Easy Homemade Cassis: a Delicious Blackcurrant Liqueur
Got too many blackcurrants? Don’t know what to do with them? Try this easy homemade cassis. There’s no faffing about with this recipe and you only need three ingredients. Let time do the work for you and turn those blackcurrants into a smooth and delicious blackcurrant liqueur.
Over the years, I’ve made countless homemade liqueurs. Rhubarb schnapps and this easy homemade cassis are my favourites, though sloe gin is also hard to beat.
Crème de Cassis
Cassis is the French name for blackcurrant. Back in the mists of time, the French imported blackcurrant bushes from England and started adding some of the juice to their cheap wine to make it more palatable. In 1841 a liqueur maker and distiller, Auguste-Denis Lagoute of Dijon, started manufacturing crème de cassis on a commercial scale. Blackcurrants are crushed and soaked in alcohol and sugar is added at a later stage.
It’s a dark red sweet liqueur with a smooth texture and fruity aromas. In 2015, Crème de Cassis de Bourgogne achieved protected geographical status (PGI). This guarantees that any bottle with this label is produced in Burgundy and uses the blackcurrant variety, Noir de Bourgogne. It is, however, very easy to make your own. And in my humble opinion, my homemade version is better. Phouf!
Easy Homemade Cassis
My easy homemade cassis is not the authentic recipe for creme de cassis, but it has all of the flavour and isn’t nearly as sweet. It’s also incredibly simple to make.
I’ve seen recipes where you have to crush every berry by hand or boil up a syrup or soak the berries first and any number of other variations. This all seem needlessly complicated and unnecessary. There’s no faffing about with my method, however. All you need to do is chuck everything into a jar and leave it. It works a treat.
There are recipes that use gin, rum, brandy or wine. But these all have quite distinctive flavours of their own. I use vodka which has a more neutral taste. This allows the blackcurrant flavour to shine through and create a cleaner, fresher fruit liqueur.
Blackcurrants contain significant amounts of Vitamin C, antioxidants and anthocyanins. They are one of Britain’s top superfoods, after all. So although I can’t exactly claim that my easy homemade cassis is good for you, a moderate amount does have some health benefits.
Fresh seasonal blackcurrants are wonderful but if you can’t get hold of these, frozen ones will still produce a decent blackcurrant liqueur.
You don’t need nearly as much sugar for homemade cassis as you do for sloe gin, for example. This is because sloes are incredibly bitter. Blackcurrants may be a bit on the tart side, but you can eat them raw and many people find them pleasant. You would not want to eat a sloe raw, it will pucker your mouth up almost instantly. So sloes need lots of sugar to counteract that bitterness.
I don’t like my drinks to be overly sweet, so you might want to taste your easy homemade cassis after the first week of steeping. If you feel it’s not sweet enough, just add a bit more sugar.
How to Make Easy Homemade Cassis
As I’ve already mentioned, all you really need to do is to weigh out your three ingredients and bung them into a large clean lidded jar. Leave for a few months. Job done. There are, however a few things to take note of.
- Don’t worry about taking off any stems that might still be attached to the blackcurrants. They’re not poisonous and won’t alter the flavour.
- The jar will need to have a good seal on it so that the alcohol doesn’t evaporate whilst the blackcurrants are steeping.
- Once sealed give the jar a good shake to dissolve the sugar. Store in a cool dark place and give it an occasional shake when you’re passing. I rarely remember, so if it gets three shakes in six months, it’s doing well.
- Leave to steep for at least three months, though six months is better still. The longer you leave it the smoother and more flavoursome it will be. Just try to curb your impatience.
- Strain the liquid into sterilised bottles. Use a fine sieve placed over a funnel to do this. Leave the blackcurrants to drain, but don’t be tempted to squash them down to get more liquid out. If you do the cassis will be cloudy and potentially won’t last as long.
- Pour into pretty bottles. They make ideal gifts for friends and family.
- Once bottled, the liqueur will last almost indefinitely, though it tastes better in its first year.
- Don’t throw those blackcurrants away. You can use them in many blackcurrant recipes or just eat them as they are with ice cream. They’re particularly good in these blackcurrant brownies, though they’d also work well in this chocolate blackcurrant buckle recipe.
How Do You Drink Cassis?
Crème de cassis is a a critical component of many well known cocktails. Kir is the most famous of course, but there’s also el diablo, Arnaud martini and cassis spritz to name but a few. Once you’ve made your own easy homemade cassis, why not create your very own cocktail?
