Making Grand Marnier Domestique

Here’s another “making of” recipe from one of our hands-on weekend classes (did you see the Making Fire Cider post?) There is a magic that happens when you make your own medicine. Not only do you feel a sense of empowerment, but you feel a deeper relationship to the medicine itself. That medicine, in turn, seems to have a deeper impact on the body.

Each type of herbal medicine is unique and beautiful, but none so unique or as reverent as the suspension extraction used for Grand Marnier Domestique. A fragrant orange is suspended above a pool of golden caramel brandy in an airtight container. The brandy sighs into the air surrounding the orange, condensing over its flesh and enticing the life force of the fruit out to its surface. Daily, we interact with this gentle process by ever so slowly turning the container just to have the air inside softly dance around the fruit. Over two weeks, one hard and slowly earned drop after another falls into the waiting pool below. The end product is not only a delicious beverage but a bit of magic. It’s almost a romance between the menstruum and the marc observed by the maker.

“My favorite way to enjoy Grand Marnier Domestique is steamed warm and sipped slowly. I also love to incorporate this into whipped cream for dessert toppings on tarts or cakes.”
Martin

Grand Marnier Domestique Recipe

16oz high quality brandy

1 very fragrant organic orange

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 wide mouth 1/2 gallon clear glass jar with a permeable lid

organic twine

4 wooden toothpicks

plastic wrap

rubber band

1. Pour the brandy into the jar.

2. Pour the sugar into a small pile in the center of the brandy. Do not stir or dissolve.

3. Run two strings of twine, each about 6 inches long, through four holes in the lid of the jar.

4. Tie a toothpick to the end of each string and pierce the orange on four sides.

5. Gently lower the orange into the jar and fasten the lid. The orange should be suspended 1-2 inches above the brandy.

6. Cover the top of the lid with plastic wrap and secure in place with a rubber band.

7. Place somewhere it will be completely undisturbed for two weeks.

8. Once a day, turn the jar one full rotation, being gentle so as not to lift it or jostle the contents. Take a moment to contemplate the magic being created while performing this daily ritual.

9. After two weeks, remove the orange and store the Grand Marnier Domestique in an air-tight bottle.

Modifications to this recipe can be made by using less brandy and/or more sugar. You might alter the flavor by attaching coffee beans, cloves, or vanilla pods to the orange. You can diversify the flavor by choosing a different citrus, like mandarin or blood orange.