A few months ago one of you guys asked for a homemade yogurt liqueur (I can’t find the message though! Was it you?). I first tried the only yogurt liqueur I could find, Bols Natural Yogurt, then made my own, using fresh yogurt as the main ingredient, creating a viscous milky-white homemade Yogurt Liqueur with a perfect balance of yogurt acidity, sweet vanilla notes, a hint of lemon, and a subtle boozy undertone. It’s creamier and more up-front with the yogurt than the commercial versions I’ve tried, which I love, and I hope you will too.
The only con of this homemade liqueur is the short shelf life, about 15 days, to be safe. So you’re getting two cocktail ideas this week: I made the Love Me Flip, created by the one and only Erik Lorincz, then I asked my YouTube buddy David from Booze On The Rocks to make a cocktail using the yogurt liqueur as well. Check out his channel here, to see what we came up with (hint: it’s blue): https://www.youtube.com/c/BoozeOnTheRocks
To make it, we’ll first need some fresh yogurt. I didn’t milk the cows myself, but I went directly to somebody who did. I got in touch with a dairy farm not far from my childhood home. The Polajžers operate a mountainous farm with free-range cows, providing the highest quality of dairy, which was just what I was looking for when making the Yogurt Liqueur. To make it stand apart from the store-bought version I decided on their full-fat yogurt, to give it the fresh, full-bodied flavor with a strong yogurt backbone. As we’ve said many times on this channel - when possible, support local producers.
We now have our homemade full-fat yogurt, but we’ll also add cream (for creaminess). As a side-note, mixing dairy ingredients directly with a spirit could give you curdles, so we’ll first make a base for our liqueur.
Dairy Liqueur Base
● 250mL 40% ABV Absolut vodka
● 0.25g vanilla bean
● 0.4g lemon peel
● 150g refined granulated sugar
Blend everything on high speed for about 40 seconds, so the sugar dissolves and everything gets blended and mixed. Then strain this liqueur base through a cloth filter and move on to Part 2: the yogurt and cream.
Yogurt Liqueur
● 360g full-fat yogurt
● 30g cream
● Dairy liqueur base
Mix together the full-fat yogurt and the cream. Whisk or stir together well, to get a uniform mixture, and then slowly start adding the liqueur base, while whisking constantly. Once you’re done and you see you have a homogenous mixture, without any clumps, that’s your Cocktail Time Yogurt Liqueur done. This recipe will yield around 700mL or 24oz and I’d recommend keeping it in the fridge, after you transfer it to a sterilized bottle. Label it and add the date too - as mentioned, I'd suggest using this up within 15 days to be safe.
Simple, right? You can drink the Yogurt Liqueur by itself, but if you remember the situation our friend David is in, you’ll want to try it in a cocktail as well. I’ll be making the “Love Me Flip”, created at the The Connaught Hotel in London in the year 2010, by Erik Lorincz, the world-renowned bartender from Slovakia, who went on to become 10th head bartender at the American Bar in a little London hotel, called The Savoy (under his leadership it even got crowned as the World’s Best Bar in 2017!).
Erik has since moved on to co-create a new bar in London called Kwãnt, which is currently operating as a summer pop-up in Ibiza, called the Kwãnt by the Sea- if you’re lucky enough to be there right now, go check it out, or try making this cocktail at home. Not the same, but close enough!
Love Me Flip
● 60 mL (2 oz) Havana 7
● 30 mL (1 oz) Yogurt Liqueur
● 15 mL (0.5 oz) Pedro Ximenez sherry
● 3 drops angostura bitters
● 7.5 mL (0.25 oz) rich syrup
● 1 egg yolk
In his recipe, Erik uses Zacapa 23, but I think Havana Club 7 year is a great, budget-friendlier option. I’ll first separate the egg, saving the yolk this time. Using the egg white in a traditional sour cocktail shouldn’t be a problem, right? Also make sure not to add our Yogurt Liqueur last, as it is very viscous. To make it, beat the egg yolk in your shaker tin with the rich syrup then add the rest of the ingredients and shake with ice. Fine strain it into your favorite chilled glass and garnish with a grated tonka bean on top.
You’ll get a subtle aroma of nutty spices and funk from the tonka, bitters and rum that leads to a delightfully creamy cocktail, thanks to the Yogurt Liqueur and the egg yolk. It’s sweet & funky, balanced by the yogurt acidity and hints of sweet dried fruits on the aftertaste. A wonderful after dinner cocktail, that’s probably better suited for the winter (you’re welcome, Australia). Now, this is a great recipe, but if you want more to use your Yogurt Liqueur up, make sure to check out the Booze On The Rocks channel and see David’s use of this wonderful ingredient. Cheers!
To make it easier for you to try these recipes you can grab the bottles from my collection at CURIADA.
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