Update: It turned out great! But, after some tasting & testing I went with 1:1 banana syrup/banana rum. And I clarified the combined mixture of syrup and infused rum rather than just the syrup. It was faster and gave me a clearer product. And just for fun I also made a small batch with a couple pods of grated Tonka beans instead of vanilla. Thanks for this recipe. It yields a beautiful product!
Thanks for the update! Glad it worked out for you! A few people suggested also using the banana peels to make an Oleo Sacchrum so add some additional banana flavour. It definitely needs more experimenting! I’ll be making a part 2 eventually! Cheers! 🥃🍌
Delicious recipe Rob! So clever to clarify banana syrup for keeping the clarity of the liqueur. Banana Oleo Saccharum from the banana peels would be an interesting addition too. Cheers!
How did I miss this video?? So cool. You got really nice clarity from using fresh bananas! This is a must try for me. I’m just about finished with my banana scotch
Ooh banana scotch! Sounds awesome! …yea I’m really happy with the clarity! (Still some sediment that needs to be filtered out but it’s acceptable now). That was due to clarifying the syrup, that process took almost 24 hours!! But totally worth it!
@@RobsHomeBar Bananas are tough to clarify unless you have a centrifuge lying around lol. It looks really great and I’m sure far superior to that fake banana crap
@@RobsHomeBar you can just treat it with the Pectin ex, keisosol, and chitosan. Add each solution in 2mm increments wait 15 mins for everything to drop and filter off everything this is of course before I add the sugar syrup which is also clarified.Should be relatively clear. I used this method for Rhubard, strawberry, coconut and pandan, and now Fassionola.
It does take some tweaking.. I’m due to make a part 2 video! …but essentially infuse rum with banana (fresh is better) then make a banana syrup and then combine the two with your preferred ratio!
@@RobsHomeBarI typically work with the understanding that 1L of 1:1 syrup is 550g of both sugar and liquid, which helps figure out what’s relatively in my fruit syrup by both weight and volume after maceration. If liquid is missing, I try to find something complimentary to add (clove, bay, chamomile maybe?) Grassy Rhum Agricole would also be neat instead of Jamaican. I’m just rambling at this point.
Great video! Definietly gonna try this. But I have a question: if you use ripe bananas (not chips), do you knead them before putting in the jar or just slice them? Cheers!
Great video, Rob! I'm trying to do a banana-flavored drink, so this gave me some good ideas. I love W&N- great banana funk! The syrup recipe is particularly good. I think that the gentle heat will really help draw more flavor out.
Thanks! This summer I may do a part 2 video… I got a lot of great tips to improve the liqueur, definitely wanna use fresh bananas for the infusion, and use an oleo sacchrum to add additional banana flavor!
Oh boy, I needed this video right now. Just started doing my own liqueurs and gins. Question though, I live in Quebec and I can't seem to find overproof rum (other than far away), what would you recommend I use ? Neutral grain alcohol (70%) is available though. Thanks !
you could use neutral grain.. doesnt necessarily have to be overproof but it is nice. I have purchased Plantation OFTD rum from SAQ in the past and it's 69% rum... maybe look up the SAQ website see if its available near you!
Hi Rob, thanks the recipe and nice video. I made the recipe, with the only change that I did an oleo saccharum and did a 50:50 mix with the banana syrup. I gotta say that I'm a bit disappointed in the result, it tastes good, but not much like banana because I find the Jamaican rum is overpowering. I'll experiment with other light rums in the future. Thanks again for the video, it was definitely helpful to get me started in my liqueur making journey!
Thansk, I’m definitely going to revisit this one.. could try a more neutral rum or even vodka if you want the banana to pop more… what was your syrup to rum ratio?? …was that 1 to 1.. because I have since found that this liqueur requires a lot of syrup for that flavor to come through!
@@RobsHomeBar I did 1 to 1, then upped it a little with what syrup I had left, so about 1.25 syrup to 1 rum, which gave me an ABV of about 25%. I initially did not want to go much lower than that for preservation, but I'd prefer to have something tasty rather than something I have to throw out! I'm currently doing more oleo saccharum (I find that the taste is stronger than the banana syrup) and I will try to balance the flavor more. I'll update once I'm finished. Cheers!
Easily over a year! …I’m due to make a new batch but my bottle is over 2 years old! Definitely some flavor degradation after that long but no mold! And I never refrigerated
I double strained everything at every step… takes more time but gives you a clearer end product. There’s still sediment in the banana liqueur but far less and 5 months later, still no browning! The liqueur is still nice and yellow ish
Been keeping my bottle at room temp, it's been 4 months now and still good! Some sediment separates from time to time but a good shake reimulsifies everything. No mold or funky smells yet
@@RobsHomeBar Thank-you.. Appreciate the response. My gf is little fed up with the 9 jars of syrups and liqueurs I have taking up room in the fridge right now. Been doing some research and your recipe seems the most thorough. Cheers!
