Homemade Vanilla Pear Liqueur Recipe
Warm your body up this winter with a delicious infused vanilla pear liqueur recipe! It takes a bit of time to extract the flavors, but it’s so worth the effort. You just need 5 ingredients, a couple of jars, and a little patience to enjoy a luxurious vanilla pear liqueur all winter long.
It’s pear season! This is the best time of year. We love buying cases of pears and fresh apples as soon as the weather changes. They’re amazing for fresh eating, but they’re also the secret to the best homemade pear butter, pear jelly, pear crisp, dehydrated pear slices, and more.
For this pear liqueur, choose 1-2 of the most perfect pears to infuse their flavors into a sweetened mixture of vodka, white sugar, and whole vanilla bean. Any variety will do, from heritage pear varieties to everyday Bartletts and even succulent Asian pears! Every variety will taste slightly different, which is part of the fun!
It’s such a lovely beverage to warm you up during the winter, and it makes a wonderful, thoughtful gift.
What is Pear Liqueur?
Homemade pear liqueur is like an infused vodka but to the next level. It’s made by soaking fresh pears in high proof vodka with a little sugar and a couple of vanilla beans. As this mixture sets, the alcohol absorbs the flavors and oils from the pear and vanilla beans. It’s sweet from the sugar with a delicious pear flavor and a floral note of vanilla.
It’s absolutely delicious over ice on a cold winter night, but you can easily serve it in cocktails at a party as well!
What you’ll love about this vanilla pear liqueur recipe:
Equipment
The great thing about this recipe is that it’s really simple. You don’t need a lot of ingredients or supplies! You will need a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid. Make sure it can take a lot of shaking. You’ll be shaking this jar every day for a while.
- Two quart-sized mason jars
- Cutting board and knife
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Funnel
Ingredients
- Vodka: Start with a high-quality 100-proof vodka. I recommend looking for one with a quality you’d want to sip!
- Fresh pears: You’ll just need one ripe pear. Mine was slightly underripe and still made an absolutely delicious liqueur.
- Vanilla beans: You’ll need 1-2 vanilla beans. I like these organic vanilla beans from Cook and have them on hand at all times.
- Sugar: Use regular white sugar. We usually use organic cane sugar.
- Cinnamon stick: This is optional, but it adds a lovely, warm flavor to this spiced pear liqueur recipe. It also adds a rich color like this homemade cinnamon extract.
How to Make Pear Liqueur
- Rinse and dry the pear. Slice pear into pieces and add them into the jar.
- Top it off with the sugar, vodka, cinnamon stick, and vanilla beans.
- Seal the jar and shake really well.
- Store at room temperature for approximately 1 week, shaking every day. (I used my kitchen window.)
- Then, move the jar to a cool dark place like the pantry. Continue shaking daily for 2-3 weeks.
- When the liqueur is ready, get a fresh, clean container and strain out the pear and vanilla beans using a funnel and a fine-mesh sieve.
- Transfer liqueur to decorative bottles or a clean glass jar. Label the jars and enjoy!
Storing Suggestions
Store your pear liqueur in a clean mason jar or bottle in a cool, dark place. It will last for approximately a year but is best consumed within 6 months. Because this liqueur tastes so lovely chilled, I often like to keep it in the fridge.
How to Use Pear Liqueur
This homemade vanilla pear liqueur tastes best chilled or poured over ice. It can be enjoyed with a splash of water as a strong, warming beverage or add use it to replace vodka in your favorite cocktails for more pear flavors! It makes a mean Pear Martini or Old Fashioned.
Tips & Variations
- Spiced pear liqueur: Instead of the vanilla beans, add an extra cinnamon stick, 1-2 star anise, and 5 whole cloves. Replace the sugar with brown sugar and you’ll get a rich, spiced pear liqueur that’s absolutely delicious in your fall cocktails.
- Add citrus zest: For a refreshing citrus note, add an orange peel, lemon zest, etc.
- Try different types of pears: I used one Red Bartlett pear, but you can use any type of pear, like asian pears, anjou pears, and more.
- Change the alcohol: You can easily use brandy, rum, or other alcohols for this recipe. I chose vodka because I wanted the flavor of vanilla to stand out and it’s already so delicate. Just make sure you choose an alcohol that is 100-proof.
FAQs
You can really use any type of pear for this recipe, but they are all slightly different. I recommend choosing a fully ripe pear with a strong flavor. You can even use fresh ripe Asian pears! Although this recipe calls for 1 pear, feel free to add 2 instead for a stronger pear flavor.
Although I love making simple syrups, and I’ve tried them with other homemade liqueurs in the past, I find the process to be unnecessary. Granulated sugar, like caster sugar or even brown sugar, will dissolve in alcohol. I haven’t had any issues with the liqueurs becoming cloudy or anything.
The main benefit of making a simple syrup is that you’re diluting the liqueur to reduce the alcohol. Without adding water, your liqueur will still be close to 100-proof with 50% alcohol. That’s really high! Most liqueurs are around 30% alcohol or lower. An easy fix is to think of your liqueur as a concentrate. When you serve it, add the same amount of water for a 25% alcohol drink.
I read a bunch about this before I tested it out. Some people called for infusing the pears without the sugar for a while, and others added them at the beginning.
Since sugar dissolves in vodka and wouldn’t necessarily hurt the liqueur, I decided to add it at the beginning. The end result was absolutely delicious!
The only con of adding the sugar early is that it will make the lid a little sticky, so sometimes it takes a little effort to open it. Otherwise, it was completely fine. Feel free to add the sugar at any point in the process.
Almost. If you want to make a homemade pear vodka, you’d basically follow this exact recipe but skip the sugar. That’s it! Storebought versions may be slightly different, but when you see liqueur, think “sweet.”
Pear brandy is made by distilling alcohol out of pear juice. It’s an entirely different process from making pear liqueur, in which pears undergo an infusion process with vanilla beans, sugar, and vodka. Both have a strong pear flavor, but one is made entirely from pear, and the other is made by infusing pears in vodka.
Related Recipes
I’m a big fan of fruit liqueurs and other homemade infusions! For more homemade liqueurs, check out these recipes.
- Lavender Liqueur
- Spiced Apple Liqueur
- Vanilla Liqueur (coming soon!)
- Blackberry Infused Vodka
Vanilla Pear Liqueur Recipe
Equipment
- 2 quart mason jar
- 1 Chef's knife
- 1 funnel
Ingredients
- 2 cups unflavored vodka, or Everclear; high proof
- 1-2 pears, diced
- 1/2 cup white sugar, up to 1 cup
- 1-2 vanilla beans, sliced in half
- 1 cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a jar. Close and shake well.
- Store the jar in a cool, dry place. Shake daily for at least one week.
- Allow the mixture to steep for an additional week or until it has a strong pear flavor.
- Strain out the pears and vanilla and add the mixture to a fresh jar.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Spiced pear liqueur: Instead of the vanilla beans, add an extra cinnamon stick, 1-2 star anise, and 5 whole cloves. Replace the sugar with brown sugar and you’ll get a rich, spiced pear liqueur that’s absolutely delicious in your fall cocktails.
- Add citrus zest: For a refreshing citrus note, add an orange peel, lemon zest, etc.
- Try different types of pears: I used one Red Bartlett pear, but you can use any type of pear, like asian pears, anjou pears, and more.
- Change the alcohol: You can easily use brandy, rum, or other alcohols for this recipe. I chose vodka because I wanted the flavor of vanilla to stand out and it’s already so delicate. Just make sure you choose an alcohol that is 100-proof.
