Infusions
In this chapter, you'll be introduced to infusions, since the recipes here and several in later chapters (but certainly not all) call for infused bourbon. You might want to browse through the recipes, find which ones appeal to your taste, and start with one or two infusions. You'll also find here lists of garnishes and other ingredients for most of the drinks in this book.
Infusions are really quite easy to make. You are simply introducing a new flavor or bringing out a flavor already present and making those tastes pop. Kentucky bourbon is ideal for infusions because so many complex flavors are already in the whiskey. Sometimes these flavors just need some help to stand out and shout. As fascinating as the flavor changes brought about by infusions are, the color taken on by the liquor may be even more interesting. Depending on what you use to infuse it, the brown liquor can achieve a rainbow of colors as well as flavors.
Most infusions take about three days of steeping to develop their full flavor. At the end of that time, the bourbon is strained off, bottled, labeled, dated, and put in the refrigerator. Some infusions will keep for years. My infusions are made to sell at Jack's—and they go quickly—so I'm always both infusing tested recipes and trying new ones.
I use fresh, ripe fruit and clear glass jars so I can see what's happening during the process. I love to use fruits in season and tie in holiday flavors when possible. The difficult part comes when I'm satisfied with the infusion. It's now time to invent the cocktail using the infusion as the base. But this is also a lot of fun.
Many factors go into creating a cocktail, including flavor (sweet, savory, or spicy), the season or special event (such as Christmas or Derby), and the overall character of the drink (refreshing, light, warm, comforting, exotic). Try to think outside the bottle and inside the glass.
Next comes the garnish—simple or over the top—and then, finally, the name. Your cocktail creations are a little like your children, and they need to be named.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
1-liter bottle of Kentucky bourbon (of your choice)
Clean, clear 2-gallon or 1-gallon glass jar with a plastic lid
Pitcher (glass, half-gallon)
Vessels. Left to right: large standard shaker, mesh strainer with coffee filters, lidded jar for infusions, Boston shaker, small standard shaker, and glass pitcher for punches.
Mesh strainer that will fit over the top of the pitcher
Coffee filters (Mr. Coffee or Melitta No. 4)
Long-handled wooden spoon
Funnel
Bottle and cap for the finished product (may be the empty bottle from the bourbon used in the recipe)
Stick-on labels for the name of the infusion ingredients and the date made
SUGGESTED INFUSION INGREDIENTS
Fruits
Berries: strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries
Cherries (sweet pitted)
Pineapple (peeled and cored)
Citrus fruits: lemons, blood oranges, Cara Cara oranges, ruby red grapefruit (peel and fruit only; the white pith would make the infusion too bitter), limes (again, peel and fruit only), key limes
Red or green apples (seeded and cored)
Plums (stones removed)
Peaches (peeled and stones removed)
Red or green pears (seeded and cored)
Star fruit (sliced)
Herbs and Spices
Ginger root (peeled)
Vanilla beans (seeds only, not pod)
Fresh mint (Kentucky Colonel, spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint, or lemon mint)
Star anise—whole
Ground cinnamon, allspice, mace, ginger, nutmeg, and clove
Hot peppers (jalapeño, serrano, habanero), seeded and sliced
Sweets
Candy canes (red and white only; green will color the mixture)
Rock candy
This is just a basic list. As you experiment with your own creations, you'll no doubt discover more intriguing ingredients to add to your infusion jars.
For all infusions, you'll need the equipment listed above (pages 10–11). Each recipe calls for a 1-liter bottle of the Kentucky bourbon of your choice.
When using fruit, always wash it before using it. Most of the fruits left over after making the infusion can be used in making sorbet. But do not heat them on the stovetop, since the bourbon-soaked pulp will be highly flammable! You could add sugar to the leftover fruit and pour it over vanilla ice cream for a very grown-up sundae.
SPICE (Six-Spice Mix)
Combine equal parts of the following in covered container and mix well.
