If you’re looking to make the most dazzling and magical cocktail recipes with the most simple little trick, then you’re going to LOVE this Homemade Shimmery Liqueur Recipe!
Here I share all the instructions and tips on how to make shimmery liqueur (homemade Viniq) to make your own magic potion. Perfect for Halloween cocktails and other celebratory events.
Today I’m sharing with you guys a super cool discovery that I made recently! Have you heard of VINIQ before? (Note: Viniq has since been discontinued since 2019/2020). According to their website, Viniq is a “delicious combination of Premium Vodka, Moscato, Natural Fruit Flavors, and a one-of-a-kind shimmer”!
It truly is one of a kind. So much so that it has got to be the most mesmerizing liqueur on the planet right now. All because of that colour and that incredible shimmer!
You can now also make fruit infused flavored shimmery liqueur! How amazing is that??
Ever since I came across this liqueur in the vodka section in our local liquor store, I am drawn to it like a magnet every time I go there.
It comes in a slender, tall bottle with a purple liquid inside (it also comes in yellow and red, but purple seems to be the most common).
It’ll look fairly plain at first, but do not be fooled. Just pick it up and give it a shake or two. Magical shimmery swirls will bedazzle you! It’s beyond cool and Mr K has to prod and nudge me away from that bottle every time we go there. 🙂
Get the recipe for this infused flavored shimmery liqueur here.
How to make homemade shimmery liqueur (homemade Viniq)
But what if you don’t have access to Viniq? What if you too could have shimmery liqueur regardless? What if you could replicate that shimmer at home?
I had no idea how Viniq did it before this post, so curiosity and fascination got the better of me and I wanted to figure out how to make shimmery cocktails myself. And I did! 🙂
The secret to homemade shimmery liqueur
All you need to make homemade shimmery liqueur is one special ingredient – Luster Petal Dust (or Luster Dust)! 🙂 Don’t worry, this is very easy to find in your local cake store or online. I found mine in a local cake equipment and decorating supplies store, but I have also bought some previously from Amazon.
And the best thing about this is that you can make shimmery cocktails in pretty much any color you want! Viniq is apparently the world’s first shimmery liqueur. But now, for the VERY FIRST TIME – you can make your own homemade Viniq too!
How to change the colors of your homemade shimmery liqueur
You can change the colors of the homemade viniq simply by changing the color of the luster petal dust. Here are some suggestions for colors.
- Gold petal dust – Yellow liqueur (like I’ve done here)
- Green petal dust – Green liqueur
- Blue petal dust – Blue liqueur
- Red petal dust – Dark pink liqueur
- Pink petal dust – Pink liqueur
- Silver petal dust – Grey liqueur (I wouldn’t recommend using this alone. You’re better off combining it with blue or green that would give a darker colour with a silver sheen. Very cool!)
- Pearl petal dust – This dust is pearly and opaque and leaves ONLY the shimmery swirls and no color! It’s perfect if you don’t want to add any color and only want the shimmery swirls.
Tip about mixing colors
When you mix two bright colors, you will get beautiful shimmery swirls at first, but eventually the two colors will mix to give you something more dull.
For example, when I mix yellow and purple together for a cocktail, I get a beautiful blend of the two at first. But after a little while, it turns into a dull dark yellow. Not good. You do still get the shimmer though.
You don’t have to worry about any color change with just one color though. It’ll stay beautiful and shimmery throughout (once you shake it!).
Making the shimmery liqueur is easy
All you need is your favorite flavored vodka, a simple syrup, and petal dust in your favorite color. 🙂 I used peach flavored vodka in this recipe, but you can use any flavor you like. Or combine a few to get a more intense, fruitier liqueur.
To make classic Viniq, just mix a fruity, sweet wine, with vodka and luster petal dust. If you want you can add some extra simple syrup to make it sweeter.
How can I make flavored homemade shimmery liqueur?
Just follow the recipe here to make fruit infused shimmery liqueur!
You can now make COLOR CHANGING SHIMMERY LIQUEUR too!
Thanks to another simple ingredient, in this case butterfly pea flowers, you can make color changing alcohol, and color changing cocktails too! Just infuse the vodka (or gin or tequila) with butterfly pea flowers and proceed to make the liqueur by adding some simple syrup!
You can make fin Halloween cocktails like this The Phoenix Cocktail!
How and why shimmery liqueur works
I have tried this luster petal dust trick with a few other liquids to see if I can replicate the same effect that I see with alcohol. I used it with water, apple juice, oil and golden syrup. From what I have noticed, the viscosity and density of the solution seem to be the main reasons for this shimmering effect.
Liquids with high viscosity and less density than water like alcohol and oil (not that you’re ever going to drink oil, but I just wanted to test my hypothesis) work very well because those two properties enable the kind of light refraction you need to see that beautiful shimmery effect.
And the moment I add water to dilute these two solutions, I can see how it sort of breaks up the shimmers because it changes the viscosity/density. On the other hand, golden syrup (which is more dense and more viscous than water) gave me an intermediate effect. So to sum up, while all the liquids I tested produced some shimmery effect, alcohol produced the most desirable shimmers.
Cocktails that use shimmery liqueur to dazzling effect
The following cocktails that I have shared on the blog utilize luster petal dust and its shimmery effect to create some mesmerizing cocktails that you’ll love! 🙂
- The phoenix cocktail (floral and sweet gin and elderflower cocktail)
- Witches brew drink (a Halloween cocktail)
- The witch’s heart (a Halloween cocktail)
- Unicorn blood cocktail (Harry Potter themed Halloween cocktail)
- Gold shimmery champagne cocktail (perfect as New Year’s cocktail or celebratory drink)
- Flaming dragon’s blood cocktail (a show-stopping thyme and raspberry daiquiri cocktail)
Now that you know how to make shimmery liqueur, what would you make first?
