It is the perfect way to perk up an otherwise run-of-the-mill tonic cocktail. What do you do with it? Not quite as versatile as the lemon, its appeal is in its refreshing flavor. The vodka should change to a slight yellow-green (in a good way). Like the lemon, this infusion can be ready in as few as 3 days, but the longer it sits, the more cucumber flavor it will have. Seal the container, label with date of creation, store in a cool, dark place (like your liquor cabinet). Because the humble, water-filled vegetable doesn’t have the same face-pinching flavor as a lemon, a longer infusion time will yield a stronger flavor.Ĭut the cucumber into length-wise quarters, place in jar, and cover with vodka. Cucumber-Infused VodkaĪnother simple infusion, the cucumber infusion works the same as the lemon infusion. For the dessert crowd, rim the glass with sugar first. Garnish with a raspberry at the bottom for a boozy finish. 1 teaspoon simple syrup/agave nectar/superfine sugarĬombine ingredients in a shaker with ice.What to make? For summer, a classic, refreshing Lemon Drop is just the ticket. The vodka should change to a slight yellow color. This infusion can be ready in as few as 3 days, but the longer it sits, the lemonier it will be. Really, it does the work on its own.Ĭut the lemon into quarters, place in jar, and cover with vodka. Some recipes call for whole fruits to be infused for more than six months, even years, so recipes do vary depending on the fruit, the style of the infusion, the addition of sugars, among other things.Ĭontinue to store in a cool, dry place and use as desired.This is the easiest infusion both to prepare and to work with in recipe creation. Herbs and vegetables should be composted, as their job here is done. The booze-soaked fruit can be happily repurposed into desserts, frozen for later use or simply eaten as-is, depending on how much alcohol it has taken on. Solids can be strained out at this point. The longer you wait, the character the spirit takes on, but you'll want to let the mixture infuse for a minimum of a week. Feel free to check on the containers each day, you'll notice the colour of the ingredients fade and the spirit change.Īfter a day, or in some cases, just hours, you will notice the effect of the fresh ingredient in the spirit. Once your infusions have been bottled or jarred, tuck them away in a cool, dry place. Though rum can work too, spirits like tequila or gin already offer up strong and distinct flavour profiles that might actually fight with the fruit or herb.įrom Okanagan peach-infused whisky that perfectly complements green tea to an infused vodka of the "garden variety" (like carrots, garlic and basil) that matches Caesars and dirty martinis, the world is your oyster when infusing spirits at home. We're going to stick to two spirits that are most easily infused: vodka and whisky. All it takes is a few sterilized jars and bottles, whatever remaining summer produce and herbs you have on hand (washed and trimmed or sliced), some high-proof alcohol (low-alcohol wine or non-alcoholic "spirits" wouldn't work) and a little time. If you like utilizing different preservation techniques to make your in-season fruits, vegetables and herbs stretch past their peak, then infusing spirits is a fun and supremely easy thing to try. This realization can come in many forms: noticing that the sun is later to rise and quicker to set, watching leaves slowly change from green to gold on the trees that line city streets, and in some parts of Canada, the rude awakening can also come from overnight frost that has you scrambling to harvest any lingering fruits, vegetables and herbs from the garden. There are few things more sad than realizing summer is coming to a close.
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