354 replies to this topic

[KatieLoeb]

Try a nice tropical herbal tea infusion. Don't let the tea sit too long if it is a black tea base. Green or Rooibos teas can sit a bit longer without turning unnecessarily tannic and nasty. I'd start with a couple of hours in a small sample and gauge up from there. Then make daiquiris, caipirinas or whatever out of your infused cachaca.

[Tri2Cook]

Thanks Katie, that sounds like an idea I should check out. I may split it into 2 or 3 smaller batches and try different things if suggestions like that keep coming.

[jmf50852]

I have had good luck with Svedka. I use it to make vanilla extract. It has a good clean taste and is relatively inexpensive.

Mark

[Kent Wang]

The rum-infused raisins are a little strong, but infusing with vermouth (or wine, I suppose), both sweet and dry, is just right.

Rum infused dried apricots are just right and quite tasty. I guess they're not absorbent as the raisins.

I think dried fruits have a lot of potential for infusions.

I have an almost-full bottle of Pitu cachaca that I bought when it was my only available option. It's been sitting dormant since I got my hands on a bottle of Leblon. I'm wondering if there's anything interesting I could infuse it with so that it has a reason to be in the cabinet. I've been planning to make some allspice dram, would it be suitable for that? I actually considered infusing it with fresh sugar cane at one point but that seemed like it might just end up tasting like sweet Pitu. I'm not sure the green, grassy flavors of the cane would translate... and I'm not sure what I'd do with it once I had it. I also considered using it as the base for a ginger liqueur. Anyway, I'm open to ideas.

All those suggestions sound good. Even if you end up with sweet Pitu then all you need to do is add lime to make caipirinhas.

[Mixology Minded]

Home infusions are, usually, the best route to go. You can control the overall sweetness, tart, bitter, etc., to your palate. As for the rule of thumb on what quality of spirit to purchase, don't spend top $$ on a spirit you are going to infuse. When purchasing vodka, the usual neutral spirit of choice, I go with Smirnoff, Skyy, Tito's, and Stoli. They are great quality for the price, in fact, I normally stay away from "high end" vodkas in general. Vodka doesn't really have the notes and distinguishing characteristics as other neutral spirits, such as gin, so paying big bucks for something you base quality on how much it doesn't burn isn't really worth the $$$. Also when infusing, depending on whether it's just a basic fruit or sweetner, you usually only want to infuse for 2 to 5 days, then remove the infusions by fine straining. But others like making your own Lemoncello may take up to 2 months. Some may require you to refrigerate your newly infused vodka (usually fruit based) and others you can keep indefinitely at room temp (dried herbs,etc.). Hope this helps. Cheers!

[ZombieAddict]

Recently had a jalapeno infused tequila cocktail at Angel's share in NYC that I can't forget. Since I don't live there was thinking of infusing blanco tequila with jalapenos and mixing with pineapple juice. Anyone have any suggestions for how long to leave the jalapenos in the tequila? Would I need to filter it out and store in the fridge after its done. Also is blanco the way to go or should I try Reposado or Anejo? Any tips would be appreciated.

[thirtyoneknots]

Recently had a jalapeno infused tequila cocktail at Angel's share in NYC that I can't forget. Since I don't live there was thinking of infusing blanco tequila with jalapenos and mixing with pineapple juice. Anyone have any suggestions for how long to leave the jalapenos in the tequila? Would I need to filter it out and store in the fridge after its done. Also is blanco the way to go or should I try Reposado or Anejo? Any tips would be appreciated.

Not long--capsaicin is notoriously volatile and the whole mess may become searingly hot within just a few hours. I'd start tasting no later than the 2 hour mark, if I were going to try something like this.

[KatieLoeb]

If you slice the jalapenos in half and remove the seeds and ribs, you can let it sit longer to no ill effect. I have a recipe for a jalapeno and cilantro infused tequila in my book for use as an oyster shooter with a splash of pineapple juice on top, or as a martini with a bit more pineapple juice, a splash of lime juice and shaken then served up. It's called Chihuahua tequila, the martini version is a Rabid Chihuahua.

