I never understood why you would buy, use, or consume artificially flavored liquors. This really goes against my style. The vodka boom is still going strong and many Americans love their flavored vodkas. Well I’m trying to change people’s minds. Infusing your own spirits is easy. It just takes some time, but in the end you will have real flavors and some really fresh cocktails.
I used Infused by Susan Elia MacNeal’s for reference.
Always use sterilized mason jars, shake once a day, and keep away from bright sunlight.
Blueberry Vodka and Blueberry Bourbon
- 750 ml of booze
- 1 quart fresh organic blueberries
Slightly cook the blueberries until some of the natural sugars start to release. The blueberries should be slightly firm not mushy.
Infuse away from sunlight for 5 days.
Lemon infused Vodka
This fresh infusion will blow your mind and you will hopefully never buy a citrus vodka ever again.
- 750 ml of vodka
- 5 lemons
Zest lemons with no white pith.
I use a potato peeler and then a knife to remove excess white pith. You could use a microplane zester here as well.
Infuse for 5 days. Strain and rebottle.
Yes, it’s that easy and tastes like real lemons.
Jalapeno infused tequila
- 750 ml of blanco tequila
- 1 red Serrano
- 3 jalapeno chiles
You’ll only need to infuse the tequila for two days. Once you have your jalapeno infuse tequila you’ll have ammo for some seriously tasty cocktails that pack a punch.
Pecan Infused Bourbon
- 750 ml of bourbon
- 2 cups of pecans
Here’s the preparation for the pecans. First soak your pecans in water for 30 minutes, then strain. Place pecans on a baking sheet and preheat the oven for 300 degrees. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper on the pecans for flavor. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and place in a sterilized mason jar. Top pecans with bourbon and infuse for 4–5 days. Strain with a coffee filter or Brita filter to remove any sediment. I’m currently looking into agar clarification to help remove sediment and improve the overall appearance.
Cocktails
Here are some recipes I used with these infusions.
Parkside Fizz
- 2 oz Citrus Vodka
- 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
- 1/2 oz Orgeat
- Muddled Mint
Shake and strain into a collins glass with rocks
top with soda
Garnish with mint and a lemon wheel
Remington
- 2 oz Blueberry Vodka
- 1 oz lime
- ¾ oz simple
Muddle mint & blueberries
Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
garnish with blueberry sugar. Dehadrated blueberries then crushed with mortar and pestle, combine with sugar.
Recipe invented by Baltimore bartender Paul Palumbo
One Hot Minute
- 1 ¾ oz jalapeno tequila
- ½ oz Lillet,
- 2 oz Apple & Cucumber juice
- 1 teaspoon agave
- 1 teaspoon Jalapeno hot sauce
Shake and strain into a collins glass with rocks
Garnish with cucumber slices and a jalapeno
Blueberry Thrill
- 2 oz House Infused Blueberry Bourbon
- 3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
- 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
- Dash Peach & Angostura Bitters
Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with 3 blueberries
Recipe invented by Josh Sullivan
I infused my own lemon vodka and left it in longer than 5 days. More like 10 days and it turned yellow. Is that ok?
That’s ok. It’ll probably just have a strong lemon flavoring.
yeah i forgot about my lemon vodka infusion too. much like i forgot about my garden. left the zest in for 2 weeks maybe. it looks like banana snowball syrup. can’t wait to try it!
Really great your infusions!I’ll try some of them and i will tell you about my impressions.Thanks.
Thanks! I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Any recipes to make a “real” vanilla vodka?
Greg, I would recommend getting this book to help you with your infusions, “Infused” by Susan Elia MacNeal. I haven’t tried making vanilla vodka but my infusions usually take 5 days or a month. I would suggest buying two quality vanilla beans, split lengthwise, drop into a bottle of vodka, and infuse to your taste. Infuse away from direct sunlight and shake daily. When you’re happy with the taste, strain through a coffee filter and enjoy.
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I took your advice and pre-baked the blueberries for our blueberry-infused gin. Totally works. We waited about ten days and the results were phenomenal.
Awesome. Glad it turned out so well. What are you planning on using the blueberry gin in?
I tried infusing Tequila with jalapeños last week, but I also added lemon and orange. It turn out very well after only a day(I left the seeds and the veins on it), Next time I’ll probably add more tequila and wait a little longer.
