With more than a month to go till Christmas, there's still time to make some delicious home-made fruit flavoured vodka for friends and family, or to keep for yourself! Add fruit to make a sweet co*cktail base with flavours like apple, blueberry and watermelon. Or go exotic with vodka flavors like chilli pepper, basil and peppercorn.
You don't really need anything complex to start making your own fruit-infused vodkas, the basic tools are simply a large empty wide-mouth glass jar with a cover, a funnel and a strainer with tiny holes (like a tea strainer).
The jar, of course, is where the infusion occurs. A wide mouth allows for use of larger pieces of fruits. If using the original bottle the vodka came in, you will need to chop the ingredients into tiny pieces. It's also important that the jar be glass as plastic will adversely affect the flavour of the infusion.
The strainer is for when the infusing is done, to make sure nothing but the vodka ends up back in the bottle. In lieu of a strainer, a coffee filter will also work but it may make the straining process more difficult. The funnel helps when pouring the vodka into the narrow neck of the bottle.
How to Make Infused Vodka
1. Pour/put the flavourings into the wide-mouth jar, then top up with the vodka. Make sure the vodka completely covers the items adding the flavour.
2. Secure the jar lid and save the empty vodka bottle to refill with the infused creation later.
3. Place the jar in a cool dark place for one to two weeks, depending on the recipe. If putting the jar into a refrigerator, wrap the jar with a dish towel to help keep out the light.
4. Gently shake the jar three or four times a week to circulate the vodka around the added ingredient/s.
5. When the mixture is ready, pour it through a strainer (or coffee filter) into the original empty vodka bottle, using the funnel.
Infused vodka, kept in a cool, dark place, will generally keep its flavour for 9-12 months.
It's important to note that the better the quality of vodka used in these recipes, the better the end results will be. It's also possible to make smaller quantities, but the infusion time will be shorter due to the smaller container and lesser amount of vodka used.
Want to give it a try? Here are five fruit flavor infused vodkas to make at home.
5 Fruit-Infused Vodka Recipes
Blueberry-infused Vodka
Ingredients:
1 750ml bottle of vodka
3 cups blueberries, washed and halved
Follow directions above. This recipe can also be adapted using the same amount of raspberries or other berry.
French Apple-infused Vodka
Ingredients:
1 750ml bottle of vodka
2 green apples, cubed
1 vanilla bean
Follow directions above, with one exception: do not add the vanilla bean at first. If you do, it will completely overpower the apple taste.
Wait until after the one to two week infusion period, when the vodka tastes like the apples, then add a one inch slice of the vanilla bean. Let the mixture sit in a cool, dark place for an additional 24 to 48 hours. Strain and bottle as per directions above.
Lemon or Lime-infused Vodka
Ingredients:
1 750ml bottle of vodka
2 cups of Meyer Lemons or Key Limes, washed and thinly sliced
Follow directions above to fill jar. The difference will be in the storage time. Citrus has a strong flavor, so check every two or three days. When you feel the taste of the lemons or limes is strong enough, it's ready to strain and bottle.
As a variant, use 1 1/2 cups lemon and 1/2 cup lime to make a lemon-lime vodka.
Pear-infused Vodka
Ingredients:
1 750ml bottle of vodka
6 pears, cut into eight pieces each
Follow directions above.
Watermelon-infused Vodka
Ingredients:
1 750ml bottle of vodka
3 1/2 cups / 550g cubed watermelon
Follow directions above.
How to Use
These infused vodkas are great to drink as shots, sipped over ice, or mixed into drinks. And they make perfect home-made gifts! Simply add a cute 'Drink Me' label with the name of your bottle and how to use it.
More home-made Christmas gift ideas:
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Peppermint and Matcha Green Tea Body Butter
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