Whether you’ve been growing your own, getting deliveries from a CSA, or frequenting the farmers market, the end of Summer might leave you with an abundance of fruit you’re not sure what to do with. Of course you can freeze it or make jam, but another fun way to play with summer fruit is to make a liqueur. It’s especially good for using up bruised or slightly overripe fruit. I’ve been doing it all season and sharing recipes in my Serious Eats columns. Here are some to try:
Peach liqueur (creme de peche) ~ In addition to splashing it in some iced tea and shaking it up with gin and lemon, you can also glaze chicken with it or pour it on some ice cream.
Strawberry liqueur (fragolo) ~ I used this liqueur in a summer sangria made with a dry red wine along with sliced peaches, cherries, apples, and lemons along with a little brandy. It was so good!
Cherry liqueur ~ You can’t make a Singapore Sling without this stuff, and you’ll be surprised how the fresh cherry taste carries over into liqueur. It makes some of the store-bought stuff seem like cough syrup.
Blackberry liqueur (creme de mure) ~ Where I live, blackberry bushes are everywhere, so there’s no excuse not to make a batch of this liqueur and mix up a Bramble.
Raspberry liqueur (framboise) ~ This one is made with a little wine to bring out the tartness and depth of the berries. Very sophisticated!
Banana liqueur ~ Bananas don’t get a lot of play in the cocktail world, but they should! Complemented by rum and raw sugar, the clean flavor of banana in this liqueur is out of this world.
Melon liqueur ~ Forget about the bright green stuff, homemade melon liqueur is where it’s at. Sweet but not too sweet, with just the right amount of funkiness.
Tiki drinks are so much fun … and so are tiki ingredients. Allspice dram is a little hard to find and a lot easy to make. So make it already!
This column was a fun excuse to make bitters the authentic way--with obscure bittering ingredients like gentian root and quassia chips. In 
