vodka volume rather than packing more petals into the same jar.

White fluff: A small amount of white fluff at the base of the petals is normal flower structure (not seed material) and won't affect the flavor or safety of the liqueur.

Storage: Shelf stable at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for at least a year. The vodka keeps everything safe; flavor will start to fade slowly after about a year.

Nutrition