Home-Made Lithuanian Milk Liqueur: Think of It as Bathtub Bailey's

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Yeah, that's right -- milk.

​Apartment-dwelling San Franciscans with a hankering for home-bottled moonshine might be discouraged by the city's dearth of mountain men and their tucked-away open-air stills, but illicit hooch doesn't have to be cooked up in some backwoods hollow to be both potent and delicious.

Take pieninis krupnikas, a Lithuanian milk liqueur that's not only an excellent and fortifying after-dinner tipple, it's ridiculously easy to concoct in the home kitchenette. Mix together equal parts vodka, milk, and sugar in a glass or ceramic vessel, add unpeeled chopped-up oranges and lemons and a spoonful of vanilla, and stir until the sugar's dissolved. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for three weeks, stirring daily. Strain and discard the fruit. Place a funnel lined with filter paper into the neck of a bottle and ladle in the liqueur, letting it strain into the bottle undisturbed. (This will take awhile.) Cork. The result is a creamy, fruity crowd pleaser along the lines of Bailey's or Kahlúa ... not exactly white lightning but an excellent gifting notion all the same.