Friday, June 15, 2012

cheers!


Lovely organic strawberries steeping in a jar of vodka, coffee mingling with everclear in a pickle jar...yup, I've been dabbling with the liquor.


I was inspired by Craft's post the other day to try making an infused vodka, and while I was at it I thought I'd make some kahlua too.  My husband was a bit confused, and wondered why I was stocking up on the booze as I'm not much of a drinker.  I had to explain that it was the diy factor.  I can't resist the pull of "make it yourself".


Besides, isn't it pretty?  The vodka is almost done brewing.  I'm not sure what to do with it now though, so if you have a vodka recipe I should know, please share.


I had a little kahlua and cream last night after wrestling with a monster patch of thistles (more on this later).  I know it's mostly cream, but it was a nice way to relax after a(nother) long day.


Have you made your own spirits, liquors, beers?  I'm really interested in wine-making but haven't tried it yet.  So many things to learn, so many projects to try, so little time...

If you're interested, this is the recipe I used for the kahlua (I used chocolate caramel brownie coffee because that's what I could find, and made it extra strong).  The strawberry vodka recipe can be found here.

Have a great weekend everyone.
Cheers!

10 comments:

julochka said...

you know I make various kinds of flavored alcohol! I have even priced a still so we could make it from scratch. but haven't gone there yet. we made cider, which turned out ok for a first batch - 5% alcohol. I like to make a "rumtopft" adding berries to vodka (you can use rum) all summer as they are in season. then using it at the holidays.

I've got beech leaves soaking in gin and need to do the next step with a simple syrup to turn it into a noyen. the Danes flavor lots of snaps with herbs, it's a bit of a national pasttime.

this year we'll try to do mead with our honey.

I could go on, but I'll give someone else a turn

Anonymous said...

You can make your own vanilla with vodka and a vanilla bean. I can't remember the exact measurements and timing, but I got my recipe from Martha Stewart. Great for cooking.34

Mel said...

I make my own kahlua because I can't take the caffeine or the price. I make mine with decaf instant coffee and half sugar/half splenda, good vanilla and cheap vodka. It's wonderful. Here's the recipe in case you want to try it:

1 cup sugar/splenda
1/4 cup instant decaf coffee
1/3 if you want stronger)
1 cup hot water
Stir until blended.
Add to 1 or 1.5 cup vodka and 1 TBS vanilla.

Yum.

Now I'm going to try the flavored vodkas.

scrapiana said...

In a rare moment of living the high life, I was once served lavender vodka sorbet made by a UK celebrity chef. I've never got round to trying to make lavender vodka but will be eyeing my lavender bushes now with evil intent. ;)

diegoagogo said...

I was once given a washing basket full of cumquats.
After spending a back breaking day slicing them up for a yummy batch of marmalade I needed something that took much less effort.
Enter Cumquat Brandy liquor!!
Can't remember measurements but you could probably google it??
it was soooo easy, with a fork, prick several times to each cumquat, fill a preserving bottle/jar with them, put in sugar, cover with brandy, seal & leave for 3 months turning or shaking weekly.
You can eat the fruit with cream or ice cream - beware they will blow your head off.
The liquour was my favourite, sweet but yummy!
Lush
London, UK

leFiligree said...

while ive made infused vodka and fruit wines in the past, i discovered hard cider to be the one thing i dont mind drinking gallons of month after month. right now im fiddling with adding flavors to my hard cider recipe. so much fun!

Glo said...

Wine is a pain in the ass to make, believe me. It can be very unforgiving without the right equipment and especially without the right grapes. But infused spirits are a totally different ball o wax. I like to use Skyy vodka because it is affordable and very neutral. The one I have made the most is pineapple vodka, after trying some at a restaurant. Get a ripe pineapple, cut it in 2" chunks, macerate it with a 1.75L bottle of vodka for about 2 weeks.

I have also made:

Limoncello (many, many times, usually when we get a bounty of Meyer lemons. We make it sweet, after-dinner style, and it is delicious ice cold. A bit tedious to make, because you have to peel the lemons very carefully, as to not leave any pith)

Cucumber vodka (just as good as the pineapple, if not better, and super easy)

Grapefruit vodka (in my hastiness, and ignoring what I know about limoncello, I didn't take the time to peel them, and used everything. The vodka came out a tad bitter, so we use it now as a mixer)

Pear vodka (inspired by the Grey Goose version, which is a total knockout - ours couldn't compare)

One year for Xmas a friend gave me lavender-infused vodka. As you can probably guess, it was too perfumy.

I want to get some fresh ginger and make a batch of ginger RUM, to make my own version of a Moscow Mule, one of my all-time favorite cocktails.

I also want to make a kiwi vodka sometime, if only because of the electric green color i'll surely get.

How I drink these infused vodkas is very simple. I just mix it with tonic water, add some ice cubes, and that's it.

Kitten's Lost Her Mittens said...

Yum! Those look good. I've made raspberry infused vodka (with raspberries from my yard) and grapefruit infused rum. They both turned out really good! I haven't posted about them on my blog, but I should.
x Katherine

kristin said...

elderberry liquor has been the extent of my experimenting...and it was truly lovely. if you're interested in the recipe, i'm happy to share. x

Tumus said...

I've made orange infused vodka, used SKYY vodka and it came out kinda, well too strong oddly enough. If I decide to redo it again I'm going to up the quantity of simple syrup that's added to the mix. I also let mine steep for a few days and not just over night.

I'd be curious how a combination of strawberries and blueberries steeped in vodka would taste. Also always use a high quality vodka...I like SKYY but really I think Grey Goose would've been better.

I think a fruit infused vodka slush would also be very refreshing ^_^

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