Wild blackberry brambles grow along stone walls and field edges all over northern Portugal, and by late summer families pick them for licor de amora. It is traditionally an unfussy, rustic project: berries, sugar and local aguardente left in a jar for weeks until the liqueur turns a deep, almost black purple.
This sits in the same family as ginjinha de óbidos (recipe on the site), Portugal’s beloved sour cherry liqueur, and poncha (recipe on the site) from Madeira, that whole tradition of turning whatever fruit grows nearby into something you sip in a tiny glass after dinner. Blackberries ripen right around now in most American backyards too, which makes midsummer the exact right moment to start a jar, even if you will not taste the results until autumn.
This recipe uses vodka instead of aguardente, since it is easier to find in the US and stays neutral enough to let the berries shine.
Licor de Amora Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh blackberries, rinsed and dried well
- 2 cups vodka or other neutral 80-proof spirit
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 strip lemon peel (no white pith)
Instructions
- Lightly crush the blackberries with a fork in a large clean glass jar, just enough to break the skins.
- Add the vodka, sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon peel. Seal the jar tightly and shake gently to start dissolving the sugar.
- Store in a cool, dark cupboard, shaking the jar gently every couple of days for the first two weeks to keep the sugar from settling.
- Let infuse for at least 6 weeks, and up to 8, tasting occasionally after week 5.
- Once the flavor is deep and fruity, strain through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a clean bottle, pressing gently on the solids to extract the last of the liquid.
- Discard the solids, or spoon them over vanilla ice cream if you cannot bear to waste them.
- Store the finished liqueur in a sealed bottle at room temperature, away from light. It keeps well for a year or more.
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