Ground allspice
Ground cloves
Ground mace
Ground nutmeg
Ground ginger
Ground cinnamon
Pour the bourbon into the glass jar and add 2 tablespoons of the spice mix. Shake and let steep for 3 days. Strain into the empty bourbon bottle. Label, date, and refrigerate.
1 teaspoon six-spice mix (above)
1 red apple
1 green apple
1 pear
Core and slice the fruit. Combine with bourbon and let steep for 5 days. Strain into the empty bourbon bottle. Label, date, and refrigerate.
BLACKBERRY
1 pint ripe blackberries
Lightly crush about a third of the berries and combine all fruit with the bourbon. Shake and let steep 3 days. Strain, label, date, and refrigerate.
BLOOD ORANGE
(usually available around Christmas)
4 ripe blood oranges, cut in half, then sliced
Combine fruit with bourbon. Shake and let steep 3 days. Strain, label, date, and refrigerate.
1 pint ripe blueberries
Lightly crush a third of the berries and combine all fruit with bourbon. Shake and let steep 3 days. Strain, label, date, and refrigerate.
CANDY CANE
12 red and white 5-inch peppermint candy canes broken into small pieces
Don't use candy canes with green in them because they give the bourbon an unattractive murky green color. Add the candy pieces to the bourbon and let steep 1 day. Pour into the bourbon bottle (no need to strain). Label, date, and refrigerate.
CARA CARA ORANGE
3 medium Cara Cara oranges, sliced
This is a very sweet orange variety with pinkish flesh and a honey flavor. Add the fruit to the bourbon and let steep for 3 days. Strain, label, date, and refrigerate.
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Combine cinnamon and bourbon. Shake and let steep 3 days. Strain, label, date, and refrigerate.
CRANBERRY ORANGE
1 bag (about 1 pound) fresh cranberries, washed and picked through thinly sliced zest from 1 orange
Crush about a third of the berries and add all ingredients to the glass jar. Let steep 5 days. Strain, label, date, and refrigerate.
KEY LIME
10 small key limes, cut into wedges
Add fruit to bourbon and steep 3 days. Strain, label, date, and refrigerate.
LEMON
6 lemons, each cut into 6 wedges
Infusions in champagne flutes. Left to right: Spice, Pineapple, Blueberry, Blackberry, and Strawberry.
Squeeze and drop 12 of the wedges into the glass jar. Add other wedges without squeezing. Shake and steep 3 days. Strain, label, date, and refrigerate. Discard the used lemons.
PEACH
6 medium-size ripe summer peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
This is a very seasonal preparation, a true taste of summer. Combine with bourbon and steep 3 days. Strain, label, date, and refrigerate.
PINEAPPLE
1 ripe pineapple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 teaspoon six-spice mix (above)
Do not use canned pineapple. Add the
fruit to the bourbon and steep 3 days.
Strain, label, date, and refrigerate.
2 ruby red grapefruit
Peel the skin, leaving the white pith on the fruit, and cut the peel into thin slices. Remove the pith from the fruit, discard it (the pith would make the infusion bitter), and cut the fruit into segments. Combine peel, fruit, and bourbon. Shake and steep 3 days. Strain, label, date, and refrigerate.
STRAWBERRY
1 pint fresh ripe strawberries, cleaned, stemmed, and sliced
Combine fruit and bourbon. Shake and steep 3 days. Strain, label, date, and refrigerate.
SWEET SYRUPS
SIMPLE SYRUP (and Sweet and Sour Mix)
This is the basic syrup for classics such as the Old Fashioned and the Mint Julep, as well as for many of my original bourbon cocktails.
Assorted syrups.
1 cup boiling water
Add sugar to water and stir until completely dissolved. Let cool. Bottle, label, and refrigerate.
To make fresh sweet and sour mix, add 2 parts fresh-squeezed lemon juice to 1 part simple syrup.