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How to make Shimmery Liqueur (like Viniq)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup vodka or your favorite flavored vodkas
- ⅓ cup white wine Moscato or Riesling is preferred
- ⅓ cup of simple syrup add more or less according to your preference. I add ¼ cup with a sweeter white wine.
- A little less than 1/4 tsp of petal luster dust in your favorite color (I used gold)
Instructions:
- Mix the vodka, wine and simple syrup until well combined.1 cup vodka, ⅓ cup of simple syrup, ⅓ cup white wine
- Stir in the petal luster dust.A little less than 1/4 tsp of petal luster dust
- Swirl the liqueur just before use, as the luster dust will settle to the bottom after a while.
- Chill until needed.
- You can find all the fruit-infused flavored shimmery liqueur recipes in the linked post.
Tips & Tricks
Recipe notes
- Try not to use too much shimmery luster dust. Some luster dust is marked as edible, and some are marked as non toxic.
- I try not use more than 1/4 tsp per cup of liqueur or spirit (vodka, tequila or gin). Just enough to give it a shimmer and light swirls. If needed I might add just a pinch more to a drink after I’ve made it.
- Adding a teaspoon or more of the luster dust PER DRINK is not advised, so only add just enough to create swirls in a CLEAR cocktail (which will show the best results).
Nutrition Information:
“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.”
frugal hausfrau says
How fun is this! Great post, and I’m going to be keeping this in mind!
Prash @ YummilyYours says
This is just W.O.W!!! I am trying this soon! 🙂
Amanda @ Cookie Named Desire says
Mind. Blown. Oh my god. You are a genius and the best person ever. These are so incredibly beautiful and I can’t get over how cool this is. I happen to have gold and red dust at home so I am going to have to try this asap. Seriously. i could kiss you, this is so cool.
Nicole @Little Blog on the Homestead says
Oh. My. Goodness! This is SO cool 😀 I need this in my life
Helen @ Scrummy Lane says
Dini, you are turning into quite the food chemist! I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this before – I love it and pinning!
Mary says
How fascinating. I had never heard of luster petal dust, but now I’m so tempted to buy some to play around with. That shimmer is so enchanting. Is the alcohol essential for this? (I love a good cocktail, and it’s fine if it is…) Just wondering if this would work with other liquids.
Dini says
Hi Mary, Thank you so much for that great question! 🙂
I tried mixing luster dust with a few other liquids to test it out, and I found that it works best in an alcoholic solution. When you mix it with water for example, you do get a shimmer but it’s not as pronounced or pretty as in alcohol. I also tried it with apple juice, and it’s much like water, except you need to be mindful of the colour of the petal dust you use, since the apple juice is yellow/orange. I have added another paragraph in my post to explain what I think is going on and what works best. 🙂
Bam's Kitchen says
That is sooo cool Dini! I can just imagine you wearing a white lab coat instead of a kitchen apron when you are testing your recipes. What a fun idea for the holidays!
Naina says
Oooh, how pretty!! You are seriously amazing girl! This is genius!!
Dini says
Thank you Naina!! 🙂 I still swirl the bottle to look at the shimmer at home! hahaha!!
Tamara Andersen says
This is so cool, Dini! My son bar-tended his way through college, and still loves to play at making us cocktails. I’m going to make sure he sees it!
Dini says
Thank you Tamara! I hope your son is able to create some awesome cocktails with this and I get to (hopefully ) see them too! 🙂
Jane @ littlesugarsnaps says
Dini, you officially rock. This is so much fun. And so do-able too. Thankyou
Dini says
Thank you Jane! It’s so easy right? Hope you have as much fun as I am still having with this! 😀
Caroline | carolinescooking says
How very cool to find that then recreate it yourself – perfect timing before Halloween too! Would be so impressive at a party.
Dini says
Thank you Caroline! It would be perfect for a halloween party 🙂 I’ve still got a few colours in the fridge that i’m saving up for Christmas!
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says
I am in awe of your mad scientist skills! Hehehe. This is seriously awesome, Dini! I cannot wait to try it! I love seeing what you are going to come up with next! Pinned and I’m sharing it on my Facebook page in a few minutes! Sending some other foodie love your way too!
Dini says
Thank you Michelle! 🙂 Thank you for sharing too!! I hope you get to use this for some halloween cocktails 🙂
Kaila (GF Life 24/7) says
Thanks for telling me about Luster Petal Dust! I went to go find you on Pinterest, and you have an AWESOME board of cocktails too. I’m so excited to have this as a jump start for my own homemade cocktail journey. Happy FF, and I hope you have a fantastic weekend. 😀
Dini says
Thank you Kaila! I will definitely find you and follow you on Pinterest too 🙂 Hope you had a wonderful weekend and get to have fun with this and make heaps of cocktails! 🙂
Jennifer A Stewart says
Awesome! I have some black vodka that I want to use to make a drink and this would be great! I think I have some in my cake supply box!!
Dini says
Ooh! Silver luster dust would go really well with Black Vodka! Nothing like a Black Cocktail to celebrate Halloween!! 🙂
Jehan says
This is so clever. I will definitely try this out
Thank you for ththis unique idea Dini.
Dini says
Thank you Jehan! 🙂