Infused Liqueurs - Part 2
Tuesday, July 10, 2007

This post is the second in my alcohol infusion series. In the first, I found out, what is an infused liqueur. Part two will be about how I learn to make infusions.

Jumping into a new hobby is always fun. In the beginning, before you know any better, the sky is the limit. Anything is possible. So that’s why I like to do some research and figure out exactly how high up in the sky I may get to. If special equipment is needed to make these infusions, especially if it’s expensive then I may not be getting very far.

To begin my research into how to make alcohol infusions, I went to Google. After a few searches for "infusion", "alcohol infusion", "infused liqueur" I figured out that their isn’t a lot of general information about infused liqueurs and cocktails. And when I searched for specific keywords like "Chocolate Infused Vodka" or "Vodka Infusion" the results are filled with recipes. Recipes are great and I’m going to need them but at this point I need more than recipes. I want to learn all about the techniques of making infusions, the different types of ingredients that can be used and anything else that I might need to know. Things like, do I have to worry about bacteria forming in my infusion jar or why do some recipes use honey while others use simple syrup. So I decided that I needed a book. Infused: 100+ Recipes for Infused Liqueurs and Cocktails by Susan Elia MacNeal is a great looking book. The photos alone will make you want to create your own infusions. Looking at the photos definitely made me want to taste them because they looked delicious. The cover photo is a large glass jar that filled with clear liquid and cucumber slices. When I saw that I thought to myself that cucumber vodka would go great in a Saketini. This book is already winning me over.

The book starts off with the general information that I’m looking for. One of the first sections is called “Basic Principles of Infusion”. Let’s see, it goes over the equipment I need, the ingredients that can be used and how to actually make a bunch of different infusions. And there’s also recipes for cocktails that you can make with your infusions.

The instructions and recipes are easy to follow and there’s a nice little section that provides some good tips for making cocktails. This is the book for me. Good instructions, nice pictures and recipes too.

Okay so I’ve found a reference to act as my infusion mentor. Next up, I’ll need an infusion jar.

Posted by Anthony 8:33 PM 0 comments  

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Infused Liqueurs
Sunday, July 08, 2007

Besides making drinks at home, I have a few other hobbies that I enjoy during my free time. One of them is gardening. Growing fresh fruits and vegetables is very rewarding and most of my gardening adventures are well documented on my gardening blog. Lately I've been thinking of ways that I might be able to combine both hobbies. Sure I could grow some mint in the garden to make mojitos or use my home grown tomatoes to make Bloody Marys but I'm looking for something a little more ambitious. And when I heard about Infusions, I knew it was something that was right up my alley. Infused liqueurs make for the best tasting cocktails so why not make my own infusions with fresh ingredients from my garden?

So what is an infusion? It's when you take alcohols such as vodka, rum, tequila or even brandy and combine it with fruits, flowers, herbs or spices to create outstanding liqueurs. Think of Absolute Citron, it's really just a vodka and lemon infusion. But of course, homemade infusions will usually taste better because you're using fresh ingredients. These mixes are put aside to infuse in large jars for up to a few months. Then they're sweetened to taste with simple syrup.

These flavored liqueurs are then used to make superior cocktails. Lemon Drop Martinis taste more lemony, Margaritas taste more limey and Chocolate Martinis taste more Chocolaty.

Over the next few posts I will be jumping head first into the world of infusions and documenting my progress along the way. First up, I'm going to share how I researched and learned how to make infusions.

Posted by Anthony 10:22 AM 0 comments  

Labels: infusion