[ZombieAddict]

If you slice the jalapenos in half and remove the seeds and ribs, you can let it sit longer to no ill effect. I have a recipe for a jalapeno and cilantro infused tequila in my book for use as an oyster shooter with a splash of pineapple juice on top, or as a martini with a bit more pineapple juice, a splash of lime juice and shaken then served up. It's called Chihuahua tequila, the martini version is a Rabid Chihuahua.

Thanks Katie! Tried it yesterday. Filled the jar with half cut jalapenos. Tasted it 3 hours in and it was perfect but could not believe it was done that quickly so let it infuse for a few more hours. Unfortunately now it's a little too spicy. Having some friends over to try it. Might mix 3/4 ounce of it with 4/3 ounce regular tequila and 5 ounces pineapple juice to make 2 cocktails. Will experiment and see how it goes.

For the rest of the bottle the plan is to make 1 or 2 cocktails like one I read about which mixes 2 ounces of tequila with 1 ounce of dolin blanc and pechauds and orange biiters. For the remainder I intend to go to trader joe's and look at their dried fruits selection and pick something from there to infuse it with. Current top contenders are dried strawberries or dried chili rubbed mangoes.

[sbumgarner]

I'm thinking about doing a pineapple-sage mezcal infusion that I've seen on a few cocktail menus over the years. My original plan was to let the pineapple sit in the mezcal for 2-3 weeks (much like the Tequila por Mi Amante recipe) and then add the sage a few days before the end. Is this too long? I see a few people on this thread have done pineapples in overproof rum for only a few days, but with the mezcal at 80 proof it seems like I'd need considerably longer.

I was also thinking about doing the sage infusion via the Dave Arnold/whipped cream charger technique and then letting the pineapple infuse into the mezcal-sage infusion. I get a little nervous about herb infusions as the few I've done have gotten gross when not pulled out at just the right time, figured the NO2 charger might take some of the guesswork out.

[Jane Randahl]

I wouldn't infuse cheap Vodka. I'd use some really good stuff with character, like Belvedere or Chopin. Or something neutral but clean tasting like Absolut or Stolichnaya.

I totally agree with this; buying cheap vodka and infusing it seems like like 'masking' than it does infusion. You want a vodka that is pretty taste neutral and smooth so that it can take the flavor of whatever its being infused with. Infusing a good vodka with a tincture will make it taste like the tincture, cheap vodka infused would still taste like vodka.

That said, there are a few brands that are better than others. Smirnoff comes to mind and so does Absolut (Not sure how cheap you wanted to go).

However, in my opinion Gray Goose if you can afford it. That would be a wonderful brand to infuse.

[Kevin Liu]

I'm thinking about doing a pineapple-sage mezcal infusion that I've seen on a few cocktail menus over the years. My original plan was to let the pineapple sit in the mezcal for 2-3 weeks (much like the Tequila por Mi Amante recipe) and then add the sage a few days before the end. Is this too long? I see a few people on this thread have done pineapples in overproof rum for only a few days, but with the mezcal at 80 proof it seems like I'd need considerably longer.

What is the benefit of letting the pineapple sit in the tequila rather than, saying pulverizing the pineapple with the tequila in a blender? I imagine the biggest issue will be filtering/clarification, but if you have a technique for that, is the long rest time really necessary?

[ZombieAddict]

If you slice the jalapenos in half and remove the seeds and ribs, you can let it sit longer to no ill effect. I have a recipe for a jalapeno and cilantro infused tequila in my book for use as an oyster shooter with a splash of pineapple juice on top, or as a martini with a bit more pineapple juice, a splash of lime juice and shaken then served up. It's called Chihuahua tequila, the martini version is a Rabid Chihuahua.

Thanks Katie! Tried it yesterday. Filled the jar with half cut jalapenos. Tasted it 3 hours in and it was perfect but could not believe it was done that quickly so let it infuse for a few more hours. Unfortunately now it's a little too spicy. Having some friends over to try it. Might mix 3/4 ounce of it with 4/3 ounce regular tequila and 5 ounces pineapple juice to make 2 cocktails. Will experiment and see how it goes.

