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Started 4 years ago by Bear
Latest reply from joev

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Bear
The woods
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When Colleen reminded me of our trip to a vodka bar that specialized in infusions, I was reminded of just how much better actual infusions are than the flavored vodkas that I've found in stores. Accordingly, I've been tinkering with doing a few infusions of our own. The first was an homage to one of the best offerings that that bar had to offer, a dill-infused vodka that some of you may remember.
The recipe for that one was, simply, a fifth of regular Stoli, a bunch of Just This Farm dill, and about ten days in a cool dark cabinet. The result was surprisingly sweet and went very well with Russian food.
Shroud pointed me toward Infusions of Grandeur, a website devoted to vodka infusions. The guys who run it have infused everything from vanilla to bacon to Peeps and have recorded the results for posterity.
My current infusion -- using Tito's vodka, per Michaelcoyote's recommendation -- is habaÃ±ero vodka: three habaÃ±eros, cut into eighths. After a single day of infusion, the vodka has a very nice pepper flavor and plenty of heat. I might use one or two next time and let it infuse a little longer, but it's quite good. Drinking it straight is a pretty bracing experience. Colleen's thinking Bloody Marys; I'm thinking a bit of tropical fruit would make a killer summer martini.
All of which is a roundabout way of getting the topic rolling.... What are your favorite infusions -- either ones that you've done yourself, or ones that you've had elsewhere? They don't have to be vodka, of course; that's just my current choice....

Posted 4 years ago #
osulew
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I have no experience doing infusions, but I'd love to try something with lychee. I think that would be delish for the summer!

Posted 4 years ago #
lisathewaitress
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Mr. Waitress is the king of infusions. He orders all sorts of crazy herbs and things I've never heard of and is experimenting with making his own bitters, among tons of other things. Last week he stole a bunch of apricots from our CSA for something or other.
My current favorite invovles Navan (vanilla cognac) and Sichuan peppercorns. yum!
I'm going to have to try the dill thing. Sounds yummy. We have a ton of fennel in our garden and I was thinking about doing that, too. And cherries.

Posted 4 years ago #
Mercurius
First Avenue
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I call them tinctures (which happens to be my absolute favorite word on the face of the Earth.) Right now I have a mason jar with Calamus root, Red clover, Angelica and Ginger root (Ohio, not Jamaican.) Manatee has turned me on to sassafras root and ginger in bourbon. Hops are a fun thing to play with as are all parts of Echinacea (which are blooming now). I think the next one I make is going to be a sumac berry and blackberry mix.

Posted 4 years ago #
osulew
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Mercurius wrote Manatee has turned me on to sassafras root and ginger in bourbon.
I am intrigued...
Sounds delish!
I love my bourbon mixed with either root beer or ginger ale (when I'm mixing it) so I can imagine that this would be a mind melting, au natural version of my simplistic mixology. :)

Posted 4 years ago #
Bear
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Hmm. Lychee and what, I wonder?
The vanilla cognac sounds awesome. Vanilla infused into anything, in fact....
Merc, are all of the infusions you mention infused into bourbon?
An update, and a warning for those playing at home: Be very careful with the habaÃ±eros. I hoped, without any real logical reason to do so, that throwing the vodka in the freezer would cut the heat a little bit. Wrongo. If anything, it seems to add to it. I feel confident in saying that three unseeded habaÃ±eros cut into eighths and infused into a single bottle of vodka for a single day will produce a liquid that most people would choose not to drink because of the heat. I found it tolerable -- just -- but I did notice that there were parts of the roof of my mouth that had swollen somewhat after having come into contact with the vodka. Cut 50/50 with plain vodka, it loses a bit of its unique flavor but ceases to do actual tissue damage, which is a reasonable tradeoff.

Posted 4 years ago #
osulew
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Bear wrote Hmm. Lychee and what, I wonder?
I'm not sure. You are the food genius Mr. Bear!!! :)
I'd likely eat all the lychees before they made it to the booze anyway. I love those bastards!

