Homemade Amaretto

1. 1In a 2-quart jar with a tightfitting lid, soak the apricots in the bottled or purified water until they’re rehydrated and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 3 hours.
2. 2Add the remaining ingredients to the jar, cover, and shake. Place in a cool, dark place to macerate for 4 weeks, shaking once per week.
3. 3After 4 weeks, line a medium fine-mesh strainer with two 13-by-15-inch pieces of ultrafine cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. Drain the contents of the jar through the cheesecloth and into the bowl. Press on the solids, then gather the corners of the cheesecloth and squeeze the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. (Be careful not to let any solids drop into the strained liquid.) Discard the cheesecloth and solids; reserve the liquid.
4. 4Rinse and dry the strainer and place it over a second large bowl. Set a flat-bottomed paper coffee filter inside the strainer and pour the reserved liquid into the filter. (Be careful not to spill into the bowl.) Let the liquid filter undisturbed until all of it has passed through and only a sludgelike beige film is left in the filter, about 5 hours. Remove the strainer, discarding the filter. Measure the liquid in the bowl—you should have about 1 3/4 to 2 cups. (The amount of liquid will determine how much sugar syrup you’ll add later.) Return the liquid to the bowl.

To finish the liqueur:

1. 1While the macerating mixture is filtering, make the sugar syrup. Place both sugars and the bottled or purified water in a small saucepan set over medium heat, stirring until the sugars have dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
2. 2Add the vodka, almond extract, and vanilla extract to the reserved filtered liquid and stir to combine. Add about half of the sugar syrup and taste the liqueur. Depending on how much filtered liquid you have and how sweet you like your amaretto, you may want to add more or all of the syrup. Stir to combine. Transfer to a 1-quart container with a tightfitting lid or small individual containers and store in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months.