Infusing Alcohol

[plunk]

I recently halved some cherries and threw them in with some Makers Mark for a few days. The resulting bourbon had a nice subtle cherry flavor to it and a wonderful red tint, but I felt like the cherries soaked up too much of the booze, leaving me with only enough to make one (large) cocktail (I probably started with about 3 or 4 ounces of booze).

Just wondering if anybody had any ideas on how to do this properly. Is it just a matter of putting some fruit - or whatever else - in with the booze? How long should it be left before drinking? Any other tricks or suggestions? Any combinations that you particularly like?

[Sthitch]

Webtender.com has some great forums (the format sucks, but the content is very good), and there are many posts about infusing. In a nut shell, you need to use less fruit for a little longer time, but not too long. If the fruit stays too long it may start to ferment.

[mdt]

Webtender.com has some great forums (the format sucks, but the content is very good), and there are many posts about infusing. In a nut shell, you need to use less fruit for a little longer time, but not too long. If the fruit stays too long it may start to ferment.

Would they really ferment? Seems that the alcohol content of most liquors would be way too high for any yeasties to be living happily.

[Sthitch]

Would they really ferment? Seems that the alcohol content of most liquors would be way too high for any yeasties to be living happily.

I left pineapple in vodka for three weeks (more than two weeks too long) and it was vile stuff. Maybe rotting should be a better descriptor for what happens to the fruit, but it had let go of all of its goodness after about 5 days. I figured that the vodka would be a safe place to store the fruit, it wasn’t, after this happened I researched it a bit, and others described the same issue when using raw fruits (most referred to it as fermenting).

[hillvalley]

I brought some blackberry infused vodka to the spring picnic last year that was at least 10 months old. There were no complaints and shogun didn't drop dead from drinking it so it must have been fine. I keep it in the back of a closet and have never had any probelms. Right now I have a bottle of vanilla black raspberry infusing that is only a month or so old.

hillvalley

queen of the girly vodka drinks

[Poivrot Farci]

Consider using dried fruit for your schnapps.

I have had bottles and infusion jars filled with booze and dried fruits & spices...etc... in my closets for months now. They have taken the colors and flavor of coffee beans or cinammon or dried peaches and rosemary, but no rot and are quite clean. The dried fruit mixes are practically clear and the fruit itself is the perfect analgesic for DT's. Combin equal parts simple syrup/hooch and you will have a nice sex drug liqueur for your prom/holiday date.

Fresh pineapples are on the extreme edges of the fruit spectrum due to their uniquely powerful deteriorating bromelain enzymes. They will ruin virtually anything you put them in contact with.

[shogun]

Only started with three or four OUNCES? That IS only enough for one large cocktail!

I did cherry vodka and bourbon over the summer and didn't observe much absorption, but then I wasn't really looking. I started with a 375 of Beam for one, replenished with the last couple ouces of my Maker's when it ran low, and about the same of Smirnoff for the other, with about half a pint of cherries in each, and half a split vanilla bean, and let them sit in the fridge for about a week. I don't think the cherries fermented, but they WERE little spheres of death if you ventured to eat one.

Egullet has a good thread on infusing. A google search on "infused vodka site:egullet.org" +I'm feeling lucky renders this, which is technically accurate but a little...advanced...for basically everybody at this point.

THIS is what you want!

But yes, it IS pretty much just a matter of putting flavorful stuff (*eyes Andrew Fenton warily*) in booze of some description and letting it sit for 'a while'. How long depends on the strength of the ingrediants you are using. I seem to remember on the eGullet thread that things like chile and lemongrass only require a couple hours. I did both last week and they required about 2.5 days. But that's much shorter than the week or so for the cherry bourbon, or the three months specified by a recipe for orange brandy I have somewhere. Technically, the cherry bourbon and vodka infused for probably two weeks or a bit more, because I left the cherries in, because I felt that the extra infusing time wouldn't hurt. Contrast with chile and lemongrass that must be strained when it reaches a desired level or it will just keep going and get very unpleasently strong (my first sad attempts are chronicled in the eGullet thread).

[zoramargolis]

My sense is that there are two different goals being discussed here: fruit-flavored liquor vs. liquor infused fruit.

