Orangecello Highball
Last year, I made a batch of orangecello with the oranges grown in my backyard. It's been around since before I was born, and in my opinion, beats any orange I've ever had from a supermarket. Something about picking it right of the tree and eating it just feels way better than one from an unknown origin that always tends to be a bit too sour, or too small, or too dry. And when you live in a region known for growing fruits, it's best to take advantage of it. The problem I had with last year's batch was that I had to use 40% ABV vodka on hand, as buying anything in California over 60% ABV is pretty difficult. What resulted was a clear orange liqueur that resembled orange curaçao, and while it tasted good, it didn't feel like a true orangecello. Limoncello and orangecello get their cloudy look from a process called louching, whereby oils extracted via a strong grain liquor turn cloudy when mixed with water. The keyword here is "strong", because strong doesn't mean 40%, or 60%...it needs at least 90%.
There are only two alcohols in the world that exist at above 90%, at least that I know of. One is Everclear, known for having a 190 proof grain alcohol that averages to 95%. The second is Spirytus, a Polish grain alcohol that comes in at 192 proof, or 96%. In some states in America, you can legally buy this on the shelf, but for other states, you typically have to buy it in another state and bring it back over the border. In my case, however, I was able to locate a local eastern European store that happens to sell Spirytus by the bottle, at a pretty cheap price.
I dumped around ten oranges' worth of peels into a bottle and mixed it with the whole bottle of Spirytus I bought. Then I played the waiting game, waiting three weeks for the Spirytus to work its magic, stripping the oils away from the peels. It made the Spirytus go from clear to almost Fanta orange. After three weeks, I mixed two cups of water and one cup of cane sugar in a pot to create a thin simple syrup. Then, I poured in the orange Spirytus and watched the color turn immediately:
What I ended up with was something that looked exactly like store-bought orange juice, only it was around 40% ABV. I bottled it and threw it into a freezer to chill for a few hours, then tried it as is. It's delightfully creamy, very sweet with a big hit of orange flavor. It's a little too strong to be enjoyed straight up, however, so I made it into highball format:
2.5 oz homemade orangecello
club soda to top (5.5 oz for me)
Add ice to a highball glass
Pour in the orangecello first
Add club soda to top
Gently stir to mix, then serve.
This makes a perfectly refreshing drink, especially on hot days. While the winter/spring season is normally when my orange tree bears fruit (January to April), I've made a lot of orangecello that I'll be keeping in reserve until next year. I anticipate I'll be making quite a few of these this summer.