Kir and Kir Royale
Traditionally creme de cassis was used in France to perk up an inferior white wine. Kir is now consumed as a classic aperitif, but it’s also popular as a summer drink. Just add a slug of cassis to your wine and it will instantly taste better and have a fruity kick to it. For a Kir Royale, add 10 ml to a glass of champagne or other sparkling white wine. If you add cassis to red wine, the resulting cocktail is known as a Cardinal.
Kir was popularised by the French Resistance war hero Felix Kir (1876-1968). He was the mayor of Dijon in Burgundy and regularly served the drink to visiting dignitaries.
Apéritif
I prefer to drink my cassis neat as an apéritif or pre-dinner liqueur. Oddly, my friends all seem happy to go along with this. It’s strong stuff, so you only need a small shot glass, but ooh la la, it’s good.
Digestif
Alternatively, it’s also delicious served over ice as an after-dinner drink or digestif.
Other Blackcurrant Recipes You Might Like
- Blackcurrant brownies
- Blackcurrant & rose nonnettes
- Chocolate blackcurrant buckle
- Rye bread & blackcurrant cake
- Blackcurrant & white chocolate cookies
- Chocolate pancakes with blackcurrant rose compote
- Blackcurrant, rose & white chocolate ripple ice cream
- Chocolate sundae royale
- Blackcurrant fool with mint & rose
- Blackcurrant vinegar
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you try this easy homemade cassis, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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Choclette x
Easy Homemade Cassis. PIN IT.
Easy Homemade Cassis – The Recipe
Easy Homemade Cassis
Ingredients
- 350 g blackcurrants rinsed
- 100 g golden granulated sugar or caster sugar
- 500 ml vodka
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients into a large 1 litre lidded jar. The jar will need to have a good seal on it so that the alcohol doesn’t evaporate.
- Seal the jar, then give it a shake.
- Store it in a cool dark place and give it a shake once every so often.
- Leave for at least three months, though six months is better still. The longer you leave it the smoother and more flavoursome it will be.
- Strain the liquid into sterilised bottles. Use a fine sieve placed over a funnel to do this. Leave the blackcurrants to drain, but don't be tempted to squash them down to get more liquid out. If you do this the cassis will be cloudy rather than clear and it may not last as long.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sharing this recipe for easy homemade cassis with Gluterama for #CookBlogShare.
I tagged Tin and Thyme on FB.I gave the blog a shout out x
Thank you Amanda, that’s very lovely of you. Merry Christmas again.
Yay, look at me remembering that I made this in the summer and getting it out just in time for Christmas!!!
Go me!
I had a little trial whilst making the blackcurrant brownies with the remaining infused berries
FABULOUS. Thank you
Well remembered indeed. It’s such a nice liqueur to have and yay for the brownies. Thanks for letting us know and Merry Christmas.
I made this at the end of the last summer. Incredible! Thank you!
Now it’s nearly black currant time here in New Zealand, but I don’t think I’ll have enough for more than one bottle. I want more than a bottle, do you think I can use frozen organic black currants?
Thanks so much in advance!
It’s a delicious drink for sure Margo. I’ve not tried it with frozen blackcurrants, but I can see no reason why it wouldn’t work. Good luck.
I have left over strained elderberry juice from making jelly. Could I use this recipe with the juice? If so, how much juice?
I don’t think it would work as the resulting liqueur would be too watery and may well go off. I’d be inclined to add a bit of sugar and make a cordial. You could always add some of the resulting cordial to a glass of something to pep it up or use for cocktails. Or just with fizzy water.
I made this with the bumper crop of black currants last July. Just bottled this morning. Crystal clear because I stopped my husband squeezing. I’ve saved the berries. Would they work in scones?
Lovely and just in time for Christmas. I’ve never tried them in scones, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t work. In fact it sounds like a lovely idea – Boozy blackcurrant scones – yum. If they’re wet, you might need to reduce the normal amount of liquid you use.
Another bumper crop of black currants. this has become my go-to recipe. I’ve had to get more large canning jars to make sure I can make enough to last the year. it’s popular at our Christmas knitting and crocheting club party. I make this before juicing any leftovers for jelly. I haven’t tried to make jam. I did make the boozy scones. They did not become a favorite.
Fabulous that you got another bumper crop of blackcurrants and so pleased you find the recipe useful. Would love a star rating if you could manage it. Good to get your feedback on boozy scones. I liked your idea, but have to confess I’ve still not tried them. Sometimes you just have to give something a go and then move on.
