How To Make Flavored Shimmery Liqueur at home (Rainbow colors + VIDEO + ORIGINAL RECIPE!)

I first brought you homemade shimmery liqueur (homemade Viniq) last year. Now I’m sharing with you how to make your own FLAVORED shimmery liqueur at home (Fruit infused shimmery liqueur) in all the colors of the rainbow, using homemade vodka infusions. You’ll never have this much fun making Halloween cocktails ever again! 🙂

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I first showed you how to create shimmery liqueur (homemade Viniq) last year. Having come across Viniq at the liquor store, I wanted to figure out how to make shimmery cocktails myself at home, and I did. 🙂 The Flavor Bender was the first place where this cool trick and the science behind it was explained, and I decided to take it to the next level this time with FLAVORED SHIMMERY LIQUEUR – made with homemade infused vodka!

And I’m so excited to share it with you guys!

I explained how and why shimmery liqueur works in my original post. The short version is that liquids with high viscosity and less density than water work really well for this effect, because those two properties enable the kind of light refraction that you need to see that beautiful shimmer when you add Luster petal dust.

In the original post, I made shimmery liqueur by mixing vodka and sugar syrup. So in order to get different flavors, I used flavored vodka.

Luster petal dust – is used in cake decorations. It’s basically a fine powder of colored pigment MIXED with fine luster particles to make it shimmer. You can find the normal powdered pigment, but you want to look for the LUSTER powder pigment (or Luster Petal Dust). I buy mine online, but you might be able to find them in your cake decorating store too.

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(UPDATED RECIPE VIDEO for the fruit infused Shimmery Liqueur)

However I wanted something cheaper than having to buy vodka with different flavors, and I also wanted natural flavors, so I decided to make my own infused vodka to make flavored shimmery liqueur this time! And I made a RAINBOW of colors and flavors! 🙂

Here are the colors/flavors that I made.

GREEN – Creme de Menthe / Mint shimmery liqueur (mint infused vodka + sugar syrup)

BLUE – Butterfly Pea infused Vodka (or Gin) liqueur. I used gin for this, because the butterfly pea doesn’t turn purple in this liqueur. This liqueur doesn’t have a taste of it’s own, BUT it does, as a bonus, change color to make really fun cocktails when you add something acidic (Read about it more here!).

PURPLE – Blackberry shimmery liqueur (blackberry infused vodka + sugar syrup) – this is the closest to the color (not flavor) of purple Viniq

RED – Strawberry shimmery liqueur (strawberry infused vodka + sugar syrup)

ORANGE – Orange shimmery liqueur (orange infused vodka + sugar syrup)

YELLOW/GOLD – Pineapple shimmery Liqueur (Pineapple + Rum) You can use Vodka instead of Rum as well, but this liqueur tastes AMAZING especially a cocktail made with this liqueur + coconut water!

I made an extra version of the gold liqueur, by just adding gold luster dust to St Germain Liqueur (Elderflower liqueur) and created a beautiful gold cocktail. You can check it out here.

Another version which I will be sharing soon is Butterscotch shimmery liqueur (vanilla + salt + brown sugar + butter infused vodka). This liqueur uses another special technique called Fat Washing, which I have explained separately in another post here. You can go ahead and subscribe if you’d like to get the recipe for that butterscotch shimmery liqueur when it’s published.

I used fresh fruits and herbs to infuse the vodka and let the infusion take place for about 5 days (with the exception of the blue shimmery liqueur where I simply used a wine for the color, so it’s not actually an infusion).

Once the flavors were infused, I added cooled sugar syrup (1 part sugar syrup to 3 parts infused vodka) and then mixed in the luster petal dust to create those magical, mesmerizing swirls!

For some of the liqueurs you may need to add a drop of food coloring to really enhance the color, but that’s optional. Since luster petal dust comes in all the colors of the rainbow, it will add color to your infused liqueur as well.

I have shared 6 of the recipes here in this post, but the Butterscotch shimmery liqueur recipe will be shared separately soon, along with a really fun way to use that liqueur! So make sure you don’t miss out. 🙂

The flavors in each of these fruit infused shimmery liqueurs are so fresh, robust and delicious. You could easily make your favorite cocktails with these and WOW your guests with that hypnotic shimmer. 🙂

Some inspiration to use the shimmery liqueur – how about this Unicorn’s Blood Cocktail?

