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INFUSE UR BOOZE

Started by Juana, April 09, 2020, 06:03:01 AM

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Juana

I've picked infusing back up while on corona-cation and I gotta say, it was a good decision. I mostly have been using vodka as a base bc, once you steep the botanicals enough to pull out the rubbing alcohol aspect, it makes for a delightfully neutral and smooth base.

What I use is American, by-volume, measurements. I usually eyeball my amounts and it's easier to convert them to volume and I don't have my scale laying around atm. My apologies to those of you who used civilized measurements lol.

As a note to anytime interested in trying this themselves, using cheap vodka is fine (I have historically used Amsterdam) but you WILL want a smoother one for more delicate botanicals like flowers and herbs. Svedka is a great option imo.

Also, I'd be happy to post the recipes for the cocktails I've been making with these.

Hibiscus/Jamaica vodka: this one you can't oversteep. I usually use about three quarters of a cup to a cup of flowers for two pints/four cups of vodka. Steep for a couple hours minimum - it's fine when it's a deep, rich pink. Good with mint, rosemary, cinnamon, ginger, and lime in particular (not necessary all combined).

Rose: get thee food grade dried rose petals. Jam a cup of them in a container and pour in 4 cups of vodka. Let it steep 4-5 days. Good with vanilla, green cardamom, raspberry, and lemon.

Citron: I used a Buddha's hand bc I picked one up for a steal but any citron is fine. You'll want a big container and lots of time. It took a week to be ready and you can just leave the thing in there afterwards ime. Mint, basil, strawberry, etc etc are all bomb as fuck.

Orange flower: get a fuck ton of buds and pinch them off just above the base - make sure the green thing inside the flower doesn't make it in if you're using a somewhat older bud. Dump them in a jar and add a smooth vodka. I think I used about half a cup to a pint of vodka and let it sit for 4 days. To this, I'd probably just add a bit of sugar and soda water.

Mango: I did two infusions with this myself - one with frozen fruit bc I'm lazy and one with fresh.
I would also recommend doing the infusion I'm the fridge to prevent the fruit from oxidizing. Get 2 very ripe mangos and cut them up. Dump the fruit in two cups of vodka and let sit for probably about a week before running it through a coffee filter. Good with chamoy, orange, mint, strawberries, etc.

Jasmine green tea: three tea bags to two pints vodka. Let sit for a couple hours. Best with mint imo.

Green cardamom and lavender: DO NOT crush the pods unless you enjoy v menthol-y flavors and use food grade lavender. I think I used about 6 pods and a tablespoon of lavender to half a cup of vodka. Four days is plenty but let it sit for a bit after you filter it so it becomes more floral.

Black cardamom: I used a gold tequila here but you could probably use any kind. Black cardamom is even more menthol-y than green and I would recommend against crushing the pods. A third of a cup of whole pods to two cups vodka. Let it sit for a day and a half to two days before fishing out the pods. I'd run it through a coffee filter. The result is smoky with oak notes on top of the better part of the tequila flavor without the edge. Fig, jalapeno, and black tea are all great with it and it would probably be bitchin' in a bloody Maria.

I'm also making a bastard/compound gin but that's still processing. I'll post that recipe when it's done.
"I dispose of obsolete meat machines.  Not because I hate them (I do) and not because they deserve it (they do), but because they are in the way and those older ones don't meet emissions codes.  They emit too much.  You don't like them and I don't like them, so spare me the hysteria."

Cramulus

Those all sound great -- I'm not a vodka drinker but it sounds like you mitigate the rubbing alchohol taste..

I had a friend who used to make people custom liquor infusions and blends for their birthdays. Would also do a little graphic design and make a custom sticker for the bottle - always seemed like a really cool hobby.


The Wizard Joseph

I'm a BIG fan of coffee infusions, particularly tequila and rum. this is fascinating and my inner mixologist would kill to sample your work.
You can't get out backward.  You have to go forward to go back.. better press on! - Willie Wonka, PBUH

Life can be seen as a game with no reset button, no extra lives, and if the power goes out there is no restarting.  If that's all you see life as you are not long for this world, and never will get it.

"Ayn Rand never swung a hammer in her life and had serious dominance issues" - The Fountainhead

"World domination is such an ugly phrase. I prefer to call it world optimisation."
- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality :lulz:

"You program the controller to do the thing, only it doesn't do the thing.  It does something else entirely, or nothing at all.  It's like voting."
- Billy, Aug 21st, 2019

"It's not even chaos anymore. It's BANAL."
- Doktor Hamish Howl

Cramulus

oh yeah, all I've got on hand at the moment is a big bottle of bacardi silver. What should I infuse it with?

The Wizard Joseph

Quote from: Cramulus on April 09, 2020, 01:59:08 PM
oh yeah, all I've got on hand at the moment is a big bottle of bacardi silver. What should I infuse it with?

Vanilla coke and a hint of honey. I usually use a dark rum for my special rum and coke, but the honey is the secret.
You can't get out backward.  You have to go forward to go back.. better press on! - Willie Wonka, PBUH

Life can be seen as a game with no reset button, no extra lives, and if the power goes out there is no restarting.  If that's all you see life as you are not long for this world, and never will get it.