For the rest of the bottle the plan is to make 1 or 2 cocktails like one I read about which mixes 2 ounces of tequila with 1 ounce of dolin blanc and pechauds and orange biiters. For the remainder I intend to go to trader joe's and look at their dried fruits selection and pick something from there to infuse it with. Current top contenders are dried strawberries or dried chili rubbed mangoes.

So with half of the bottle I tried infusing it with dried mangoes. I left it for a day and now I have a syrupy infusion that is 1/3 or 1/4 of the volume I put in and some alcoholic tasting plump mangoes. Is this the cost of doing business with dried fruit or am I doing something wrong. I didn't know there was going to be a substantial mangoes share? Any tips or thoughts? This could become very expensive if 3/4 of the liquor goes into the dried fruit.

[Tri2Cook]

Is this the cost of doing business with dried fruit or am I doing something wrong.

It's the cost. Dried anything will try to get it's water back if given the opportunity. I've never infused with dried fruit so I'll leave the tips to those who have.

[thirtyoneknots]

Is this the cost of doing business with dried fruit or am I doing something wrong.

It's the cost. Dried anything will try to get it's water back if given the opportunity. I've never infused with dried fruit so I'll leave the tips to those who have.

Yup, though if you're inclined to kitchen arts you could probably come up with a pretty good use for those boozy mangoes.

I can't be sure as I have little firsthand experience with mangoes but I have a hunch that part of the syrupy quality is probably actually pectin. Given enough time in the fridge it will precipitate out into a semisolid mass in the infusion, which is weird if not actually bad. Just a heads-up.

[haresfur]

What is the benefit of letting the pineapple sit in the tequila rather than, saying pulverizing the pineapple with the tequila in a blender?

Pineapple upside-down cake!

[Iheartnegronis]

I make one about once a month and have had great success until my latest one. I've made everything from Orange, lemon, falernum, cherry, blackberry and coffee liqueurs but I just tried making an apple brandy and it is NOT very good. I don't get it.

I tried two different VS Brandys and basically stuck a few slices worth of nice apples in there...waited about a month and it turned into a very odd and bitter flavor. It's the first one of the infusions that have failed. Usually it's pretty fool proof!

I'm curious if anyone has had any experience with creating apple or pear brandy spirits?

To try and contribute to the forum, the most simple approach to fun homemade infusions was to venture to your local tea/spice store and purchase herbal teas. I've done lemongrass vodka, hibiscus, rooibose and several other herbal teas and they work quite well. Just try a cold infusion for 24 hours and there ya go! The rooibose and blackberry vodka experiments made outstanding alterations to a boring lemon drop.

[ChrisTaylor]

How much rooibos did you add to 750ml brandy?

[Charcuterer]

I was cooking a recipe, braised pork with apples from the Bon Appetit magazine, a couple weeks ago that called for Calvados. Since I didn't have any Calvados I took some rum, it happened to be a sipping rum that I really don't care for, and threw in some apple chunks and vacuumed it. In about an hour it had picked up a ton of apple flavor and worked great in the recipe. The thing that surprised me is that the rum was much better that way. I decided that the next time I do it I'll add a small amount of cinnamon and try it slightly warm.

[Keith Orr]

I was fortunate enough to acquire five pounds of sloe fruit (prunus spinosa) in late September. There are a few patches of them naturalized in the Willamette Valley here in Western Oregon.

Scanning a few online recipes for homemade sloe gin, I did the following.

Combine in a large Cambro
2 - 1.75 bottles Seagrams Gin
4.5 cups evaporated cane sugar
5 lbs sloe fruit.

Stirred daily for two weeks and then weekly after that.

Some of the recipes I read called for adding a bit of almond extract. After I strained off the infusion, I added a1/2 tsp to 1/2 the batch. It added some depth without coming across as almond, so I added the same amount to the other half.

I've tucked away three bottles as it's supposed to improve with age. The rest is being consumed at a rapid rate, neat and in coctails.



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[Keith Orr]

If you slice the jalapenos in half and remove the seeds and ribs, you can let it sit longer to no ill effect. I have a recipe for a jalapeno and cilantro infused tequila in my book for use as an oyster shooter with a splash of pineapple juice on top, or as a martini with a bit more pineapple juice, a splash of lime juice and shaken then served up. It's called Chihuahua tequila, the martini version is a Rabid Chihuahua.

