Peach Moonshine Recipe (Easy Mason Jar Infusion)
When peach season peaks and the fruit stands are stacked high, this peach moonshine recipe is the project everyone wants to try. Sweet, smooth, and glowing amber in the jar, it tastes like summer decided to stay a while.
Let us be clear about what this recipe is — and is not. There is no still, no distilling, and nothing complicated. We simply infuse a ready-made, store-bought spirit with ripe peaches, cinnamon, and peach nectar — simple infusion, the way home cooks have flavored spirits for generations.
That makes it approachable: a pot, a few mason jars, one week of patience, and you have a peach-kissed moonshine-style liqueur for slow porch evenings.
The peaches do two jobs: half melt into the syrup for deep fruit flavor, and the slices keep perfuming the spirit in the jars all week.
Adults only, of course — this is a 21+ recipe from start to finish. Gather your peaches, and let the jars do the rest.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
No still, no distilling, no fuss. Everything starts with a bottle you buy at the store, so the process is pure infusion — safe, simple, and beginner friendly.
The flavor is genuinely peachy. Six ripe peaches plus real peach nectar means the fruit leads and the spirit warms behind it, not the other way around.
It improves with time. The flavor peaks at two to four weeks, so a batch made today keeps getting better on the shelf.
It makes a wonderful gift. A labeled mason jar of golden peach moonshine, tied with twine, is a homemade present people actually get excited about.
It is endlessly sippable. Chilled straight, poured over ice, or lengthened with lemonade or sweet tea, one batch covers a whole summer of porch drinks.
Jump to RecipeIngredients
Ripe, fragrant peaches matter more than anything else on this list — if they do not smell like peaches, wait for better ones:
- 6 ripe peaches (about 2 pounds), pitted and sliced
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups peach nectar or peach juice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 bottle (750 ml) high-proof grain alcohol (151-proof), or plain vodka for a milder batch
- ½ cup water (optional, to soften the proof)
How to Make It
- Simmer the peaches: Combine the peach slices, sugar, peach nectar, and cinnamon stick in a large pot. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, until the peaches are soft and the liquid is syrupy and fragrant.
- Mash lightly: Press the peaches with a potato masher or the back of a spoon just a few times. You want to release their juice, not puree them.
- Cool completely: Take the pot off the heat and cool the mixture completely to room temperature. This matters — warm liquid makes alcohol evaporate and turns the drink cloudy.
- Stir in the flavorings: Add the vanilla extract and pour in the grain alcohol or vodka, plus the water if you are using it. Stir well to combine.
- Fill the jars: Divide the mixture, peach slices and all, among clean mason jars. Seal the lids tightly and give each jar a gentle swirl.
- Infuse: Set the jars in a cool, dark place for 1 week, shaking gently every couple of days.
- Strain: Pour through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth-lined strainer into a clean pitcher, pressing the peaches lightly for the last of the syrup.
- Bottle and chill: Transfer to clean bottles or fresh jars, seal, and refrigerate until serving.
Cooking Tips / Variations
Patience pays. One week makes a good batch, but the flavor truly peaks at two to four weeks, when the cinnamon softens and the peach turns round and mellow. If you can wait, wait.
Choose your proof honestly. The 151-proof grain alcohol version is strong and traditional; the vodka version is noticeably smoother and friendlier for sipping. Both are good — pick for your crowd.
Frozen peaches work beautifully out of season. Thaw them first and include their juices in the pot; the flavor is nearly as bright as fresh.
Label every jar with the date. Future you, standing at the fridge in three weeks, will be grateful — and will know exactly when the batch peaked.
Cloudy is okay — a soft haze from real fruit is normal and harmless. For crystal clear, strain a second time through a coffee filter, slowly.
Serving or Storage Tips
Serve it well chilled, the colder the better. Pour it over a big cube of ice in a short glass, or shake it with ice and strain into a small mason jar for that classic presentation.
For a lighter, longer drink, top a few ounces with lemonade or sweet tea and plenty of ice. It becomes an easy-sipping porch cocktail that even cautious drinkers enjoy.
If homemade drinks are your favorite kitchen project, our frosty strawberry dole whip is the summer sibling to keep on rotation, and when the weather turns cold, a mug of thick Italian hot chocolate is the cozy favorite at the other end of the year.
Store the finished moonshine sealed in the refrigerator, where it keeps for several months. The flavor keeps mellowing as it sits, so taste it every few weeks and enjoy the change.
Conclusion
Golden, fruity, and smooth, this peach moonshine is the kind of homemade project that turns one good peach season into months of good evenings.
It asks almost nothing of you — a simmer, a stir, and a week of waiting — and gives back a jar full of summer.
Make a batch while the peaches are ripe, label it with the date, and enjoy that first chilled sip knowing the next one will be even better. Cheers — and please enjoy responsibly, 21 and over only.
Peach Moonshine (Mason Jar Infusion)
Ingredients
Method
- Simmer the peaches, sugar, peach nectar, and cinnamon stick for 15 minutes until soft and syrupy; mash lightly.
- Cool the mixture completely to room temperature.
- Stir in the vanilla, the spirit, and the water if using.
- Divide into clean mason jars with the peach slices and seal tightly.
- Infuse in a cool, dark place for 1 week, shaking every couple of days.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth.
- Bottle, seal, and refrigerate.
- Serve well chilled, over ice, or topped with lemonade or sweet tea.
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