DRINK: How to Make Homemade Creme de Violettes Liqueur
Me, feeling inspired on a gorgeous day in early May: “Hey, I should learn how to make homemade violet liqueur! That would be neat, right? What a pastoral past time for a sublimely beautiful day!” How that actually went:
- Pick a pretty posy of violets (ok, nice, tedious, but a beautiful day and outside time in the park and yard while my partner walks the dog in endless laps to tire him out after a lazy winter)… and by “pretty posy” I mean “heaping plastic bag”, but that’s not as lovely an image, right?
- Bring flowers inside; research recipes and historical methods and ingredients for making Creme de Violettes from fresh violets… (the “creme” here refers to the sweetness and silky texture from the sugar syrup, not dairy, in case you were wondering).
- Every recipe source or historical account repeats this warning: “Remove the individual petals from the green calyx before making the syrup or alcohol extraction or it will be vegetal tasting and spoil the color”.
- *FFFFFF#@*!? Sure, let me start a saffron plantation in my front yard too so I can spread the tedious fun out over the seasons? Maybe I’ll take up watch repair or seed beading too while I’m at it (I will not be doing at least two of those things).
- FINE OK (does anyone have tiny fingers, and want to come over, or perhaps loan me a patient and meticulous child who enjoys making potions for a few hours? I’ll give them homeschool credit for fine motor control practice and also alchemy, and promise not to turn them into a toad (that costs extra)).
- Cue up some podcasts, brew some herbal tea, and get to work, I GUESS (I’m being hyperbolic, I actually enjoy this sort of thing once I get going).
It takes a little bit of time, but it’s not hard to make your own homemade creme de violettes liqueur from fresh violets… You should give it a try this spring!
Creme de Violettes Ingredients
Alcohol:
You want to use a clear, neutral spirit to make your creme de violette liqueur. The alcohol is a solvent that will extract the delicate flavors and color from your violets (and any other ingredients) without overpowering them. I used vodka, but you can also use Everclear, grappa, or unaged brandy (eau de vie).
Violets:
Getting the violets is the hardest part of this project. The best time to make your liqueur is in the spring, when wild violets should be blooming profusely so it’s less difficult to gather enough flowers to infuse.
You can use wild American sweet violets, unless you have a source for the more strongly perfumed European sweet violets. If you live somewhere with mild winters, you can even grow your own! Common sweet violets are pretty hardy, but the European ones can be more delicate and harder to grow. Otherwise, look for a clean place to forage your flowers that hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides and isn’t right next to a busy road.
Before making your infusion, you want to carefully remove the stems and the green parts at the base of the flower and just use the purple, white, or pink petals. I know, this is the most tedious part, but it’s not actually that bad and can even be meditative!
Sugar:
Sugar, or rather, simple syrup (basically just sugar dissolved in boiling water) is the “creme” in your creme de violettes. This ingredient helps preserve the delicate color and aroma of the flowers, sweetens the liqueur, and most importantly, gives it the silky texture and the “creme” in the name.
Other Flavorings:
If you only have access to common wild violets, you may want to make the Creme Yvette variation. This liqueur starts the same as Creme de Violette, but has some added ingredients to add to the complexity and sweetness of the flavor.
A small piece of vanilla bean, a bit of sweet orange or clementine peel, and if you have it, even a bit of orris root can boost the flavor of your wild violet liqueur. Orris root is the dried root of a certain type of iris (not your common garden irises, so don’t go digging up the flower beds just yet) and has a violet-like aroma when dried. A little goes a long way! If you don’t have it, no worries.
If you want a dramatically colored liqueur to make stunning cocktails, you may want to add some food-safe coloring to your liqueur after you strain out the violets and any other ingredients.
Creme de Violettes Liqueur (with Creme Yvette variation)
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweet violets (NOT African violets, but any of the native or European sweet violets will do)
- 1 pint vodka or brandy (good quality, neutral spirit) brandy is traditional but if you don't have good quality, neutral spirit you can make a clean tasting infusion with vodka
- 1 inch square mandarin or sweet orange peel optional, boosts flavor if using American violets
- 1 inch piece vanilla bean, split optional, boosts flavor if using American violets
- 2-6 oz simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, heated to dissolve and cooled) to taste (sweeter is more traditional and will help preserve the color and flavor, but you can reduce sugar if you like)
- 1 drop blue and red liquid food coloring, each (optional) gives a more vibrant color, feel free to omit
Instructions
- Pick at least a heaping cup of violet flowers. Make sure you pick somewhere that has not been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides. It's best to gather edible flowers early in the day.
- As soon as you return home with the flowers, separate the purple or white petals from the calyx, or green part, at the base of the flower.
- Put the flower petals in an infusion jar (any jar with a regular or wide mouth and a tightly sealing lid will do) and cover with the vodka. If you are making the Creme Yvette variation, add the vanilla bean and citrus peel.
- Let the petals macerate for at least a week, inverting the jar daily for the first few days, or often enough to make sure all petals are submerged. Do not shake, just gently mix it.
- Strain out the petals. Some recipes have you combine them with dry sugar to infuse into the simple syrup, but they will have already given most of their color and essence into the infusion and you have to be careful not to burn them when making the simple syrup. Use the finest mesh strainer you have, or strain first through a colander and again through a coffee filter and funnel to get a sparkling product. This will take time, so make sure you set up the funnel where it won't be disturbed. You will lose some color but gain clarity.
- Make a simple syrup (add the strained petals if you like, and strain them out again before combining with the liqueur, making sure to heat the syrup very gently but enough to fully dissolve the sugar). Heat equal parts white sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Cool and add simple syrup to strained violet infusion to taste. This is a delicate and somewhat perishable liqueur, and more simple syrup will help preserve the flavor and color. Since this is often used as a flavor and color accent in cocktails, it can be quite sweet without being cloying.
- If desired, adjust the color with a drop of blue and red food coloring. The natural color, especially from American violets, will be subtle and is sensitive to light, so store this in a cool, dark place.
- Enjoy in your favorite classic cocktails, like an Aviation, Blue Moon, or spike a spritzer of sparkling wine for a bubbly springtime sipper.