BROWN SUGAR SYRUP
2 cups light brown sugar (Do not use dark brown; the flavor overwhelms drinks.)
1 cup boiling water
Add sugar to water and stir until completely dissolved. Let cool. Bottle, label, and refrigerate.
Combine equal parts honey or sorghum and hot water; stir to dissolve, and cool. Make as needed. The flavor goes off in stored syrup.
MAPLE
The easiest “recipe” in this book. Just use pure maple syrup straight from the bottle.
GARNISHES
Garnishes add an extra dimension of visual fun to your drinks. Whether simply pretty or outright eye-catching, they usually reflect an ingredient already in the cocktail. If added for purely visual effect, a garnish should not affect the taste of the drink.
Fruits and Spices
Lime, lemon, orange, or grapefruit in wedges, wheels, or twists
Pineapple
Apple, pear, peach, or star fruit in slices
Blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries
Sugarcane sticks, cinnamon sticks
Fruit and vegetables suitable for garnish.
Grapes; canned sweet pitted cherries, drained and rinsed; green cherries (not flavored)
Savory
Black olives (canned)
Asparagus
Carrot curls
Cherry peppers
Baby corn
Celery sticks
Mint
There are many mint cultivars.
The variety of spearmint known
as Kentucky Colonel is my
favorite for Mint Juleps. Other
mints that add interesting flavor
accents to my drinks are apple
mint, chocolate mint, cinnamon
mint, orange mint, peppermint,
pineapple mint, spearmint, and
Sweet Melissa/lemon mint.
BLUE MOON OVER KENTUCKY
2 ounces blueberry–infused bourbon
1 ounce limoncello
1 teaspoon simple syrup
1 large lemon wedge
Combine over ice; squeeze and drop the lemon wedge into the ingredients. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a thin slice of lemon floated on top of the drink.
CARA CARA ORANGE SOUR
2 ounces Cara Cara orange–infused bourbon
1 tablespoon brown sugar syrup
1 ounce orangecello
Shake over ice and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a large Cara Cara orange wedge on the rim.
1½ ounces spice–infused bourbon
¾ ounce DeKuyper ButterShots (butterscotch schnapps)
¾ ounce praline liqueur
1 ounce Baileys Irish Cream
Combine over ice and strain into a chilled glass. Sprinkle with ground nutmeg.
KENTUCKY BOURBON KEY LIME SOUR 
2 ounces key lime–infused bourbon
1 tablespoon simple syrup
1 teaspoon Stirrings Clarified Key Lime
1 tablespoon fresh key lime juice
Shake over ice and strain into a glass. Garnish with a thin wheel of key lime on the rim or floating on top of the drink.
2 ounces peach–infused bourbon
2 ounces Noilly Prat dry vermouth
4–5 dashes Fee Brothers peach bitters
Shake over ice and strain into the chilled glass. Garnish with a large peach wedge on the rim of the glass.
SOUTHERN PEACH SOUR
2 ounces peach-infused bourbon
1 tablespoon brown sugar syrup
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
Shake over ice and strain into the glass. Garnish with a large wedge of fresh peach.
Summer Manhattans. Strawberry (left),
Blueberry (foreground), and Blackberry (rear).
SUMMER FRUIT MANHATTANS
2 ounces blackberry- , blueberry- , or strawberryinfused bourbon
½ ounce Noilly Prat sweet vermouth
4–5 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake over ice and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with 3 blackberries on a pick, 5 blueberries on a pick, or a large strawberry on the rim of the glass.
2 ounces of blackberry- , blueberry- , or strawberry-infused bourbon
1 tablespoon brown sugar syrup
1 tablespoon blackberry, blueberry, or strawberry syrup (I prefer Smucker's)
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
Combine and shake over ice. Strain and pour into a large Old Fashioned glass. Drop in 3 blackberries or 5 blueberries, or garnish with a large strawberry on the rim of the glass.