Keeping falernum longer

I've read the posts which say falernum can go bad over time and that it tends to lose its quality after about a month.

Is it possible to freeze homemade falernum syrup? I was thinking of freezing it in an ice cube tray.

I have a quart of Falernum #9 that I made from scratch and would hate to see all that effort wasted because I didn't use it quick enough.

Thanks!

Your mileage may vary, but I've made that same recipe and the falernum stayed viable for about 2 months. Does it go bad after that? I'm not sure; I always run out.

I've not tried freezing it myself. Another option: split a whole batch with friends or family.

Kevin

Adding about 1 ounce of overproof rum for every 8 oz of falernum should extend the shelf life quite a bit.

Agree with above. Put some alcohol in it and keep in the fridge. It's unlikely the quality will degrade very quickly. I tend to keep mixers for quite a while and they seem okay to me.

John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum liqueur is 22 proof. I've had a bottle open for nearly a year and don't notice any difference or degradation in flavor.

I keep my JDT Velvet Falernum in the fridge. I don't know if it's necessary, but I figure it can't hurt.

Hmmmm...Maybe I should up the proof a little. :)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I topped it off with some Bacardi 151 and put it back in the fridge. I think it enhanced the flavor just a bit when I tasted it afterwards.

On 2011-12-15 18:20, jpr9954 wrote:
I've read the posts which say falernum can go bad over time and that it tends to lose its quality after about a month.

Really? I think homemade falernum is at its best when it's 1 month old. Right after I bottle it, it tastes really "icky" and off. After a week, it gets good. After two weeks, it's the most delicious thing ever. I make falernum #8 without the lime juice and keep it in the fridge. Stays good for atleast 5 months.

when I'm out of falernum and I want to make a drink or two calling for it, I make a small emergency quantity like this:

1 oz Wray and Nephew overproof rum
1 and 3/4 oz orgeat
1/2 oz lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger.

mix it up and use!

if you want to use immediately after making, filtering through a coffee filter or cheesecloth will may reduce some of the spiciness.

I've been trying to find a good falernum recipe. Where do I find #8 and #9 y'all refer to in these posts?

Falernum #9 is in here or try Google:
http://www.amazon.com/Beach-Bum-Berry-Remixed-Jeff/dp/1593621396/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327873302&sr=1-1

Falernum #8
http://www.cocktailchronicles.com/2006/07/28/falernum-8/

6 ounces Wray & Nephew Overproof White Rum
zest of 9 medium limes, removed with a microplane grater or sharp vegetable peeler, with no traces of white pith
40 whole cloves (buy fresh ones — not the cloves that have been in your spice rack since last Christmas)
1 1/2 ounce, by weight, peeled, julienned fresh ginger

Combine these ingredients in a jar and seal, letting the mixture soak for 24 hours. Then, strain through moistened cheesecloth, squeezing the solids to extract the last, flavorful bits of liquid.

Add:

1/4 teaspoon almond extract*
14 ounces cold process 2:1 simple syrup (two parts sugar to one part water, shaken in a jar or bottle WITHOUT HEAT until all the sugar is dissolved)
4 1/2 ounces fresh, strained lime juice

Shake it all together and serve.

• Chad Solomon from Pegu Club suggested adding some toasted almonds to the soak, in addition to using the almond extract. This sounds like a fine idea, and may be part of falernums 9, 10 and 11.

Thanks TikiSan! mamelukkikala, you mentioned you don't put the lime juice in #8; when and how much do you add later? (if you do) Thanks!

On 2012-01-29 15:18, liltikichef wrote:
Thanks TikiSan! mamelukkikala, you mentioned you don't put the lime juice in #8; when and how much do you add later? (if you do) Thanks!

I don't add any extra lime juice at all. I think it's fine as it is in most drinks. Sometimes I might drop the amount of falernum just a little. For example, in Blackbeard's Ghost I use 3/4oz instead of 1oz. But it really depends on the mood, whether I want a sweet drink or a tart drink.

It seems to me that if your recipe has lime juice in it it won't keep as long as the non citrus falernums. Im trying to figure out a way to make a falernum with lime juice that will keep for months. Is it possible?

In the past I have added gomme (shop brought sugar syrup that has the stabiliser gum arabica in it), that prolonged the life of my home made (non citrus) falernum to about 2 months in the fridge (at which point I ran out).