Posted 4 years ago #
Bear
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Well, the nearest bottle in this picture --
-- is lychee-infused vodka. The author says she used about a pound of lychees and would probably use more next time... but that the result was very tasty nonetheless.
Details here.
Do let us know how it turns out.... :D

Posted 4 years ago #
osulew
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I smell a project approaching!!!
Cucumber sounds super good on a hot day too.

Posted 4 years ago #
Bear
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osulew wrote I smell a project approaching!!!
Cucumber sounds super good on a hot day too.
Yeah, I'm thinking I may need to try the cucumber quite soon, if only to offset the habaÃ±ero! :)

Posted 4 years ago #
Andrew Hall
Dennison Place (The Circles)
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With something like lychees, you are better off making a puree of the fruit and using that. Or muddling the fruit. The delicate floral fun of lychees just got lost in the infusion.
I have messed with a ton of infusions and concoctions. Once I forgot a Buddha's Hand vodka for months. When I found it, the fruit - which is pretty funky to being with - really looked like a pale, dead preserved hand of glory. The infusion was horridly bitter. I forget what I did with it, but I rescued some with sugar to use as a base and some I infused more to make a bitters-like fluid. An unusable disaster was tea.
I often use Aquavit instead of vodka. It adds a little something extra. Also, pure grain alcohol is really needed for certain things to really get the volatile compounds.
The best is homemade limoncello. Blows away the commercial stuff.
Other fun stuff :
Reposado tequila infused w/ pineapple, tarragon and a jalapeno. Sip it or use in margaritas.
Grains of Paradise and/or Sichuan Peppercorns make for a sneaky variation of pepper.
Vanilla, allspice, ginger, etc in rhum. Then use to make rhum balls.
Bourbon and cherries. Definitely make your own maraschino cherries, as something else.
Lavender vodka.
Tried Scharffenberger cocoa nibs once which was cool, but needed some work. Gives you chocolate w/o the sweetness.
Did something w/ Scotch, honey and some type of flowers which was a nice sipper warm.
Trying using palm sugar when it calls for sugar. Or crushed sugar cane.
I have a couple of recipes for ratafia/French country cordials w/ walnuts or pureed tangerines which are really good. Anne Kearney (now in Dayton) used to have some awesome stuff at her restaurant in NOLA which I worked on cloning. There is a whole class of French/Italian/Spanish stuff like that. Not infusions per se as you drink them as is.
That is all I can think of off the top. Don't drink or create cocktails the way we used to.
A.

Posted 4 years ago #
lisathewaitress
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Just to help out those of you thinking of making your own infusions, I would recommend (on behalf of Mr. Waitress) using a high % spirit such as Galen's or Everclear. it's really cheap, and it's 151 proof. This will give you a nice pure (and fast) extraction. it only costs about $12 a bottle; I know the liquor store in Worthington carries Galen's. You can then "water" the vodka down with simple syrup (equal parts water or juice + sugar) for a sweet vodka or even just water for a savory vodka.

Posted 4 years ago #
osulew
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I just found this on Tastespotting and thought of this thread. It's not really an infusion...more a use of an interesting rosemary simple syrup, but I knew some of you would find it interesting. I love rosemary and vanilla, but I can't quite envision how the two would come together.
http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/vanilla-rosemary-cocktail/

Posted 4 years ago #
Bear
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lisathewaitress wrote Just to help out those of you thinking of making your own infusions, I would recommend (on behalf of Mr. Waitress) using a high % spirit such as Galen's or Everclear. it's really cheap, and it's 151 proof. This will give you a nice pure (and fast) extraction. it only costs about $12 a bottle; I know the liquor store in Worthington carries Galen's. You can then "water" the vodka down with simple syrup (equal parts water or juice + sugar) for a sweet vodka or even just water for a savory vodka.
Intriguing!
Lisa, a followup question for you and Mr. Waitress. The guys at Infusions of Grandeur actually use exceptionally nasty bottom-shelf vodka (Vladimir Vodka, $5.45 for a fifth) and distill it through activated carbon five times using an ordinary Brita filter (details here) to produce what they claim is very solid middle-shelf stuff, about the quality of Absolut. In my experience with vodka, quality is a function of the number of times distilled first, and other stuff second. I also note that Everclear is distilled twice.
So. Any opinion on the distilled-Vladimir (or nasty bottom-shelf vodka of your choice) vs. Everclear vs. distilled-Everclear options?

