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| Photo via Pitchfork Diaries |
One time in New Zealand, I visited the house of some Kiwis who had a large bottle of blackberries sitting in a bath of cheap vodka. The husband told me that it had been sitting there for three weeks, and they were preparing it for holiday gifts for family and friends.
How genius is that? It's homemade, it's from the heart, it's from the kitchen, and it has about a 35% alcohol content.
I just found
this tutorial on
Pitchfork Diaries, which reminded me of this fantastic idea for a gift or a party (or, you know, just a gift for yourself after a really long Monday).
Tutorial Re-Posted:
HOMEMADE INFUSED SPIRITS
EQUIPMENT & INGREDIENTS
Clean glass containers: mason jars, empty wine bottles, apothecary jars, hermetic jars, etc. Just make sure they are very clean and free from any residue or odor of what was in them previously.
Alcohol base: Vodka is most common, primarily due to its somewhat neutral flavor. However, light or dark rum, gin, and tequila also work great. I have tried it with 100 proof vodka, instead of the more common 80 proof, and found the higher alcohol content was too aggressive to experience any of the flavors in any pleasant way. Since you will be flavoring it, and probably experimenting some, I don’t think it is necessary to break the bank and buy super high end alcohol, at least until you find a combination you love. But along with that, the better the ingredients, alcohol and flavors, the better the product, and lousy vodka is just going to taste like lousy vodka that’s been flavored.
Freshest, and best possible, ingredients: Fresh fruit, fresh herbs and fresh spices are all the best choice, and you will notice the difference. This is not the project to substitute frozen produce, and if you can get items that are in season and at the height of their flavor, all the better for this recipe too. I have used dried fruit in some cases, as a specific choice to go for that flavor, which also ended up working beautifully.
Optional:
Small kitchen funnel
Fine strainer, lined with cheesecloth
PROCEDURE
CHOOSE AND PREPARE CONTAINERS.
Thoroughly clean and dry your chosen glass container.
GATHER AND PREPARE YOUR DELICIOUS INGREDIENTS.
Add fruit, spices, herbs or other flavoring ingredients. Use your judgement as to how strong the flavor of the ingredient is for how much you add. A good rule for fresh fruit is to fill the container half way up with the produce and then add liquor to fill the bottle. With herbs, a good handful or two should be plenty. With something strong, like ginger, a three inch piece should be enough for a 750ml bottle. Good quality vanilla beans should work with about four. You can always add more of the ingredients after a few days if you want a more pronounced flavor. Remember to cut the pieces small if you are using a small necked bottle, so you can remove them eventually and to give you more surface area in general, and know that they will expand as they soak up the alcohol. Peel fruit if you wouldn’t generally eat the peel (i.e. mangoes and melons), with the exception of citrus, which have loads of very flavorful oils in their skin.
JUST ADD ALCOHOL.
Fill the rest of the container with the alcohol.
…AND, WAIT.
Cover or cork the container, and allow it to sit and infuse for two to five days, in a cool place out of direct sunlight. This can be in the refrigerator, or simply on your counter, just not next to your stove. Occasionally tip the bottle gently to redistribute the alcohol. The longer you leave it, the more prominent the flavor, but it will level off eventually.
STRAIN
When it has infused to your liking, you can strain it and transfer to smaller, prettier bottles. Most produce will breakdown and discolor eventually, so for gift giving or aesthetics, you may want to do this step. It is less necessary with vanilla beans, ginger, cinnamon, and spices.
STORE & SERVE
Store in a cool place, where you would other alcohol. It should keep for about a year.
SAFETY NOTE:
First, make sure all of your containers and ingredients are thoroughly cleaned. The high alcohol content should inhibit harmful bacteria from growing, but if at any point the concoction has an “off” smell, or starts to rapidly discolor or get cloudy, err on the side of caution and discard it.
3. PunchFork is my new favorite website - the top recipes from around the web. Love it. Live it. Learn it. 
