Easy Homemade Amaretto

Yields: About 3½–4 cups | Disaronno-style copycat

Ingredients

1 cup White Granulated Sugar
½ cup Light Brown Sugar
1 cup Filtered Water
2–3 Cassia Cinnamon Sticks (the common grocery-store kind with a little heat — not delicate Ceylon)
2 cups Vodka (cheap and clean is fine)
1 tbsp Pure Almond Extract
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2 oz Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey (optional — for extra Disaronno-like bite)

Instructions

Heat the water: Warm 1 cup water in a heavy saucepan until hot (not necessarily boiling).
Make the syrup: Stir in the white sugar and light brown sugar until dissolved. Drop in 2–3 cassia cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil, then kill the heat.
Cool & steep: Cover and let the syrup cool completely with the cinnamon still in it (at least ~1 hour; longer = more cinnamon). Fish out the sticks.
Build the liqueur: Pour the cooled syrup into a clean bottle or jar (a funnel helps). Add 2 cups vodka, 1 tablespoon almond extract, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Optional: add 2 oz Fireball if you want that spicy Disaronno tingle.
Shake: Seal and shake well until everything is fully mixed. Ready to drink; a day or two of rest smooths it further.

Source: Adapted from Jessica Savidge / Savidge Kitchen — Easy Homemade Amaretto | DISARONNO. She prefers the batch without Fireball; use Fireball only if you want a closer match to Disaronno’s spicy edge.

Notes: Start with 1 tbsp almond extract and bump later if you want it louder. Brandy, rye, or bourbon can stand in for some or all of the vodka if you want a richer base. Homemade almond extract works once it is strong enough. For the fast turbinado + clove version already on this site, see Spiced Turbinado Amaretto.