Thanks Katie! Tried it yesterday. Filled the jar with half cut jalapenos. Tasted it 3 hours in and it was perfect but could not believe it was done that quickly so let it infuse for a few more hours. Unfortunately now it's a little too spicy. Having some friends over to try it. Might mix 3/4 ounce of it with 4/3 ounce regular tequila and 5 ounces pineapple juice to make 2 cocktails. Will experiment and see how it goes.

For the rest of the bottle the plan is to make 1 or 2 cocktails like one I read about which mixes 2 ounces of tequila with 1 ounce of dolin blanc and pechauds and orange biiters. For the remainder I intend to go to trader joe's and look at their dried fruits selection and pick something from there to infuse it with. Current top contenders are dried strawberries or dried chili rubbed mangoes.

So with half of the bottle I tried infusing it with dried mangoes. I left it for a day and now I have a syrupy infusion that is 1/3 or 1/4 of the volume I put in and some alcoholic tasting plump mangoes. Is this the cost of doing business with dried fruit or am I doing something wrong. I didn't know there was going to be a substantial mangoes share? Any tips or thoughts? This could become very expensive if 3/4 of the liquor goes into the dried fruit.

I've made homemade apricot liqueur in the past using dried apricots reconstituted by covering them with boiling water and letting them plump up for a couple of hours and then draining off the water and proceeding as if you are using fresh fruit.

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[Iheartnegronis]

How much rooibos did you add to 750ml brandy?

I actually used Vodka for that infusion and I can't find my notes for it but I think I used about 1/8 cup? I just bought an ounce or two so I didn't use a lot. Pretty sure I made a half gallon as well.

I was cooking a recipe, braised pork with apples from the Bon Appetit magazine, a couple weeks ago that called for Calvados. Since I didn't have any Calvados I took some rum, it happened to be a sipping rum that I really don't care for, and threw in some apple chunks and vacuumed it. In about an hour it had picked up a ton of apple flavor and worked great in the recipe. The thing that surprised me is that the rum was much better that way. I decided that the next time I do it I'll add a small amount of cinnamon and try it slightly warm.

That's a good idea, I never thought of vacuum sealing!

The earlier infusion topic is here.

I knew there had to be one, thank you and I apologize for cluttering the forum.

[Iheartnegronis]

I was fortunate enough to acquire five pounds of sloe fruit (prunus spinosa) in late September. There are a few patches of them naturalized in the Willamette Valley here in Western Oregon.

Scanning a few online recipes for homemade sloe gin, I did the following.

Combine in a large Cambro
2 - 1.75 bottles Seagrams Gin
4.5 cups evaporated cane sugar
5 lbs sloe fruit.

Stirred daily for two weeks and then weekly after that.

Some of the recipes I read called for adding a bit of almond extract. After I strained off the infusion, I added a1/2 tsp to 1/2 the batch. It added some depth without coming across as almond, so I added the same amount to the other half.

I've tucked away three bottles as it's supposed to improve with age. The rest is being consumed at a rapid rate, neat and in coctails.



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That sounds awesome! I'm curious where you got it? I live in Portland but frequent the coast often and I'd love to try and make sloe Gin. I've only ever bought Plymouth and don't know of any other good Sloe Gin available in my area. I have a few good recipes though that call for it.

[Plantes Vertes]

Here are some I started recently:

 

Lemon thyme and thyme:

 

Kaffir lime:

 

Walnut:

 

It's traditionally made with green walnuts but there's no possibility of finding those around here. It works fine with dried ones too.

 

Rhubarb, orange and ginger:

 

I made fruit liqueurs last year. Now I'm trying some other stuff. I made a lot of these little samples so I could experiment with different combinations and different alcohols, and with the amount of sugar. I'll make some of them into bitters and make larger quantities of the ones that work best as liqueurs.

[olmoelisa]

I use to infuse Grappa. I'm northern Italian I inherited tons of recipes, the oldest from my great-grandmother Cecilia.
Vodka is too flavorless to infuse it.
And, when you infuse something, stay away from cheap liquors: use the best you can find or pure alcohol 90º.