Preserving Fruit in Alcohol
A Complete Guide with Flavor Tips & Safety
Last updated July 2025
I published this simple recipe for preserving fruit in alcohol in 2010. You can see in the pics below that I have a quart jar full of raspberries and brandy, but I could have easily done this same recipe by preserving apricots in alcohol. Any summer fruit, or tropical fruit, will work splendidly.
The thing is, I STILL HAVE this raspberry brandy. Not all of it. I’ve been savoring it, sip by sip, watching the flavor profile emerge and evolve over the years. About 4 years in it tasted like cough syrup. About 8 years in, it had really mellowed out. Now, 15 years later, this fruit in liquor technique is downright delightful. Smooth, packed with fruit-forward flavor but gentle on the nose, this raspberry brandy is one of the best things I’ve had this year.
I only have a quarter cup left and I plan to savour it, maybe another few years. I will admit that the flavor profile of this preserving fruit in alcohol journey hasn’t changed much in the past 5 years, so maybe 10 years of aging is plenty. And I’ve held this fruit brandy in the same quart-sized jar for the last 15-years, but imagine if I used a sherry cask?? Delicious.
Fruit in booze
Last week I came home from eastern Washington with a small handful of Greengage plums. I love love love Greengage plums, as they have a super subtle sweetness that is smooth and almost flower-y. Because I had so few, I decided to preserve them in spirits. Covering them with brandy, I immediately knew that come December, I would strain the plums out and use them in a boozy upside down gingerbread cake. Ah, the life of a foodie - I'm not thinking about my next meal, but I am already thinking about a dessert I'll make in the middle of winter!
How to Preserve Fruit in Alcohol
Preserving fruit in alcohol is quite easy and produces two delicious outcomes - boozy fruit & infused spirits. Quite simply, I fill a clean glass jar with fruit, submerge completely in alcohol, add a few spoons of sugar, cover & shake. The recipe is truly that easy, which makes this preservation method a nice low bar of entry for anyone experimenting with preservation for the first time. The high alcohol content acts as a preservative, thereby minimizing spoilage. The amount of sugar depends on the fruit and your personal taste preference. I tend to stay on the less sweet side of things, but most stone fruits will taste better with a bit more sugar.
Shake your jars gently every couple of days. I keep my steeping fruits in a dark cupboard and shake them whenever I see them and that has always worked well. After 3 to 4 weeks, I move the jar to the fridge, where the low temperature will further retard deterioration and where they will keep for one million years. (Ok, just kidding. But they will keep for a very long time.) The longer the fruit sits, the further they will break down, so try and use the fruit within three months time.
Greengage Plums in Brandy
2 handfuls small plums 1 cup brandy 2 tablespoons sugar
Add all ingredients to a clean glass jar.Add more brandy to the jar, if necessary, to fully submerge the plums. Cover with lid and shake gently until sugar dissolves. Store in a dark cupboard for 3 to 4 weeks, shaking occasionally. After four weeks, move to refrigerator and use within three months.
An excerpt from the NYT, “Spiking Summer Fruit in Order to Preserve It,” from author & columnist Melissa Clark:
"For Amy Pennington, a professional gardener in Seattle and the author of “The Urban Pantry” (Skipstone, 2010), using booze to preserve fruit is just one more “branch in the preservation tree.
“There’s drying, salting, canning and using alcohol, which kills bacteria, meaning you don’t need to futz around with creating an anaerobic environment,” she said, adding that preserving with alcohol is the “lowest rung of entry for beginning canning enthusiasts” because it’s hard to mess up.
She’s used the technique to preserve raspberries in vodka, which she plans to churn into sorbet, and greengage plums in brandy, to bake into an upside-down gingerbread cake as soon as they are ready — in, oh, about three months."
USING Alcohol fruit
FRUIT preserved in alcohol makes a marvelous dessert topping, spooned over ice cream, poundcake, panna cotta or ricotta, and it has other uses:
BOOZY FRUIT TART Line a tart pan with sweet tart dough and fill with frangipane. Top with pieces of fruit and bake until golden.
CAKE GLAZE Mix the liqueur with enough confectioners’ sugar to make it thick and creamy, but still runny enough to pour, then spoon it over simple cakes.
COBBLERS, CRISPS AND PIES Add pieces of boozy fruit to fresh fruit.
DRUNKEN FOOL Purée the fruit and gently fold into whipped cream, to taste. Chill before serving.
FRUITY APERITIF Put a piece of fruit and a little of its liqueur in the bottom of a flute and top with sparkling wine.
ROASTS Warm brandied plums or Concord grapes and serve with roasted pork, chicken, duck, quail or venison.
UPSIDE-DOWN TIPPLE CAKE Sprinkle a well-buttered cake pan with brown sugar, then layer with slices of drained fruit. Cover with your favorite butter cake batter and bake until done. Serve with cream whipped with a little of the fruit liqueur.
FAQs on Preserving Fruits in Alcohol
How long should fruit macerate?
You want to wait at least 3 months, but maybe even longer. If you’re putting up fruit in summer, they’ll be ready to go for winter holidays.
Can I reuse the fruit after soaking?
It’s good to note that soft fruit doesn’t take as long as harder fruit. Think raspberries vs cherries. The longer you leave the fruit in, the less likely you’ll be able to strain off soft fruit and reuse in recipes. Why? Because the texture goes soggy and they loose all semblance of fruitiness, having released all of that goodness into the alcohol. After straining out fruit and using in another recipe (like as cake or ice cream topping), give it a taste. Like it? Use it. Hate it? Compost.
What alcohol proof is safe?
To safely preserve fruit in alcohol, the alcohol content should generally be at least 40% ABV (80 proof).
This is the commonly accepted minimum to:
Prevent spoilage
Inhibit mold and bacterial growth
Avoid botulism risk
Best practices:
40–50% ABV (80–100 proof) spirits like vodka, brandy, rum, or whiskey are ideal.
Go higher (50–60% ABV) for high-moisture or low-acid fruits, or if you’re diluting with juices or syrups.
Never use alcohol under 35% ABV (70 proof) unless you refrigerate and consume quickly—spoilage risk increases sharply below this level.
Key safety factors:
Alcohol must fully cover the fruit in the jar.
Use clean, glass jars or containers.
Store in a cool, dark place, out of direct sunlight.