Posted 4 years ago #
Ndcent
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God Bless Tito's Handmade Vodka.

Posted 4 years ago #
Bear
The woods
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I may -- may -- have just discovered the Holy Grail of vodka infusions.
It isn't bacon.
I'll know soon.
In other news, the guy in the liquor store on 5th refused to sell me Everclear. Apparently I need permission from the State of Ohio to buy it. And apparently, calling them on the telephone and saying, "Hello, I would like to be allowed to buy Everclear, please, because I'M A FUCKING ADULT!!" would not be sufficient, for some reason that I don't really understand.
New proposed law for Ohio: People over 21 can buy any alcohol they want.

Posted 4 years ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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How do the frat boys get it?
Ohio, spoiling your fun since 1803!

Posted 4 years ago #
michaelcoyote
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lifeontwowheels wrote How do the frat boys get it?
They drive down to Kentucky like everyone else.
lifeontwowheels wrote Ohio, spoiling your fun since 1803!
+1

Posted 4 years ago #
Bear
The woods
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Bear wrote I may -- may -- have just discovered the Holy Grail of vodka infusions.
It isn't bacon.
I'll know soon.
Okay. So, I'm not sure whether it's the Holy Grail. But it certainly is... interesting.
Background: I discovered a few articles on molecular mixology, which combines an understanding of food chemistry with a willingness to repurpose the cocktail to capture a wider range of experiences -- evoke foods, for example, or experiences, or memories. This article from Food & Wine is representative.
In it, the featured mixologist, Eben Freeman, passes along an intriguing bit of knowledge:
Food & Wine wrote Among the bag of tricks Freeman packed for Tailor is a process called "fat washing," an ingenious way to flavor spirits that he borrowed from one of Masonâ€™s desserts. By mixing a melted fat with alcohol, chilling the mixÂture until the fat resolidifies, then skimming it off, Freeman can infuse a spirit without leaving any greasiness behind.
The article's author immediately thought of bacon. I, on the other hand, flashed back to some different threads on CU, where people discussed different fats and the flavor that they impart, and I immediately hit on the answer.
Duck. It must be duck.
I followed the procedure, using some duck fat that we had from a jambalaya, froze the result, skimmed off the fat (actually, just poked a hole in it and poured out the vodka), and filtered the remaining vodka through two paper towels. What remained was a crystal-clear, non-greasy vodka that, sure enough, tasted distinctly of duck. It didn't really mute the alcohol flavor, though, unfortunately.
On its own, it was a little... primitive. So I infused a bit of rosemary (I wanted thyme, but Colleen wouldn't give up any of her stash) and then added a little cointreau and just a drop of bitters. The result was a cocktail that -- very approximately -- evoked duck a l'orange, with a nice mix of sweet, savory, and umami. Colleen reported that she liked it... but that it might not be for everyone.
I'm guessing that a longer second infusion with a milder herb (or mix of herbs) and maybe some actual orange instead of cointreau would help to draw down the alcoholic bite of the vodka, which is my main objection at this point. (Well, other than the possible violation of the laws of nature.)

Posted 4 years ago #
shmack

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oh bear. this sounds amazing. the two of you have the most inspiring diy attitude for infusing and you make it seem so simple: 20 minute lavender infusion! duck fat vodka strained thru paper towels! makes me want to inject cheese food in everclear. though, only sort of.
my go to summer drink is a basil/peach vodka cocktail with a splash of cheap white wine for acidity. i think a basil infusion might work well here. note to self: get basil plant for balcony.
i've heard about filtering everclear through a brita most mostly as a cost-saving college drinking fad. i assume filter prior to infusing right? (also, distilling is a vapor/heat process no?)

Posted 4 years ago #