@@danjackson5989 thank you! That’s nice to hear. I know the feeling with taking over the fridge! Haha… I have made about 15 homemade liqueurs now… so far, the only one that NEEDS refrigeration is the Advocaat since it’s basically just alcoholic custard…. Which reminds me, it’s almost time to make more for the holidays! Cheers!
I’ve had my bottle for about 3 months now and I don’t keep it refrigerated. So far so good! It’s my first attempt so I’m not entirely sure but with the amount of filtering we did, it should be good for at least 6 months
Doing the math of Rob's recipe and at 3:1 ratio. This would give around 45-50 % ABV. Even at 1:1 ratio. This would be around 30% ABV. Both are self-stable. Keep in a dark location and transfer to a smaller bottle as you consume it (Air space will oxidize it over time ). Or put it in small bottles if you do not use often.
The rum is used is 63% (I misspoke in the video)… so the infused rum is high proof but then you add the syrup which will dilute the liqueur… I have since remade this I prefer a ratio of 1.5 parts rum to 1 part syrup, that would bring the alcohol level of the final liqueur to somewhere around 30-35%
@@RobsHomeBar Just from curiousity, to start with in milliters - how much rum is it used and how many are left after the banana are strained from it? Since i have one dark CPT morgan from 6 months and i wanna use it since its full bottle still but dont wanna go crazy just try with a certain amount not the whole bottle maybe 0.5-6L i guess.
I think you said banana extract in your video but the recipe in description says vanilla extract. Can either be used or should one be used over the other?
@@RobsHomeBar THANKS… I found them on Amazon but wasn’t sure if that’s what you used. Those labels are almost as cool as your content. Hope you keep those videos on here forever and never get bored with creating.
@@RobsHomeBar no added sugar. If you mix the schnapps type flavors with cream milk or almond milk. It shouldn't be too sweet. But, of homemade butterscotch and banana. You can try the banana and caramel/butterscotch you made together. Let me know if you try. OMG I can imagine this is past the delicious scale
@@RobsHomeBar because I wanted to make banana milkshakes. And I want it real banana flavor to come through. Not that artificial flavor a banana. Thank you.
Been working on this recipe a bunch and I've found that aging the rum and banana syrup together for 4 weeks then tasting and adding more simple syrup, water, and citric acid (~1/4 tsp) made this incredibly smooth and banana forward. Thanks for the great recipe Rob!
This looks great. Next time you might try also using the peels, if you cover the banana peels in sugar you will get even more banana flavored liquid for the syrup. :)
This was one of the COOLEST videos I have seen in a while, Rob! Say, I haven't even decided what I will use this for, but if I make a video of it for my channel, may I have your permission to use a clip of this video, please? I absolutely promise to fully credit you if I do. Cheers! =)
@@RobsHomeBar Ohhhh, I will be picking over your material, Rob! I am pretty creative, so I will probably work one of your liqueurs into some dish I make in the future. I will definitely let you know when I do. And of course, THANK YOU for granting your permission! Cheers! =)
@@RobsHomeBar Much appreciated!! (But mine is a comedy channel -- with a bunch of food in it -- so I understand if it's not to your taste. Humour is deeply subjective, after all...)
My hopes with dried banana was to have a longer shelf life… but alas, the flavour was lacking. While both methods work, I definitely recommend fresh banana
@@RobsHomeBar thanks! I’m Right in the middle of a very similar recipe. Using a mix of fresh and freeze dried bananas. Only had 80 proof vodka available unfortunately. Going to do the banana with peel suggestion for the syrup. Doing 50/50 with a 1:1 syrup so should be 20% ABV. I’m wondering if a small amount of artificial banana flavoring might kick it up. Been reading about article banana is actually more similar to the taste of bananas from 70 years ago.
For sure, but I would go overproof if you can… I’ve made another batch since and highly recommend a higher ratio of rum to syrup… 2:1 or even 1:1 … so keeping your rum high proof is a good idea!
@Alex Moisley yes! while 3:1 was good, more banana syrup makes a tastier end product, which is why using a high proof rum is a good idea! Make your infusion and your syrup and then start blending at 3:1 and then incrementally add more syrup until you're happy with the product
@@RobsHomeBar Nice! I saw a few recommendations about replacing the banana syrup with banana oleo (made with skins). Did you ever try that as a comparison?
@@alexmoisley4997 I did, what I did was put the banana peels in a ziplock bag with some sugar and let it sit on the counter for a while, the sugar will extract alot of oil/juice from the peel and it's very flavorful. I simply add that to my syrup when making it