Easy recipe for Blackberry Vodka

Name: Easy Recipe for Blackberry Vodka
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 18
Ingredients: I bottle (70cl) Vodka; 1 kg blackerries; 250g caster sugar; 4 Vanilla Pods

Blackberry vodka is the perfect festive drink to sip on a chilly winter's evening in front of the fire, or to use for a deliciously fruity summer cocktail.

Blackberry vodka is very simple to make and tastes absolutely delicious. Read on for my easy blackberry vodka recipe which I guarantee you'll be making time and time and again, year after year.

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You'll find lots of food posts on The Travelbunny. I like to tempt you with accounts of some of the luscious food and drink I've enjoyed in places like Turkey, Iceland or Vietnam.

I love going on food tours and sampling cuisines from around the world but sometimes the best tastes are right under your nose. Just outside the back gate actually, which is where I pick the fruit for my favourite blackberry vodka. I do love a local forage!

There's a rambling field at the end of our garden which is teeming with wildlife and it's covered in a thick tangle of brambles. Every year they’re heavy with plump, juicy blackberries just asking to be plucked and made into something glorious. Blackberry vodka.

I've been making this delicious blackberry liqueur for years and today I'm sharing my failsafe recipe for blackberry vodka so you can make it and enjoy it too.

Lush, plump blackberries

Blackberry Vodka Recipe

Yesterday I pulled on my wellies (there are grass snakes in that field), had a good old forage and picked myself a bucketful of blackberries. I've put some in the freezer to add a touch of berry heaven to those warming winter apple crumbles.

I have jars of dark, gleaming bramble jelly stockpiled from last year so don't need to make more jam. But, what to do with my haul of blackberries?

Ha! it's already been made into a big bottle of swirling, ruby-coloured gorgeousness. Blackberry Vodka. There’s nothing better than the rosy glow a couple of shots impart on a crisp winter’s evening and my blackberry vodka recipe is so easy that you'll make it year after year.

The dark ruby colour makes it the perfect Christmassy tipple or you could use it to make a lush blackberry vodka cocktail. If you make blackberry vodka in August or early September it'll be ready by Christmas. Delicious!

Here's how to make Blackberry Vodka. Scroll to the end of the post for a printable version of my easy blackberry vodka recipe.

Easy Blackberry Vodka Recipe

Ingredients for simple blackberry vodka recipe

1 litre of Vodka - don't crack open the Grey Goose, a cheap supermarket brand will do very nicely.

1 kg of freshly-picked blackberries. Clean thoroughly to remove any bugs - instructions on how to do that can be found below.

250g of caster sugar

4 Vanilla Pods

*Non-branded vodka from the supermarket*

Secret ingredient for Blackberry Vodka

I like to add a secret ingredient to my recipe to give it extra mellowness and a hint of warmth. Vanilla pods are my blackberry vodka recipe secret ingredient!

Use four pods to 1 litre of vodka. Split the pods and scrape the seeds out of all four pods and add them, and just one of the pods, into the Blackberry Vodka. Use the remaining leftover seedless pods to make vanilla sugare. Just add them to a jar of sugar to make vanilla sugar - it add a little something special to your baking.

I had so many blackberries last year that I made 2-litres of blackberry vodka. It lasts and lasts so we were enjoying this tasty tipple for months!

My Blackberry Vodka Recipe

Take a sterilised, airtight [easyazon_link identifier="B003Y7JP7K" locale="UK" nw="y" tag="thetrave-21" cart="n" cloak="y" localize="y" popups="n"]Kilner Jar[/easyazon_link] or wide-necked bottle large enough to hold all your ingredients.

Fill a large bowl with enough tepid water to cover your blackberries and add the fruit to it. After around 15-minutes any debris or bugs should float to the top. Scoop these out with a ladle or cup and repeat the process twice more.

Next, carefully drain the fruit and gently spread over kitchen paper to dry out. Any damaged fruit can be used for blackberry smoothies, sorbets or desserts. Blackberry ice cream is good too.

Add the blackberries, sugar, [easyazon_link identifier="B07Z87Q9NZ" locale="US" tag="travelwebsi0c-20"]vanilla pod[/easyazon_link] and seeds and pour in the Vodka. Yes, it's that easy!

*Adding the vodka to the rest of the blackberry vodka ingredients*

Give the jar a gentle shake to help dissolve the sugar and place in a cool, dark cupboard. Swirl the jar every day for the first week and then occasionally until none of the sugar is visible at the bottom of the jar. Forget about it for 8-10 weeks...

When the waiting time is up strain the liquid. Rinse a [easyazon_link identifier="B001B14ODG" locale="US" tag="travelwebsi0c-20"]muslin cloth[/easyazon_link] and wring it out tightly to stop any of the precious liquid soaking into it. Place the muslin over a sieve and strain the blackberry infused vodka through it into a wide jug.

It's important not to leave your blackberries infused in the Vodka for more than 10 weeks otherwise the woody centre of the berry gives the Blackberry Vodka a bitter taste.

Funnel the liquid into the bottle of your choice - I save any pretty unusual bottles to make it look even more special! These [easyazon_link identifier="B010POD138" locale="US" tag="travelwebsi0c-20"]vintage clip-top bottles[/easyazon_link] are good to look at and work perfectly for storing your blackberry vodka.

The blackberry vodka is ready. You can drink it now or, if you have cast-iron willpower, leave the warm blackberry flavours to infuse even more. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

How to serve your blackberry infused vodka

I love this tip from my good friend Viveka in the comments below:

When the time comes to drink your bramble vodka put your bottle in the freezer for a few hours "so it’s served thick as oil and ice cold".

A couple of hours before you serve rinse the [easyazon_link identifier="B011TCHU50" locale="US" tag="travelwebsi0c-20"]shot glasses[/easyazon_link] in water and put them in the freezer too, so they come out frosty. I've tried this and it works a treat.

What goes with Blackberry Vodka?

Another way to serve your blackberry liqueur is with Prosecco for a delicious summer cocktail. 30/70 liqueur to Prosecco works well, garnish with fresh blackberries.

Let me know how you get on with my blackberry vodka recipe. You might also want to check out my posts on how to make the perfect gin and tonic or my recipe for Aperol Spritz.

Do share any blackberry vodka cocktail recipes if you have any favourites. I'm always on the lookout for new ones.

18 servings