I had an abundance of blackberries this Summer/Fall so had the idea to use your recipe to make Creme de Mure. It sitting in the cupboard along with the Creme de Cassis, waiting for bottling before Christmas. I’ll keep you posted.
Oh yes, do keep us posted Karen. Blackberries are a lot wetter than blackcurrants, so I’d be interested to hear how your Crème de Mûre turns out.
Could I use blueberries instead
Hi Heather. I’ve never tried it with blueberries, but I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. Blueberries don’t have such a strong flavour though, so the resulting beverage may be a bit insipid.
I just made up a triple batch today using frozen black currants from my garden (just a timing thing between picking and prepping); hopefully next year I can use fresh picked berries. I’m excited to see if it works out okay with the frozen fruit. If all goes well, they’ll be ready for indulging and Christmas gifts! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Hi Karen. I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work with frozen blackcurrants. But would love to hear the result come Christmas time.
Thanks for this recipe. We have inherited a blackcurrant bush in our new house so this seems like a great thing to make with the crop. I plan to toast to our first Christmas in the new house with it!
Sounds like an excellent idea Rebecca. I hope you’re very happy in your new home and with your homemade cassis. It really is the easiest thing to make with blackcurrants and it’s delicious too.
I have grown my own black currants down the allotment for the first time. The small crop is all going into this recipe. See you in
3 months.
Congratulations Mark, how very satisfying. And hopefully you’ll get a bigger crops next year. Try and hang on until Christmas – if you can.
I made this last year with my black currents and kind of forgot about it after the straining. As it sat forgotten, it only got better! Sorry, we drank it before we were able to photograph it. Definitely making it again this year, as my Black currant bushes are off the charts this year!
Woohoo, love forgotten surprises like this. I have to confess I haven’t even tried last year’s yet, we’re still on the previous year’s. Luckily, as you say it generally just gets better and better. Thanks for letting me know and maybe you’ll manage photos this year.
Cassis is one of summer’s treats. Always love it in a tipple of Kier Royale. I love that you have made your own. Gorgeous!
If you grow blackcurrants and don’t know what to do with them all, this is it. Makes fabulous xmas gifts.
Oh my – I love cassis, but I’ve never even considered making my own. What a fab idea! Eb x
It’s so easy peasy Eb, you’ll love it. And if, by any chance, you happen to forget about those soaking blackcurrants for a while, it really doesn’t matter.
Oooh this sounds great! I’ve made my own rhubarb gin before and it is delicious so I would definitely like to try this.
Homemade rhubarb liqueur is so good too. I’m always hard pressed as to whether cassis or rhubarb is my favourite.
This looks divine and I’m surprised how easy it is to make – winner!
It’s a real winner indeed Kat. So easy and so good.
Thanks for sharing, I remember my parents having a bottle of creme cassis in their cupboard, or having a glass of Kir Royale on their wedding anniversary, so this brings back lots of happy memeories 🙂
Nic
Not tempted to make your own then Nic? We’ve got a celebration coming up soon so I can see a Kir Royale coming up.
Cassis is one of the things I’ve never made with blackcurrants, thanks for the great recipe.
Oh Janice, if you’ve got plenty of blackcurrants you must give it a go. I’m pretty sure you’d love it.
Thank you so much for sharing with us.
This is a good recipe to share, especially for those that have an abundance of blackcurrants.
this sounds fabulous. i like to make a sort of limencello like this, with lots of different citrus soaking in vodka for weeks. very easy drinking.
Ooh a citruscello Sherry. Now that does sound good.
I love cassis the first time I had it was in Gascony on a Pilates retreat of all things…it was mixed in champagne. Now I can make my own!
Well nothing less than a Kir Royale for you it seems. And a pilates class in Gascony sounds a real treat.
Got too many blackcurrants? How? I haven’t seen any of them here yet (lots of red currants though)..love blackcurrants! I would love to have a sip :-))
Sadly, not many have come my way either Angie. CT managed to pick enough at work for me to make this batch, but we don’t have any of our own. My mother has been picking a bag for the freezer every day for the last fortnight or more. Sadly she’s a bit further away than she used to be, so I can’t grab any of hers.
Super happy to have finally found a recipe that talks about storage and how long it will last!!! Thank you so much for a good recipe. I am making this today!!
Yay! The only trouble with this recipe is you have to wait so long before you can try it. Good luck.