I also did Rye whiskey with cardamon seeds, cloves and cinnamon, and it was very intense before the third day, the flavors are there, but I haven’t use it in any cocktail yet.
Great blog
Those sound great. Good idea adding the citrus to your tequila infusion. Soon I’ll be posting a new article on a chocolate infusion with rye whiskey. Keep an eye out. People have been loving the cocktail I make with it.
Just discovered your blog, I’m loving it. Full of great cocktail information. I’ve been interested in cocktails/mixology for a while now. I’ve been trying my hand at infusions and home made bitters.
I just strained out a Thai influenced infusion with; lemongrass, thai basil, ginger, lime rind(would have gone with kaffir leaves if I could have found them), lemon balm and mint. I blended that with a little bit of a biter infusion I had made earlier and simple syrup, into more of a cordial but not as sweet. Turned out well! Sorry for the long post… haha. I just haven’t found a great blog like yours talking about this stuff;0)
Wow! That sounds wonderful. Did you take any pictures? If so, I’d love to see them. Share them on my Facebook page.
Thanks Josh! I don’t have any pictures but my next batch I’m definitely going to. I do have video documentation of what I’m doing. I blended and bottled up my Thai Infusion yesterday. If you’re interested in checking it out I have been posting my videos on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1q2hFvr1NE&feature=channel_video_title
How do you store the final product? How long does it keep? These look beautiful and would make great gifts!
Sarah-They should be preserved in the alcohol. It would probably best to keep them refrigerated but I don’t think it’s necessary. I wouldn’t keep them on a hot widow sill. You will probably consume them before you have anything to worry about.
I was curious when you were going to post your chocolate infused rye? Can’t wait to try it.
Yeah, it’s a good one. I posted the infusion recipe under the cocktail recipe for the Blind Tiger: http://postprohibition.com/recipes/blind-tiger/#access
Love this site! Just discovered it!
My manfriend loves his gin&tonics.. I wanted to home infuse some gin as a gift, dyu think the blueberry gin would go alright in a g&t or is it only suited to cocktails/rocks? If so, can you suggest a better flavour?
Blueberry gin and tonics are great! Feel free to play around with maybe raspberries, or rosemary, etc.
Pecan infused bourbon comes out great! I made that and a maple syrup infused bourbon which I used in the following recipe.
Georgia Manhattan
2 oz pecan infused bourbon
2 oz maple syrup infused bourbon
2 oz peach schnaupps
Ice glass for that extra chilly concoction. Mix together in shaker with ice. Garnish with a cherry and serve.
I have to say now that I have started to do my own infusions I can’t wait to do a peach version so that all the alcohols in this are my own. Thanks for the website.
Thanks for sharing! Let me know how your peach infusions go. I found with my blueberry infusions to slightly cook the fruit to release some natural sugars.
Thanks for the tip. I also wanted to add that I am very big into eliminating waste, so I had to come up with something good to do with the pecans from the pecan infused bourbon. So, I decided that after I did the infusion I needed to dehydrate the pecans prior to cooking, so I put them back into the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Then I made my 1st pecan pie. It has a nice hint of bourbon flavor and I am going explore this direction with every infusion.
Nice use of the pecans. I might have to try that out. I’ve also found myself baking the pecans. I usually give them a coat of brown sugar. And recently I’ve added them to some homemade bourbon ice cream.
Just curious as to whether you gentlemen have found any other interesting uses for postbourbon pecans? (I’ve never tried blanching pecans but if they can be blanched, that’d solve your sediment issue, mostly.)
Hi everyone,
I just started infusing today! I am really excited about it. Wanted to bounce some ideas off you guys.…was thinking about doing a gin and mint/lime. Has anyone tried this?
If you want to balance things appropriately can you add things later on down the line? For example I’d like to do a cucumber melon but I think the cucumber is a light flavor and I would like to have that flavor more established before I add a stronger flavor like a melon. Right now I have the cucumber in the vodka not sure if I can add down the line to balance the flavor appropriately.
I’m glad I found this site!
Some friends of mine infused tequila with vanilla beans, augmented with a little agave nectar. It made for incredibly smooth margaritas.