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.”
Mazzy says
Correction: Even though they may say they are for decorating cakes, they may not be edible . Some are truly for enhancement of the design of the cake, for decoration purposes, and are not meant for ingestion. Be Careful!!!
Dini says
Hi Mazzy! Thank you for noting that! 🙂 I have mentioned in the post that it is important to find food grade edible luster dust. And since you ONLY should use no more than 1/4 tsp for 1 1/2 cups of liqueur, which will be diluted in other drinks before being enjoyed (Plus we won’t be consuming the whole bottle in one go either). Thankfully for these reasons, you will be ingesting only a small amount of the luster dust, just as you would if you enjoyed consuming a luster dust decorated gum paste or fondant decoration on a cake!
I hope that helps!
Laurie Brown says
So, since the effect changes with the viscosity of the liquid, I’m assuming that the way I make my drinks- vodka, club soda, and lime or lemon juice or some other lo-cal flavor (I’m diabetic) and no sweetener – wouldn’t work worth a damn. Drat. I did so want to have shimmery drinks! Also, I assume for the photos you put some dry ice in the drinks?
I am now going to be following you!
Dini says
Hi Laurie!
It won’t have quite the same effect, but it will still be very glittery in the sun! It will still have shimmery swirls every time you stir the drink too, but it will also settle to the bottom much faster. And yes, I did add dry ice – only because it helped create the swirls while I was free to take photos! 🙂 It’s not an important ingredient in any way though – just for the added effects.
Thank you so much!! I am very happy that you’ll be following me! 😀 Hope you love the recipes that are to come in the future! <3
Eliza says
Have you tried a color of luster dust like blue pearl or natural pearl from the Chef Alan collection? I’m curious how it behaves with colored liquors.
Dini says
Hi Eliza!
I haven’t tried the pearl dust collection from Chef Alan unfortunately! I did look it up, and it looks quite similar to what I am using right now. The current white pearl dust I use is from Sunflower sugarcraft, and I love it!
As a general rule of thumb, I only use a similar color of luster dust for a colored liqueur, OR the white luster dust. Combining different luster dust colors with colored liqueurs should be ok, but just like mixing paint colors, the result is a mixed color liqueur. I hope that helps!
Dini
Nicholas Wheaton says
have you tried mixing different pearl dusts with different colored drinks? ive got some pink vodka i want to mix some yellow pearl dust into but im not sure how it will turn out
Dini says
Hi Nicholas!
I do often mix pearl luster dust together to get different colors, and I’m fairly certain that if you add yellow pearl dust to pink vodka, it will result in an orange-ish colored vodka 🙂 If you mix too many colors together, they will end up a murky brown color though.
I hope that helps!
Laura says
This is awesome! Thanks! I just wanted to mention something about color mixing – if you mix complimentary colors, the result will always be some drab shade of blah.
Compliments:
Purple + yellow
Blue + orange
Red + green
Otherwise, I would think mixing other combos would work ok (like blue and green or green and yellow…). Can’t wait to experiment with this!
Joris De Langhe says
I’m not expecting a quick reply but it would be great, I bought myself some royal purple petal dust to try this out. now the package said that its non-edible. although it also said that it’s non-toxic. is it safe to use?
Thanks in advance 🙂
Dini says
Hi Joris!
Sorry for the late reply… You do have to look for food grade, edible lustre petal dust unfortunately. Non toxic means that it’s safe for decorative purposes, but it’s not food grade. Kind of like play dough – it is non toxic and it’s ok if you accidentally eat it, but you don’t really want to…
I hope that helps!
chanel towns says
They have edible dust at the arts and crafts store in cake decorating section
Jason says
Hey!
Thanks for this. Can I ask if I can create a similar glittery effect to drinks such as sodas and cold brew coffee?
Thanks much for your info!
Dini says
Hi Jason,
I’m sorry for the late reply!
That’s a great question and I have been working on creating this effect with non-alcoholic drinks, but it is harder with sodas (because of the carbonation). The liquid needs to be thick with high viscosity for the luster dust to suspend and create this swirling shimmery effect. Currently I am trying this with different thickening agents with mixed results. With cold brew coffee – maybe a gold MIGHT work, but it would be a really dark color. The carbonation in sodas do make it more challenging too. I will let you know as soon as I come up with a solution! 🙂
Jason Lee says
Hi Dini,
Thanks for getting back! I really enjoy your posts.
Anyway, I’ve tested it using cold pressed juices that I’ve made with my own slow juicer at home. However, I was recommended by a pastry shop owner (who sells luster dust and disco dust) that disco dust might work better because luster dust is more for beverages with alcoholic content only.