On 2015-05-25 20:27, kdawg wrote:
It seems to me that if your recipe has lime juice in it it won't keep as long as the non citrus falernums. Im trying to figure out a way to make a falernum with lime juice that will keep for months. Is it possible?

kdawg, welcome to TC, I see that this is your first post. If you search this site you'll find plenty of information on how to make and then preserve your falernum. I myself have posted quite a bit about this, and I am enjoying great success safely keeping my falernum for long periods of time while maintaining a very high degree of freshness.

Cheers!

On 2011-12-16 09:27, TikiHardBop wrote:
Adding about 1 ounce of overproof rum for every 8 oz of falernum should extend the shelf life quite a bit.

On 2011-12-16 19:45, Kahuna Kevin wrote:
John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum liqueur is 22 proof. I've had a bottle open for nearly a year and don't notice any difference or degradation in flavor.

These!

If you want it to last longer you've got to give it some alcohol content so you can kill off some of the things that grow in jars and makes things go bad.

Think beer and wine.... way back in the day the water could kill you. But brew or ferment it into beer or wine and you were much less likely to die from whatever ailments hid in water. Wines and beers are typically between 5 and 15% alcohol.

Keep the math simple and aim for about 10% ABV / 20 Proof. Not less than 5% or there isn't enough to help more than a tiny bit.

You mentioned having a quart of Falernum #9.....

A quart is 32 ounces. 10% would be 3 ounces (3.2, but lets keep the math simple). If you are using a 151 then you need 4 ounces. (4 * .75 = 3). If you are using a plain vodka (see vodka is good for something) then you need about 7.5 ounces. (7.5 x .4 = 3)

You don't need to break out calculators or anything so precise. You are 'aiming' at a alcoholic content, a range.

TikiHardBop's math of one ounce per eight is easy to remember as long as you remember that is for 75% alcohol.

And whatever you figure out, freezing or proofing or both, please let us know how it turns out. And pictures are always appreciated!

Happy drinking!

If you are making it according to standard recipes with a high proof alcohol and sugar syrup, you have 2 of the key elements: alcohol and sugar. Both are important to keeping mold at bay. Do not use a liquor that is not a solid 120+ proof or your results will be less favorable. I use PGA often. It has no flavor and I prefer not to use rum since it adds flavor.

You start with a mix that is 50/50 sugar at least which will prevent mold growth ON THE MIX but it may still grow on the bottle or elsewhere. It is helpful to boil the bottle before hand to kill problems. If you had mold before in the bottle, especially clean it. If it gets mold inside and you can clean it off, so long as it is not on your syrup, it is still okay. If you get mold on or in the syrup, toss it. The high alcohol content of 50/50 mix of high proof and your syrup will also help.

Refrigeration is a third helper in this task. Cooler temps will slow the growth all the way around.

One more tip is to strain your lime juice before adding it. Any time I store lime (or any) juice for any time I strain out the extra pulp and any other solids to keep it more stable.

I just made a bottle of the #9 (with some rum added), and I did a regrettable thing by rough-guessing the amount of cloves I used and it's now a little too clovey. I really don't want to toss all that work out (anyone know of any automatic lime-zesters?), so is there a way of balancing this out?

On 2015-06-01 17:59, twitch wrote:
it's now a little too clovey.... so is there a way of balancing this out?

Clove is hard to overcome.

What you could do is make a second batch, leave out the clove in the second batch, and then mix the two batches together.

Not entirely sure it would work, but at least you would have a second batch of #9 to share.

Hey, I might try that. What I've noticed is that the farther into the bottle I get, the less clove I'm tasting, and I noticed earlier that all of the clove's unfiltered particles rose to the top of the bottle where I had to scoop it out. Gravity to the rescue? But yeah - next batch I won't be so flippant about the clove measuring and I'll add more rum...

It was mentioned earlier (by Swanky, I think) that adding rum imparts more flavors. By using pure grain alcohol ("PGA") like Everclear you can accomplish the same thing without imparting rum flavors.

I may be kind of heavy-handed with my Everclear -- I typically add two ounces of PGA to a 16 oz bottle of Falernum. Does this dilute the flavor and taste of the Falernum? Just a teensy bit. But homemade Falernum is already so flavorful that the impact is negligible.

For each batch I make, I store an 8-oz bottle in my fridge for cocktails. I store two 16-oz bottles in my freezer and refill the 8-oz bottle as needed. A batch can last more than a year that way just fine depending on what cocktails I make.

I'm not stingy with my Falernum because it is relatively easy and fun to make.

Also, try to ensure your bottles are sterilized before you fill them with your Falernum. 180 degrees for 10 minutes should do it.