Making your own Apple Brandy couldn’t be easier! Follow this simple tutorial to make your own apple brandy at home with just a few simple ingredients.
The holiday season is the perfect time of the year to throw together as many handmade (and homemade!) gifts as possible – like this homemade Apple Brandy.
While I’ve never really been one to drink liquor or beer, I do enjoy making homemade liquor simply because it works great as gifts. In addition, it’s great bartering at the holiday season as the weather starts to cool down…
Bartering for services prevents me from over-spending – from automotive work to lawn care, plumbing, and what not, being able to trade homemade food and drink, and even soap, for services saves MONEY. And for me, saving money is detrimental to being able to take care of my kids and continue to homeschool them while working from home.
Apple Brandy – How to Make
Making your own apple brandy is so easy to do at home. Pick up your favorite apples on sale at the market (think Braeburn, Gala, and Fuji) and give them a good scrub. Remove the stem and slice them thin, then stuff them in a one-gallon glass jar.
(Tip: I love these one-gallon glass kombucha jars simply because they’re inexpensive, and can be used for a variety of other things including making your own homemade kombucha).
Combine your sugar and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, allow the mixture to cool. Then pour the sugar mixture over the apples in the jar, add your cloves, cinnamon sticks and brandy and screw on the lid. That’s it!
Allow the mixture to sit for a minimum of two weeks, stirring once a week. Then strain out the apples, cloves and cinnamon sticks and divide the apple brandy into jars.
I love using the finished brandy to make Brandied Apple Jam (recipe).
What Kind of Brandy Works Best?
My local grocer only had 1-2 varieties of brandy – the lesser cost of the two was E&J Brandy at $9, so that’s what I leaned towards. Flavored brandy that’s finished and bottled is quite expensive – making this a very affordable DIY done easily at home.
What Can I Do With the Leftover Apples?
Don’t toss the apples! The leftover apples work beautifully for making apple brandy jam. I usually toss mine in the blender (apples only) and puree – then dump into a large pot and measure out the appropriate pectin.
Check out my Brandied Apple Jam recipe to make your own.
Apple Brandy Recipe - How to Make
Equipment
- 1 gallon glass jar with lid
Ingredients
- 4 C sugar
- 2 C water
- 4 lbs apples sliced
- 1 liter brandy
- 3 cloves whole
- 2 cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
- Place sliced apples in a large glass or plastic jar. Add the sugar mix, cloves, cinnamon stick and brandy. Place the lid on the jar and let sit for a minimum of two weeks (stirring once a week).
- Strain brandy. Discard apples and spices. Pour into glass bottles. Place a cinnamon stick and several cloves into each bottle.
Did you make this apple brandy recipe? If so, let me know in the comments how it turned out.
Take a second to rate the recipe to help encourage others to make it at home, too!
We had a LOT of apples on our trees this year, and I made this, & it’s FABULOUS!!! Used E&J Brandy, as you suggested, which is the least expensive decent brandy in our neck of the woods. And now I am going to make your jam from the brandy-soaked apples! 🙂
So good to hear! I’m so glad!
Concerning the Brandy, the type that you have recommended is that a Apple Brandy or just an ordinary Brandy?
Just an ordinary brandy.