Homemade Sweet Thyme Liqueur (Rix) Recipe

From correspondent David Rix:

• 1 large handful chopped and rubbed thyme
  or 3-5 tablespoons dried thyme
• 1 L gin
• 3-4 heaped tablespoons sugar

This uses the old familiar cooking herb - preferably fresh, but dried will do nicely. Although it is usually encountered as a savoury herb I found that thyme worked surprisingly well sweet. I used Gin as a base and the result was effective. Vodka would probably also work well. One good large handful of roughly chopped and rubbed Thyme (or 3-5 tablespoons of dried thyme) is added to a standard litre bottle along with perhaps 3 or four heaped tablespoons of sugar. I used plain sugar rather than sugar syrup in this case because I like the stronger flavour that makes. If you prefer them milder then use 1/2 - 3/4 cup of sugar syrup. Leave for 2 weeks to a month before straining out the thyme, then age until ... well ... perhaps 2-3 months.