Summer is almost halfway through and I just came home from Germany and Poland with a few litres of cheap vodka just for the reason of making liqueurs.
And just in time too!! The Elderflowers are almost all gone now so first thing I do when done unpacking is going out in the garden outside my apartement and cutting myself a few flowers to start with.

I got the inspiration from Elderflower Champagne (which I tried to make and failed miserably oh well, new batch in the making for this year too).

Step 1: Ingredients

I wanted to keep this simple and basic.

So what you need?

4 dl of water
6 dl of sugar
7-8 fresh elderflowers
4 dl of vodka

You can also take the zest from a small lemon if you want a little less sweetness.

a little side note:
Since the flowers are almost all blossomed I took a few extra into flowers and added just to make sure I get the taste right. In the end I had 9 or 10 flowers all together

Step 2: What Now?

So on to the making...

Pour the water and the sugar into a skillet or sauce pan and heat up. Dissolve the sugar while the water is getting up to boiling point and stirring all the time to make it go faster.

Step 3: Add the Flowers

When the sugar is completely dissolved take the skillet of the stove and add the flowers and the optional lemon peel.

Let it stand for 30-40 minutes and let it cool

Step 4: Filter the Liquid

ok our 40 minutes are up!!

Time to remove the flowers and the lemon zest if you added that. And if you want a clear liquid then you can also filter it. I kept it as it is because I like the slightly dirty colour.

Step 5: The Vodka

NOW you add the Vodka to the mix!

Make sure to stir it up properly and then pour the liquid into bottles and then keep them cool!

Step 6: Grandma's Note

Apparently my grandma used to make this when she was way younger!

When not having it after dinner she would add a little of the elderflower liqueur to her salad dressing. Apparently it gives a very summery feeling when served in the late autumn and when the snow starts falling.