Just like with Viniq, the luster petal dust here settles to the bottom after a short while. You need to give the bottle a shake to mix and re-disperse the petal dust to get that dazzling shimmer again. Another really cool thing you could do for a party or special occasion is to purchase some dry ice and then add a little piece of dry ice to the flavored shimmery liqueur bottle when you’re serving it to your guests. The dry ice needs to be just heavy enough to sink to the bottom of the bottle and it’ll “come alive and dance” inside the liquid, giving rise to an incredible shimmering and bubbling effect. This effect will last for as long as there’s some dry ice is inside the bottle/drink before it completely disappears.

Or this Witch’s Heart Cocktail?

You may prefer this EXTRA magical COLOR CHANGING SHIMMERY COCKTAIL instead – The Phoenix Cocktail!

Or this simple Gold Shimmery Champagne Cocktail instead?

AN IMPORTANT NOTE on dry ice – Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide. So DO NOT CONSUME DRY ICE! Only use food grade dry ice, which is usually what’s available at grocery stores that have it (but ask anyway to make sure). Wait for the dry ice to disappear (melt) completely before you drink your cocktail/alcohol (which you will know when the bubbling stops). This does NOT equate to consuming dry ice because when dry ice “melts” it goes straight from solid to gas (sublimation), so it actually bubbles out of your drink. So remember never to close a bottle with dry ice inside to avoid that pressure build up. Use tongs when you handle dry ice and crush it or only add small chips of dry ice to your drink. The smaller it is, the quicker it will melt/disappear. The gas that bubbles out of your drink will form a smoke/fog and settle around your drink creating a fantastic “smokey cauldron” effect that’s perfect for Halloween parties, as you can see in the pictures and the GIFs here.

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5 from 13 votes

Flavored Shimmery Liqueur (VIDEO AND THE SCIENCE!)

Author: Dini K.

Yield: 1 ¼ - 1⅓ cup per batch (6 flavors in the recipe)

Cuisine: American, North American

FLAVORED shimmery liqueur (fruit infused shimmery liqueur) in all the colors of the rainbow, using homemade vodka infusions. You’ll never have this much fun making Halloween cocktails ever again!

EASY - Very easy recipe. You'll need luster dust to create the special shimmery effect, but assembling each flavor is very easy.

Please note that the vodka requires 1 week of inactive time for infusion to get the flavor and the color.

US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results.

Prep: 30 minutes

Infuse time: 7 days

Total Time: 7 days 30 minutes

Servings: 7 servings per batch (44mL each)

Print Rate

Ingredients:

• ▢ 4 cups 80 proof vodka
• ▢ 1 cup gin
• ▢ 1 cup white rum
• ▢ 2 cups simple syrup simple syrup is made by dissolving sugar with water at a 2:1 ratio over medium heat
• ▢ 6 - 7 strawberries cut in half
• ▢ 6 - 7 blackberries
• ▢ ½ cup packed mint leaves
• ▢ 1 rind of a large orange or 2 small oranges
• ▢ 6 dried butterfly pea flowers
• ▢ 2 slices fresh pineapple 1 inch thick each
• ▢ Luster petal dust in Red, Yellow, White, Purple, Green, and Orange
• ▢ Crushed dry ice to serve plus small pellets (optional)

Instructions:

• Use 6 jars with 2 cup capacity. Divide the vodka into 4 different jars (2 cup capacity). Add the gin to one of the jars, and the white rum to another.
  4 cups 80 proof vodka, 1 cup gin, 1 cup white rum

Strawberry Red Shimmery Liqueur

• Place the strawberries in 1 of the vodka jars. Cover the jar with the lid and let it infuse for 1 week (up to 2 weeks) at room temperature.
  6 - 7 strawberries
• Next, strain the infused liqueur through a cheesecloth to remove the fruits and any small particles.
• Mix the infused liqueur with ⅓ cup of simple syrup (or more or less to suit your preferences).
  2 cups simple syrup
• Add a small amount of RED LUSTER PETAL DUST to the liqueur and mix to combine.
  Luster petal dust
• Add more luster petal dust to get the desired shimmery effect.