"Ayn Rand never swung a hammer in her life and had serious dominance issues" - The Fountainhead

"World domination is such an ugly phrase. I prefer to call it world optimisation."
- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality :lulz:

"You program the controller to do the thing, only it doesn't do the thing.  It does something else entirely, or nothing at all.  It's like voting."
- Billy, Aug 21st, 2019

"It's not even chaos anymore. It's BANAL."
- Doktor Hamish Howl

Frontside Back

Do infusions work with sugar wine, Or should I get into distillation? Very inspiring anyway, I'm so done with alcoholism tasting like shit.
"I want to be the Borg but I want to do it alone."

Juana

Quote from: Cramulus on April 09, 2020, 11:57:10 AM
Those all sound great -- I'm not a vodka drinker but it sounds like you mitigate the rubbing alchohol taste..

I had a friend who used to make people custom liquor infusions and blends for their birthdays. Would also do a little graphic design and make a custom sticker for the bottle - always seemed like a really cool hobby.
I wasn't a vodka drinker either until I started up this hobby bc yeah, it really does taste like rubbing alcohol otherwise. And yeah, that does sound p cool!

Quote from: The Wizard Joseph on April 09, 2020, 01:42:43 PM
I'm a BIG fan of coffee infusions, particularly tequila and rum. this is fascinating and my inner mixologist would kill to sample your work.
Thank you!

Quote from: Cramulus on April 09, 2020, 01:59:08 PM
oh yeah, all I've got on hand at the moment is a big bottle of bacardi silver. What should I infuse it with?
I'm not a rum drinker buuut the interwebs suggest fruit in particular, as well as peppers (Habs and red bells, but you could swap Habs for jalapeno). Tea and coffee would probably be bomb, too.

Spices are always a safe bet and vanilla in particular would probably be good. Last I looked, vanilla pods can be had for a surprisingly reasonable price. Indonesian pods are sometimes smoked as part of the drying process and if you like smoke, that might be a good option.

Quote from: Frontside Back on April 09, 2020, 03:45:44 PM
Do infusions work with sugar wine, Or should I get into distillation? Very inspiring anyway, I'm so done with alcoholism tasting like shit.
Probably! I do not like wine most of the time but it can't hurt to try.
"I dispose of obsolete meat machines.  Not because I hate them (I do) and not because they deserve it (they do), but because they are in the way and those older ones don't meet emissions codes.  They emit too much.  You don't like them and I don't like them, so spare me the hysteria."

Pergamos

you can infuse wine, but it's not the same as hard alcohol.  If I were making sugar wine I'd get into distillation anyways, just to get away from the taste of Kilyu.

The Wizard Joseph

Quote from: Pergamos on April 14, 2020, 03:53:17 AM
you can infuse wine, but it's not the same as hard alcohol.  If I were making sugar wine I'd get into distillation anyways, just to get away from the taste of Kilyu.

sounds deadly
You can't get out backward.  You have to go forward to go back.. better press on! - Willie Wonka, PBUH

Life can be seen as a game with no reset button, no extra lives, and if the power goes out there is no restarting.  If that's all you see life as you are not long for this world, and never will get it.

"Ayn Rand never swung a hammer in her life and had serious dominance issues" - The Fountainhead

"World domination is such an ugly phrase. I prefer to call it world optimisation."
- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality :lulz:

"You program the controller to do the thing, only it doesn't do the thing.  It does something else entirely, or nothing at all.  It's like voting."
- Billy, Aug 21st, 2019

"It's not even chaos anymore. It's BANAL."
- Doktor Hamish Howl

Frontside Back

It's spelled kilju and it's actually really good for retoxing your guts.
"I want to be the Borg but I want to do it alone."

Juana

#10
Ahktually I'll be posting about the gins as I go and will actually be taking photos of the next couple infusions (rose and mango again, and honeysuckle).

I'm making an herbal gin and a floral one. Both started with about 1 1/2c vodka and I mashed up about 2 tbsp juniper berries up - less vigorously for the floral one - and let them sit overnight. Filtered out the berries through a coffee filter (I gotta get a nut milk bag, I swear) and dropped in 3 uncracked green cardamom pods.



I let it sit overnight before fishing them out. Next time, I'll go with one, I think.



I am using what I already have as much as possible, and I happen to have hummingbird sage and a blood orange tree. Any fruity sage would be an excellent replacement, I think, and kaffir lime leaves might be fun as a substitute. I picked half a young leaf each and cut them in half. After this, I think they're going to start going their separate ways in terms of botanicals.
"I dispose of obsolete meat machines.  Not because I hate them (I do) and not because they deserve it (they do), but because they are in the way and those older ones don't meet emissions codes.  They emit too much.  You don't like them and I don't like them, so spare me the hysteria."

Odibex Grallspice

I've only drunk gin for millennia, but Rock Town vodka is a cheap, clean base for stuff.

minuspace

We don't do or imbue "super alcoholics." I did like some blue lotus wine once, and there's still a thimble of some Christmasy squidge that could use rinse somewheres. Otherwise, it's all vinegar kombucha tea and that other water lacto fermented stuff (?) with some raisins tossed in. Because austerity wins wars or something.

Juana

"I dispose of obsolete meat machines.  Not because I hate them (I do) and not because they deserve it (they do), but because they are in the way and those older ones don't meet emissions codes.  They emit too much.  You don't like them and I don't like them, so spare me the hysteria."

minuspace

I'm all jelly cause I'm not drinking (virtue signal warning) so experimenting with other fermentation methods yielding more bubbles than alcohol.


Still infused so technically counts