Holy shit. Best I’ve ever had.
You have to let it steep for a month but it’s totally worth it.
You can skip the dried cherries if you like but I wouldn’t recommend it. It gives the liquor a mildly tart finish that complements the rest of the flavors nicely.
I make this by starting with everclear. It’s a personal preference. What you end up with isn’t going to be as strong as everclear (some of the alcohol is going to evaporate, some of it is going to end up in the fruit) it’s still going to be fairly strong. If you instead use vodka, you will end up with something much closer to the strength of amaretto you would buy in the store.
Also, if you want to save yourself some time chopping the almonds and the apricot kernels, a food processor is your friend here. If you don’t have one, you can just throw them in whole. It won’t make a huge difference in the end.
Ingredients
To make:
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup apricot kernels, chopped (you can find these at some health food stores. I had to go to amazon to find them)
1/4 cup unsweetened dried cherries, chopped
1 3/4 cup almonds, chopped
3/4 cup water
2 cups everclear
1 cup brandy
To finish:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup water
1 cup vodka
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Take everything listed under “to make” (everclear, brandy, water, apricots, cherries, and apricot kernels) and throw it in a container with a lid. Walk away. Stir it once a day for a month (you don’t really have to stir it every day, if you forget sometimes it’s not the end of the world).
At the end of the month, strain the liquid ,through either a metal strainer or several layers of cheesecloth, in to a pot and add everything listed under “to finish”. Stir vigorously to combine. The sugar might refuse to dissolve, you will be able to tell if it feels grainy on the bottom of the pot after you’ve stirred it for a while. If it does, put the pot on the stove on low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves, then kill the heat immediately, remove from the stove, and cover.
eatbensmeat 