Blackberry Purple Shimmery Liqueur

• Place the blackberries in 1 of the vodka jars. Cover the jar with the lid and let it infuse for 1 week (up to 2 weeks) at room temperature.
  6 - 7 blackberries
• Next, strain the infused liqueur through a cheesecloth to remove the fruits and any small particles.
• Mix the infused liqueur with ⅓ cup of simple syrup (or more or less to suit your preferences).
  2 cups simple syrup
• Add a small amount of PURPLE LUSTER PETAL DUST (or a mix of blue and red) to the liqueur and mix to combine.
  Luster petal dust
• Add more luster petal dust to get the desired shimmery effect.

Mint Green Shimmery Liqueur

• Place the mint in 1 of the vodka jars. Cover the jar with the lid and let it infuse for 1 week (up to 2 weeks) at room temperature.
  ½ cup packed mint leaves
• Next, strain the liqueur through a cheesecloth to remove the leaves and any small particles, and gently press the leaves to remove any alcohol.
• Mix the infused liqueur with ¼ -⅓ cup of simple syrup (or more or less to suit your preferences).
  2 cups simple syrup
• Add a small amount of GREEN LUSTER PETAL DUST (or a mix of blue and yellow) to the liqueur and mix to combine.
  Luster petal dust
• Add more luster petal dust to get the desired shimmery effect.

Orange Shimmery Liqueur

• Place the (fresh) rind of 1 large orange in 1 of the vodka jars. Cover the jar with the lid and let it infuse for 1 week (up to 2 weeks) at room temperature.
  1 rind of a large orange
• Next, strain the liqueur through a cheesecloth to remove the rind and any small particles.
• Mix the infused liqueur with ¼ -⅓ cup of simple syrup (or more or less to suit your preferences).
  2 cups simple syrup
• Add a small amount of ORANGE LUSTER PETAL DUST (or a mix of red and yellow) to the liqueur and mix to combine.
  Luster petal dust
• Add more luster petal dust to get the desired shimmery effect.

Color Changing Blue Shimmery Liqueur

• Place the butterfly pea flowers with the gin in 1 of the jars. Leave it overnight (does not require multiple days to infuse).
  6 dried butterfly pea flowers
• Next, strain the liqueur through a strainer to remove the flowers.
• Add ¼ -⅓ cup of simple syrup to make it a liqueur OR keep it as is to use as a straight alcohol for color changing cocktails.
  2 cups simple syrup
• Add a dash of WHITE LUSTER PETAL DUST to the liqueur and mix to combine. This is so that the color change can occur without interference from the color of the luster dust.
  Luster petal dust
• Add more luster petal dust / coloring to get the shimmery effect you like.

Pineapple infused Shimmery Liqueur

• Place the pineapple in 1 of the rum jars. Cover the jar with the lid and let it infuse for 1 week (up to 2 weeks) at room temperature.
  2 slices fresh pineapple
• Next, strain the liqueur through a cheesecloth to remove the pinapple and any small particles.
• Mix the infused liqueur with ¼ -⅓ cup of simple syrup (or more or less to suit your preferences).
  2 cups simple syrup
• Add a small amount of YELLOW LUSTER PETAL DUST to the liqueur and mix to combine.
  Luster petal dust
• Add more luster petal dust to get the desired shimmery effect.

For All Shimmery Liqueurs

• Use these as you would any liqueur, or serve them straight in shot glasses.
• You can add a little powdered dry ice for a smoky effect (see GIFs and photos in the post).
  Crushed dry ice to serve
• While serving - you can drop a small chip of dry ice into the bottles to keep the liqueur swirling (but remember not to close the bottle with dry ice inside!).
  Crushed dry ice to serve

Video:

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Nutrition Information:

Serving: 44mLCalories: 112kcal (6%)Carbohydrates: 9g (3%)Sodium: 7mgPotassium: 8mgSugar: 9g (10%)Calcium: 2mgIron: 1mg (6%)

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

Course:Alcohol, Cocktails

Cuisine:American, North American

Keyword:Butterfly Pea Tea,, Cocktails, Color Changing, Flavored Liqueur, Flavored Vodka, Fruit recipes, Gin, Rum, Shimmery Liqueur, Vodka, Whimsical Recipes

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