Infused vodka?

[BunnyD]

Anyone ever made infused vodka before - ie. adding fruit to vodka and letting it sit to infuse the flavor into the liquor? I thought this would make a cool Christmas gift. I'm not sure what to put in it though - I thought maybe strawberries or something, but I kind of wanted a flavor that isn't readily available already... any other ideas? And since I might be making this for people who are watching their carbs, is there a lot of concern that the fruit will add a bunch of carbs to the vodka?

[jroche5998]

Re: Infused vodka?

All I know is friends of mine in college would soak cherries in vodka, then eat the cherries. Other than that I have no idea, but it sounds like a cool gift to me. I'd like it, I prefer Stoli Oranj myself.

[not2late]

Re: Infused vodka?

Anyone ever made infused vodka before - ie. adding fruit to vodka and letting it sit to infuse the flavor into the liquor? I thought this would make a cool Christmas gift. I'm not sure what to put in it though - I thought maybe strawberries or something, but I kind of wanted a flavor that isn't readily available already... any other ideas? And since I might be making this for people who are watching their carbs, is there a lot of concern that the fruit will add a bunch of carbs to the vodka?

One of my hobbies is making homemade liquers. Unfortunately, you need to make them several weeks before they can be drunk because it takes at least 3-4 weeks for most of them to develop their flavor. Moreover, you need to strain out the spent fruit/herbs/flowers/spices before you drink them (the fruit or herbs you see floating in some cordials are added right before the final bottling and are more for appearance than for flavoring.

Any fruit you use should be at its seasonal height. Moreover the fruit should be blemish free and perfectly ripe. Off season fruits don't have as much flavor and the cordial/liquer will only taste as good as the ingredients you use. So if you use mediocre fruit, you'll get a mediocre tasting final product. Also, don't get cheap with the alcohol. If you use a really cheap alcohol, you're final product will taste cheap too. Buy an alcohol that tastes good if it's drunk straight.

An easy cordial is a Rumpot. Ideally it's made during the summer when the fruit is at its best. You need rum or vodka, fresh strawberries, sugar and a large non-reactive pot or jar with a lid. Wash and cut the fruit into quarters. Mix with an equal measure of sugar (the sugar draws out the moisture of the fruit---very important step!). Mix with enough rum/vodka to cover the fruit. Seal the jar. Put in a dark, cool place for 6 weeks. Shake the bottle every couple of days. Then strain, adjust the sugar, and bottle. As the strawberry season progresses you add more fruit and more booze.

Another easy cordial is a Limoncello. You'll need organic lemons (about 15 per 1 quart of alcohol used), a tasteless alcohol like vodka, and sugar (about 1/3 cup for every lemon used). Wash and peel the lemons. When peeling, make sure you only use the yellow skin, don't use the white part because it is bitter. Put into a clean non-reactive jar with a tight fitting lid. Pour over the alcohol to completely cover the lemon rinds. Put in a cool, dark place. Shake the bottle daily for 2 weeks. On Day 14, dissolve the sugar in hot water. Pour that into another non-reactive container with a tight fitting lid. Strain the lemon peels out of the alcohol mixture and combine with the sugar water. Seal the container, shake and let it sit in a cool dark place for another 3 weeks, shaking the container every other day. Then strain and bottle the liquer.

[not2late]

Re: Infused vodka?

Those recipes I gave are not low carb due to the sugar added, but again, the sugar is an important ingredient because it helps to draw out any oils/flavor from the fruit/herbs/spices you are using. I haven't tried it with Splenda or any other artificial sweetener because I don't know how they will chemically react with the alcohol.

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: Infused vodka?

All I know is friends of mine in college would soak cherries in vodka, then eat the cherries.

My dad does that with moonshine! He has some that he put away back in the 70's its really weird, the cherries have a crunchy texture to them and all the red goes away and turns a sort of brownish color, but man do they taste good and work well!

[cowgirlno1]

Re: Infused vodka?

They did a study of Vodkas on a 20/20 or Dateline, the cheap vodkas won the taste tests with regular vodka drinkers. The "wild goose" (?) was the lowest ranked and happened to be the most expensive. Just a little FYI!?!?

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: Infused vodka?

That doesn't surprise me cowgirl, its kinda like when they did that with bottled waters and tap water, people said they could tell the difference, but when it came right down to the blind taste tests tap water won out over even the most expensive imported waters like Evian!

[not2late]

Re: Infused vodka?

They did a study of Vodkas on a 20/20 or Dateline, the cheap vodkas won the taste tests with regular vodka drinkers. The "wild goose" (?) was the lowest ranked and happened to be the most expensive. Just a little FYI!?!?

Don't confuse cost with quality. Like I wrote "Also, don't get cheap with the alcohol. If you use a really cheap alcohol, you're final product will taste cheap too. Buy an alcohol that tastes good if it's drunk straight." There are inexpensive liquors that taste good. And it's the drinkability of the alcohol that you are after.

Your final product will only be as good as the ingredients you use. I made the mistake of using the most inexpensive (and subsequently the most horrible tasting) Vodka I could find and it ruined a batch of peach cordial. That's a mistake people make with wine they use for sangria and wine they use for cooking: the flavors you add won't fully mask an inferior tasting wine.

Bottomline: if it doesn't taste good drunk straight, don't use it.

BunnyD, I was thinking about your original question. If you really have your heart set on giving a unique alcohol based gift, you can put together a mulling spice jar. All you do is find a mulled wine recipe, mix the dry spices in a jar and provide the recipe for the mulled wine.