The latter, rumtopf-type preparation involves layering primarily stone fruits--cherries, apricots, plums work best-- in jars of bourbon, brandy or rum and allowing the fruit to steep for weeks or months. Then you ladle the fruit over cake or pudding or ice cream. The rumtopf is usually kept going, by adding more fruits to the same jar and more booze to replenish what has been absorbed or evaporated (or nipped by the cook).

The former involves using various fruits, herbs or citrus peels to make flavored vodka, bourbon or liqueurs. There the fruit is turned into a syrup and mixed with liquor, or is strained out and discarded, after the flavor has been extracted.

Mirabelle, kirsch, framboise, poire and other similar clear (unsweet) fruit liquors are eaus des vies--where ripe fruit is mashed and fermented and then distilled--not something you can do at home, unless you happen to have a pot still handy.

I am fond of stuffing the peels from two or three Meyer lemons into a bottle of potato vodka, and letting it sit for about a month. I sleep better, knowing that two such bottles are currently in residence in my freezer. IMO, there's nothing better with smoked fish or caviar, than ice-cold, homemade Meyer lemon vodka--not even champagne.

[porcupine]

I am fond of stuffing the peels from two or three Meyer lemons into a bottle of potato vodka, and letting it sit for about a month. I sleep better, knowing that two such bottles are currently in residence in my freezer. IMO, there's nothing better

Amen to that - I still have half a bottle in the refrigerator.

Timely thread, too as last Sunday I started steeping 5 pints of blackberries in vodka. Keeping my fingers crossed...

[plunk]

Only started with three or four OUNCES? That IS only enough for one large cocktail!

Yeah, you're right. I figured that I should experiment in a small batch first, rather than potentially ruin a whole bottle!

[shogun]

Yeah, you're right. I figured that I should experiment in a small batch first, rather than potentially ruin a whole bottle!

I should have done the same. My first batch was terrible. Cherry is pretty safe, though...I would almost generalize as 'most fruits are pretty safe' (Counter examples: citrus zest and chile peppers).

ETA: I have a bottle of Wild Turkey 80 (They have good advertising people. There's a flock of about 12 wild turkeys I see every day in the yard. They're there now, in fact. I figure it would be better than Beam but cheaper than Maker's) I bought to do a new batch of cherry bourbon, but I sat on it too long and now cherries are on the way out or gone. Any thought on blackberry bourbon?

[plunk]

ETA: I have a bottle of Wild Turkey 80 (They have good advertising people. There's a flock of about 12 wild turkeys I see every day in the yard. They're there now, in fact. I figure it would be better than Beam but cheaper than Maker's) I bought to do a new batch of cherry bourbon, but I sat on it too long and now cherries are on the way out or gone. Any thought on blackberry bourbon?

Sounds good to me. How 'bout ginger?

[TedE]

Sounds good to me. How 'bout ginger?

I need to get back in the business of doing this on a regular basis. I was making limoncello for holiday gifts for a few years; due the economies of scale I would actually infuse a couple fifths of grain alcohol and then dilute with distilled water and the appropriate amount of simple syrup. Those have actually turned out better than the ones I've done using plain vodka, but it's probably due to tweaking the syrup ratio to get it right. Most recipes I tried when I first started were cloyingly sweet. The steeping time is cut in half (or shorter) with the grain, though. I forgot a small overflow bottle in the back of a cabinet stuffed with a mix of lemon and lime zest for 2 months and it basically bleached the peel, but the liquid was the most shocking color I've seen. That one didn't turn out too well

One of my favorites was a cinnamon liqueur: two cinnamon sticks plus a clove. I jacked up the syrup a bit for that one because it was HOT. Absolutely perfect for a cold winter night.

[Xochitl10]

Without claiming any kind of actual attention to technique, we've had variable success infusing vodka with Hatch green chile (one chile per 750, charred skin and all). For our first batch, we intended to stop the infusion after about four days, but forgot. After nine days infusion time, it was really good. So we gave it away.

For our next bottle, we tried it after three days and gave it a big "meh." We let it infuse a couple days longer, but the verdict remained "meh." The quality of the chile probably played a big role in the difference. In both cases, after infusion and straining, the resulting vodka was a dusky grayish green, sort of the color of tornado clouds

[Pat]

Yeah, you're right. I figured that I should experiment in a small batch first, rather than potentially ruin a whole bottle!

What is the best quality/type vodka to use for this? I don't usually keep vodka on hand but am thinking that it might be an interesting experiment with my remaining blackberries. I'm running out of ways to prepare and preserve them.

