blackberry brandy

Last summer my youngest daughter and I went to visit the farm on which I was raised.  While there, with my oldest brother Bill showing us where the best fruit was, we picked many blackberries. . .many, many blackberries. 

If you've spent some time in the country picking wild berries, you probably appreciate the true significance of having gathered several gallons of freshly picked blackberries.  In the wild, they grow, well, wild.  The berry bushes develop in crazy clusters, and the bushes are covered with thorns.  Of course the best fruit is always about 2 feet away from safe, comfortable footing and located just past several menacing branches.  Naturally, you go after those great berries, get them, hold a couple high in the air to taunt the other pickers with comments like, "look at this monster I found!  Bet it's bigger than any you're able to locate" and then see even better looking ones a few feet further in the briars.  Before you know it, you're so deeply entangled that escape takes true work.  We rarely come away from berry picking without some serious scratches and gashes, and yet we actually look forward to doing it again the next year.

We had so many berries after the 2010 trip to Pennsylvania that we were inventing uses for them.  We ate a ton, baked several blackberry cobblers and crisps, and still had more.  I decided we just had to try and make blackberry brandy.  My girls have learned to tolerate my ever changing obsessions about things we need to try and make, so when they heard, they rolled their eyes a bit when they thought I couldn't see them, but went along with an attempt to make blackberry brandy which we could use as little Christmas presents.  Mind you, we're not really drinkers; I don't think I've ever had brandy in my life, but it just sounded fun. 

We plan to place the finished product in small bottles and gift them to special people this Christmas.  Each bottle will come with a homemade "Christmas Cake" and a set of directions concerning how to make the most of it.  I'll try to include the cake and brandy note, the label for the brandy bottles, and the recipes for the brandy and cakes.

This is what the label for the little bottles to hold the brandy looked like.

Directions for making the brandy

I struggle to call this homemade since it starts with store bought brandy . . . but it is great way to turn leftover berries into something special.   I’ll describe the way I actually made it this past summer.  I’ll also include another set if directions that I recently found; I will probably try the new way next year to see if it is any different than try #1.

It was easy to do.  My key advice from having made it once:  go out and buy cheesecloth.  I thought I’d be resourceful and use a coffee filter—didn’t work, then I tried to use an old, clean bandana—didn’t work, then I tried a silk coffee filter—didn’t work, then I went to the store and bought cheesecloth.

Ingredients:

1 pound or more of fresh blackberries

2 quart size glass jars with lids

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 liter brandy

Instructions:

1.       Equally place the berries in a couple of clean glass jars.

2.       Divide the cup of sugar between the jars.

3.       Pour the brandy into the jars. 

4.       Tightly close the jars and shake vigorously to dissolve the sugar and mix the ingredients.

5.       Cover the jars with brown paper and store them in a cool, dark area.  I understand some people bury them in the ground; I’m just too lazy for that and with my luck when I wanted to retrieve them the ground would be frozen.

6.       For the first week, shake each jar every 2-3 days.  After the initial week, shake the jars once a week.  Try to do this for at least eight weeks.

7.       After eight weeks, strain out the blackberries.   I then strained the brandy at least four times.  This will be a sticky process; prepare for a mess.  Place brandy into clear bottles because it’s beautiful!

Directions that I recently found:

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 pound fresh blackberries

1 bottle (fifth) brandy

1 teaspoon fruit protector

Instructions:

1.       Make simple syrup by bringing water and sugar to a boil, stirring constantly.  When it’s clear, remove it from the heat and let it stand until it is warm not hot.

2.       Place blackberries in a large bowl and crush them with a potato masher or large spoon.   Add the fruit protector.  Let it stand for a few hours.

3.       Divide blackberries, syrup and brandy between two clean 1 quart jars.  Cover and let stand in a cool dark place for 1 month, shaking it once a day to prevent the fruit from clumping together.

4.       Strain the solids from the brandy.  Filter (strain) the brandy a couple of times and place into clean, clear glass containers.  Age for 1 to 3 months before serving.