Homemade Crème de Menthe Liqueur
This is an easy-to-make traditional French mint liqueur with fabulous and fresh minty flavor. And you can use mint from your own garden to make it! Our testers' reviews found that Kentucky colonel mint has the best flavor for this liqueur. Or you can substitute with fresh mint from the store. And it only takes 4 weeks to be ready!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (500 ml) vodka
- 2.5-3 cups (40 g) fresh Kentucky colonel (or other) mint leaves, loosely-packed
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar, (or for a thinner liqueur, 1 cup or 200 g)
- 1 cup (237 ml) water
- 1-3 drops green food coloring, (optional, adjust to your color preference)
Instructions
Steep the mint in the vodka
- Rinse and dry the mint. Remove the leaves from the stems and discard the stems.
- Add the vodka and mint leaves to a jar. Seal the jar and let it steep for 4 weeks in a cool, dark place, shaking at least once per week. The leaves and liquid will turn brown. This is normal.
- After a minimum of 4 weeks, strain the vodka with a fine-mesh sieve or a cheesecloth-lined colander to remove the mint leaves.
Prepare the simple syrup
- Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, and let it boil for 1-2 minutes until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat and let it cool.
Combine and serve
- Mix the strained vodka with the cooled rich simple syrup. If desired, add a few drops (starting with just one and adding more as needed) of green food coloring for a vibrant green liqueur.
- Add the crème de menthe to a bottle and store it in a cool, dark place, or in the refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!
Notes
This makes approximately 3 ⅓ cups (800 ml) of the liqueur. I recommend using a steeping jar that's are at least 1 liter each to hold your ingredients comfortably.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!