[shogun]

What is the best quality/type vodka to use for this?

I tend to go with decent cheap vodka. My go-to vodka right now for this is Luksusowa. It's pretty good, especially considering its price, and it always gets favorable mention from the 'Fine Spirts and Cocktail' forum people on eGullet, and what's good enough for them is good enough for me! You could use whatever vodka you want, really...I wouldn't suggest getting a handle of Fleischmann's, and you have to be a little careful with mid-range vodka, as well. I've given up using Smirnoff for infusing, for example, because it still has a harsh edge to it that I just don't like. Go premium if you want to, of course. Sure a homemade blackberry Grey Goose is excellent, if you want to splash out for it. Also consider if you prefer wheat or potato vodka. To be honest, I've never done a comparison with infusing, and my main criteria is still price .

Bottom line is it's like cooking with wine: use what you would normally drink on its own (which for me would mean Ketel One, but when do I ever follow my own advice? Luksusowa at half the price, and save the Ketel for the tonic!)

[Poivrot Farci]

What is the best quality/type vodka to use for this?

Skyy; a decent product.

Your fruity infusioness won't affect the initial distillation of the initial vodkaness.

Flavor swill, and you will get flavored swill.

Save your fleischmann's vodka for Halloweenie derelicts, like me.

[shogun]

The blackberry bourbon is progressing, but slower than the cherry did. Think I should have sliced the berries. Might muddle them a little later, or at least stab them a little. The Wild Turkey was definitely the way to go vs. Beam in the infusion-grade bourbon arena.

<b>Poivrot Farci</b>: Really half and half on the simple syrup? Seems like a lot.

[shogun]

Think I might have to reconsider my position on the nonexistance of substantial alcohol absorbtion: There's definitely not 750 mL of bourbon in this jar now that I strain it!

[cjsadler]

SF Chronicle article on making infused vodkas. Some interesting ideas.

[rvanrens]

'Round here, we infuse pretty much anything there's a surplus of in liquor. Cherries or wild black raspberries in vodka. Blackberries in brandy. Pears with vanilla and honey in bourbon. For that matter, honey in bourbon or scotch makes a really nice winter warmer. Apricots in a mix of vodka and brandy, again with a heavy dose of honey - it's liquid sunshine.

Chose fruits that lack enzyemes like bromelaide. Pretty much that means no tropicals for you, my boy. No pineapple, no papaya, no mango, and while banana works, it's just nasty. Nuts also make excellent infusions, although the oils in them limit thier shelf life to a year or so, and DEFINITELY store them out of sunlight. Herbals are very nice, and you can make your own gins, vermouths, and bitters.

Some less conventional things I've tried include tomatoes - makes an INCREDIBLE tomato sauce; gummi bears - works well, but leaves little tranparent gummi bear skeletons on the bottom of the jar; onion and garlic - less successful than the Tomato, but the garlic and onion wine we made one fall was possibly the best marinade I've even used; coconut - didn't work well at all; and peanut - technically worked okay, but only if you like peanut-butter flavored vodka.

Most of the infusions are the first step on the way to cordials - we infuse to the desired taste, then sweeten to make it more drinkable. Some of these are also used for cooking - the tomato and onion/garlic are ONLY good for cooking, but spiced apple brandy is excellent for drinking, and makes a truly wonderful pork loin roast. I like using honey in many of them, partly because I get local honey from a beekeeper, and I can often match the flavor of the honey to the friut, and also because I think table sugar gets a somewhat cidery off-flavor in the infusion. (When I was working as a brewer, we avoided sucrose as a fermentable for this reason, and that my account for my aversion to using it in cordials). I have used turbinado sugar with great success, however, the trace of molasses provides an interesting flavor note.

Last year we had lots of sour cherries. I infused about 3 quarts of vodka with sour cherries, then let it sit for a year. This year we had lots of sweet cherries. I filtered out the pulp from the sour cherries and added 3 more quarts of sweet cherries, then ignored it some more for 4 months or so. We decanted, filtered, and bottled it all the first of Nov, and it's mostly gone now. It was worth the wait. The sweet and sour layers provided a great deal of complexity and kept it from being too cloying. Mixed with a bit of tonic, it made a fine apertif or cocktail. Straight it was a nice after-dinner drink.

