Cherry infusion tasting like cough syrup!

[mhdousa]

Hi all-

I'm working on a cherry and sichuan pepper-infused vodka. It's been sitting for about 6 days in the refrigerator and it's started to take on a bit of a cough syrup taste?

I'm using Svedka vodka which I think is pretty good quality.

Any thoughts as to what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

-M

[Chris Amirault]

Say a bit more! Specific ingredients, proportions, cold or room temp, etc.

[mhdousa]

Say a bit more! Specific ingredients, proportions, cold or room temp, etc.

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750 ml vodka

2 lbs red cherries (washington state?) - pitted and cut up

about 40 turns of a pepper grinder (coarse) of sichuan peppercorns (i have been adding more peppercorns over the last week as my original amount didn't given it much flavor)

airtight container in the refrigerator.

hope this helps!

thanks.

-M

[lperry]

I made some damson gin last year for Christmas, and when I fist tasted it after about a month of infusion, it was like a mixture of Robitussin and Dimetapp. Harsh and awful. Aged a couple more months, it mellowed and smoothed out. Now, it is even better, and this coming Christmas, I think it will be fantastic. Not that you will need to wait a year, but it is possible that the fruit flavor just needs a little time to mellow.

[Yajna Patni]

A lot of cough syrup is "cherry" flavored.

[mkayahara]

A lot of cough syrup is "cherry" flavored.

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Yeah, this was my thought, too. The first time I tasted Cherry Marnier, I was unimpressed, because it tasted so much like cough syrup. Then I learned about the Blood & Sand cocktail, and my perspective changed.

In other words, you might not be doing anything wrong at all! What are you planning on using the final product for?

[mhdousa]

A lot of cough syrup is "cherry" flavored.

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I realize that - the problem is that my infusion has that synthetic cherry flavor that's in cough syrup.

[mhdousa]

A lot of cough syrup is "cherry" flavored.

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What are you planning on using the final product for?

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Uh, drinking, I guess...

Really, I hadn't thought that far in advance. The combination just sounded good to me. Any suggestions?

[Reignking]

Funny, because I could barely taste any cherry in the cherry-infused vodka I made.

[KD1191]

A lot of cough syrup is "cherry" flavored.

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I realize that - the problem is that my infusion has that synthetic cherry flavor that's in cough syrup.

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I wonder if the 'numbing' effect of the Szechuan peppercorns could be presenting or enhancing this medicinal/synthetic flavor.

Edited August 7, 2009 by KD1191 (log)

[Landru]

For what it's worth - I did a pitch-perfect replication of Robitussin with my infusion of raspberries, vodka and a few whole cloves. I thought the cloves would add a "spice" to the mix. Nope, I got a liter of cough syrup...