MAKE YOUR OWN FLAVORED ALCOHOLS

Infusing spirits is a nice way to get flavor without the bulk of physical garnishes weighing down your drink. We refer to the flavor component that gets transferred from herbs, spices, and other foods as an essential oil. Essential oils don’t break down in water. Therefore, the most concentrated flavors will suspend in alcohol even after the solids are long gone.

Vodka is an excellent candidate for infusing as it has an understated natural flavor of its own. If you like playing potion master, think about the basic flavors that complement sprits like whiskey and rum to create your own delicious concoctions.

Getting Started

STEP 1: Choose a spirit. Your base alcohol provides the foundational flavor for your infused spirit. Picking a smooth-tasting, middle-of-the-road-quality alcohol is a good idea. It’s a waste of money to infuse top-quality spirits with flavorings, but the cheapest of the bunch are too harsh, and may have objectionable flavors that will compete with your add-ins. If you’re not sure that you’ll like a certain combination, work in micro-batches, or use less expensive spirits the first time out of the gate.

STEP 2: Choose add-ins. Most people start with herbs, spices, or fruit. Then branch out if you’re bold. You could try coffee beans, cacao nibs, chile peppers, scraped vanilla beans, or shelled nuts. Make sure to use only fresh ingredients, and check them for mold, age spots, and dirt before plunging them into your alcohol.

STEP 3: Combine. Start with sterilized jars with tight-fitting lids. Mason jars work well. If you know you’ll use a large batch of a particular blend, make it in a huge jar, as I do with my rum pot. If you want to make multiple flavors or if you are tentative about a taste, then you can always work with several smaller jars and make multiple flavors at once. Thoroughly wash fresh produce or pick over your ingredients, place them in sterilized jars (see page 17), and fill them with spirits. Make sure the ingredients are completely submerged, as alcohol is a natural preservative.

STEP 4: Infuse. Store your jar in a cool, dark place (I just chuck mine into the fridge) and shake it every couple of days to help the infusion along. Infusion time varies from 3 days to 2 weeks, depending on the strength or delicacy of the add-ins. You can taste-test at any point along the road.

STEP 5: Strain and store. Once the flavor peaks, remove the add-ins. I advise two strainings. For the first, use a fine-mesh wire strainer and discard the solid ingredients. Next, line a colander with a coffee filter or clean cheesecloth and strain out any remaining sediment. Decant the strained spirits into a sterilized jar (see page 17), store in a cool, dark place, and use within 6 months, for peak flavor.

Preparing Your Add-Ins

Soft berries: Remove leaves, wash, and leave whole.

Cranberries: Wash and score the skins with a paring knife.

Cinnamon and other spices: Use whole sticks, pods, and cloves, not ground spices. Rinse in a colander before using.

Pineapple, mango, and papaya: Wash, core or pit, and cut into chunks.

Citrus: Wash and slice thinly, discarding pips, or use only thick strips of zest with no pith.

Vanilla beans: Wash and cut lengthwise.

Coffee beans: Rinse in a colander, use whole. Do not use ground coffee.

Fresh herbs: Wash and use whole (stems and all).

Hot peppers: Wash and cut in half.

Cacao nibs: Rinse in a wire-mesh strainer, use whole.