[Capital Icebox]

Think I might have to reconsider my position on the nonexistance of substantial alcohol absorbtion: There's definitely not 750 mL of bourbon in this jar now that I strain it!

In order not to lose alcohol, color and flavor when straining an infusion, I wonder if you could puree the leftovers (i.e. cherries) with a little of the alcohol and then strain back into the infused alcohol?

[Sthitch]

After my failed attempt at infusing vodka with pineapple I decided to do a little more research, and have some decided to give it another go. I started off simple by infusing vodka with Earl Grey. To prevent the vodka from pulling out too much of the teas tannins, it was a quick steep, less than 24 hours. It turned out well, but due to its strength it is in need of either mellowing or further dilution. This was followed-up with a rose bud vodka and a chrysanthemum vodka. These were steeped like the tea, and for the same length of time. Thankfully they are not as strong as the tea vodka, but are quite interesting. These were followed by a lavender vodka, it has a nice taste, but smells like soap. I am not sure what I am going to use these in, but I am sure the experimenting will be fun.

After talking the dried flower infusions, I decided on something a little more interesting, and I currently have the following infusing away:

Blood Orange Vodka – Super H had blood oranges for 4 for a $1, this used the rind of 10 of them*. It has been infusing for a little more than a week and looks and smells great.

Three Citrus Vodka – I had some blood oranges left, so I used the remaining rind, plus some from lemons and limes I had on hand. It is also progressing rather well.

Key Lime Vodka – After taking care of the blood oranges, I realized that I still had a bag of Key Limes. I quartered half of them and added them to vodka. I am interested to see how this turns out since I used the entire lime, not just the rind. So far the vodka smells quite good, and there has been no browning of the fruit.

Mojito Rum – I used the remaining key limes and added some mint and topped it with a bottle of Bacardi (it has gone untouched since I discovered 10 Cane). Like the Key Lime Vodka, this is already showing the lime on the nose, but with the addition of slight whiff of mint.

Plum Cognac – This was actually made with prunes, but they have rehydrated into what have to be the happiest plums on the planet. I am going to use this as much for the fruit as for the liquor.

Pear Cognac – I added one and a half sliced Barlet pears to the Cognac, and am letting it steep away. After a week it has a promising, yet slight pear smell.

Spiced Pear Cognac – Because I had more pears than I could fit into one jar, I decided to make a different twist on the second pear Cognac. For this I also added two broken cinnamon sticks, all spice berries, cloves and some black peppercorns. This has the same pear smell as the previous Cognac, but with a nice punch from the spices, none of which is overpowering the nose.

Toasted Walnut Bourbon – I had an extra bottle of Maker’s sitting around so I decided to infuse it with some toasted walnut pieces. I suspect that this is going to take the longest to infuse.

Beam and Figs – This weekend I found that Calvert Woodly had Jim Beam in their discount bin for less than $15, so I figured why not add some dried figs to it and see what happens.

Date Scotch – Also in the discount bin they had Johnny Walker Red for $16. I would normally not bother with JW Red, but at that price why not give it a try as a vehicle for infusing (at least it is better than Cutty Sark). I added in some nice sweet dates that I had recently picked-up. I am not at all convinced that the dates are going to give the Scotch much flavor, but time and patience might prove me wrong.

Next to try is ginger vodka, and fennel gin.

*I froze the juice into little cubes and so far used them to make a very interesting champagne cocktail. One cube, a drizzle of simple syrup and an ounce of Hanger One Orange Blossom vodka (I would have used the Blood Orange Vodka, but it is not ready yet) topped with Champagne.

[Capital Icebox]

After my failed attempt at infusing vodka with pineapple I decided to do a little more research, and have some decided to give it another go. I started off simple by infusing vodka with Earl Grey. To prevent the vodka from pulling out too much of the teas tannins, it was a quick steep, less than 24 hours. It turned out well, but due to its strength it is in need of either mellowing or further dilution.

I think you just came up with the tasting for the next picnic.

On the tea infusions, do you heat up the vodka, or just throw in the teabags at room temp?

[Sthitch]

I think you just came up with the tasting for the next picnic.

On the tea infusions, do you heat up the vodka, or just throw in the teabags at room temp?

I used loose leaf tea (much higher quality than what is found in the bags), and just dumped it into the bottom of the jar, and topped with vodka. The tea flavor was so strong that I did not even bother to press the leaves (also out of fear that too many tannins would be extracted).