Shopping for the beloved boozehounds in your life can be difficult when times are tough. You’d love to spring for the giant bottle of Patrón or a swanky martini shaker, but your budget is more along the lines of Milwaukee’s Best and plastic cups. That’s when doing it yourself is your best strategy—homemade gifts not only make the receiver feel special, they make you look like a crafty genius. Here are four ideas for gifts that don’t require a stellar credit rating—just a little elbow grease and a touch of creativity. Your friends will be enduring holiday hangovers in no time.
Limoncello
This delicious Italian liqueur is a snap to make, and nothing is more impressive than showing up to a holiday party with handmade booze. Lemoncello benefits immensely from extra infusion time, so start it as far ahead of time as possible if you want it to taste awesome come the holidays. Here’s a super-simple recipe that even the culinarily-challenged can handle.
You’ll need:
Large sealable jar with at least 3 L capacity (i.e., a water or iced tea jug), thoroughly cleaned
Cheese cloth
Funnel
3 quart-sized individual
bottles
15 medium lemons
1 L. vodka
1 L. Everclear
6 c. sugar
Peel the lemons (avoiding the white pith) and retain peels. Put peels, Everclear, and vodka in large jar, seal tightly, and let sit for at least one week. Fish out the peels with a slotted spoon, wrap them in a doubled-over piece of cheese cloth, and squeeze over the vodka mixture to extract as much flavor as possible.
Make a simple syrup: Mix sugar with 3 cups water in a microwavable bowl and nuke until sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool. Add the simple syrup to the jar, reseal, and store for at least another week.
Use funnel to transfer mixture to individual bottles. If possible, let sit one more week for optimal flavor. Decorate the bottles with labels or gift tags, and you’re done!