So I bought the CK luster dust (hologram silver) and poured a bit (4 spatulas) into a 250ml bottle. The results? Not as what I could expected. It’s just that when you shake it, you can see silver specks in the bottle. Well, looks decent but it’s not that great. Still got see it glitter a little though.
Dini says
Hi Jason! Thank you so much 🙂 I’m really glad that you enjoy my posts!
I honestly wouldn’t have recommended disco dust because it’s too heavy for any kind of liquid and will sink faster. I’ve tried it and it doesn’t have the same effect. It’s because the luster dust is so fine and light, that it works to “shimmer”.
This whole process works because of the thickness and viscosity of a liquid. I’ve explained the science behind it in this post – https://www.theflavorbender.com/2015/10/how-to-make-shimmery-liqueur.html
Viscosity makes it shimmer more, and the density suspends the dust. It also helps to have a translucent liquid (colored or clear). The more cloudy the liquid, the less the shine will show.
I have tested it out on clear liquids (colored and flavored drinks), and the one thing that helped was xanthan gum. It thickens the liquid enough to suspend the luster dust. It’s not as shimmery as with alcohol, but it still shimmers! 🙂
The post will be on the blog in a few weeks… I will let you know when it is on the blog!
I hope that helps!
Jason says
Hi Dini,
Thanks for this information. It’s really helpful.
Just to clarify: Xanthan gum, as you mentioned, is one of the “ingredients” / “substance” contained in lustre dust?
Cheers
Jason
Dini says
No problem Jason!
Xanthan gum is a thickening and binding agent. It needs to be bought (and mixed in) separately. You can usually find it in health stores or online OR the gluten free section in the supermarket, depending on where you live. I’ve used it in drinks before to create a thick suspension – https://www.theflavorbender.com/2015/08/lychee-cocktail-with-raspberry-caviar.html
I’ll be going through the process step by step within a few weeks 🙂
-Dini
Melanie says
I’m so excited to try this! This may be a silly question but what is a simple syrup? Not sure what to buy! Thanks!
Dini says
Hi Melanie!
Simple syrup is Sugar and water mixed in a 2:1 ratio and heated until the sugar has dissolved and is slightly syruppy 🙂 You don’t have to buy it at all, and it’s really simple to make at home! I’ve JUST added a post to make Flavor infused shimmery liqueur now too (with a video). you can check it out now too Melanie!
Thank you for visiting my blog 🙂
Cheryl says
Hawaiian ice flavors might work nice then?
Dini says
Hi Cheryl!
It should work… I would suggest adding the hawaiian ice flavor syrups bit by bit to the vodka, to make sure you add enough to be sweet, but not too much that the petal dust won’t swirl with a sheen in the vodka! Hope that helps 🙂
Jen says
I’m loving this idea and ready to try it for a RuPaul Drag Race viewing party next week (when gathering girlfriends to watch the drag queen Olympics, one must make swirly sparkly cocktails). Question: is the simple syrup required for the viscosity of the drink or is it simply for taste? We’re kind of a low-sugar, high-vodka kind of moms group and I would like flavored vodkas would already be sweet enough. Thank you so much for your advice re: simple syrup!
Jen says
*edit* should read “I would THINK flavored vodkas would be sweet enough.”
Dini says
Hi Jen!
I am absolutely LOVING your viewing party idea!
The simple syrup is definitely not required, it’s simply for the taste. I keep infused vodka without syrup in my cupboard which I often use for cocktails. However, I do recommend that you use a good quality vodka so that it’ll taste great straight up as well (I use a vodka that I know I like to drink). Alternatively, you can have some syrup on hand just in case you need a little sweetness.
Also, can I crash your party? Seriously! 😀
Cheers,
Dini
Jen says
Thank you and you’re welcome to join us in Seattle Thursday night!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!
This is beyond cool!!!!! I am getting online now to find me some luster petal dust!!!!
I have to make this!!!
nikki from Tikkido says
Oh my goodness, absolutely brilliant! I can’t wait to make some myself.
Andria says
You are absolutely BRILLIANT!!! I can’t wait to try this out! I will let you know!!! Thanks a million! <3
Andria says
Hi,
I was unable to find the Luster petal dust. I could, however, find Wilton Pearl Dust, in Gold. Do you think it would have a similar effect?
Dini says
Hi Andria!
The Wilton pearl dust should work well too! The finer the dust, with a shimmer, the better it will suspend in the alcohol 🙂
Would love to know how it turns out!
Marla Meridith says
Sooooo smart!!!
CJ Huang says
I need to go make some shimmer drinks! Never would have thought to add petal dust. 🙂
Food Daydreaming says
Wow, nicely done recreating a shimmery , looks awesome! Thanks for sharing with FF#90 🙂