Huisenfusion

We like to make things. And then drink them.

[huisenfusion]

Common Mistakes with DIY Infusions

New infusions and a blog refresh coming soon! In the meantime, here are some great tips from Marcia Simmons at the Serious Eats blog about 5 Common Mistakes People Make With DIY Infusions. I know I’m guilty of #2 and definitely #5. 

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/04/5-common-mistakes-diy-infusions-homemade-liqueurs-spirits.html

[huisenfusion]

Strawberry Basil Vodka

Well, this is embarrassing.

I have this not-so-great habit of not writing down what I'm doing, because every time I'm convinced that I'll totally remember amounts and ratios and recipes. Big Fat FAIL. It's okay though, because with these infusions, it's mostly "handfuls," "about," "roughly," and other non-specifics. I never know what I'm doing anyway. I'll ask Khi, "Does this look right?" and he'll shrug, and there's your recipe, folks. So I apologize for my very vague instructions, but as long as there's vodka involved, things seem to work out okay in the end.

Where were we? Right. Strawberry basil vodka. The summer is winding down, but there's still time to make this one. It's tasty.

2 C of strawberries

3 C of vodka

Handful of basil

Simple syrup (optional)

Wash and chop the strawberries and add them to a glass jar. Pour enough vodka over them to cover them completely. We've been using Svedka for these infusions. It's a very reasonably priced brand. Add the basil and either put in a dark cool cupboard or the fridge.

After the first couple days, start tasting your infusion. We ended up removing the basil after about 3 days because it was starting to overwhelm the strawberry flavors. After that we left the strawberries in the vodka for 5 days.

Strain the infusion through a fine mesh sieve, and then again with a funnel and paper coffee filter. At this point, you can leave it alone, or add simple syrup to make it smoother. We added a little at a time until it was just right for us. Some people might add a lot, some not at all. Completely up to you. Me personally, I like this one on the sweeter side.

And here is a random photo of our cat Archer sitting on my photo backdrop. Jerk. We call this his "loaf of bread" pose:

Now it's COCKTAIL TIME! If you want to keep things simple, drink this with some club soda and lime, and you'll be perfectly happy. We decided to combine the infusion with fresh lemonade. I haven't made fresh lemonade in years. It's pretty great. Combine the strawberry basil vodka with lemonade, and if you want to get fancy, muddle some strawberries and basil with it, squeeze some lime, and put it in a tall glass with ice. Otherwise just throw the vodka and lemonade together and enjoy your summer.

Now get out of here. It's almost autumn.

[huisenfusion]

Watermelon Infused Vodka with Cucumber-Mint Simple Syrup

Watermelon seemed like such a perfect summer infusion. I'll be honest: I wasn't impressed with the initial results, and wasn't sure I even wanted to post this. But then we mixed it into some cocktails with a cucumber-mint syrup and I was back on the watermelon wagon.

Step 1:

Seedless watermelon, cut in medium size cubes

Vodka of your choice

I didn't measure how much watermelon we used. Just fill up whatever glass container you are using and cover it with vodka. We used 3 cups of vodka, and when we went to strain it, the watermelon had absorbed almost a cup of it.

Let your infusion sit in a cool dark spot or the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days. You can taste it along the way to judge how long you'd like to keep it going. Strain first through a mesh sieve, and again using coffee filters and a funnel. At this stage, the infusion was "meh." It needed something else. Enter: simple syrup.

Step 2:

Several sprigs of fresh mint

1/2 a seedless cucumber, chopped (peeling is optional)

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. water

Bring the water to a boil and add the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Turn off the heat and add the mint and cucumber. Allow the liquid to cool to room temperature, and strain out the solids. This can be kept in the fridge for up to a couple weeks. The syrup is a nice addition to a variety of drinks- vodka, gin, even just club soda and lime. Very summery.

To make your own watermelon martini: Muddle mint leaves in a shaker and add 1 shot watermelon vodka, 1/2 shot simple syrup, lime juice, a few cubes of watermelon, and ice. Shake, strain into a chilled glass, and top with club soda and mint leaves. (This photo shows the drink without the watermelon cubes; we added it to the next drink and it became a very pretty coral colored liquid.) And watermelon infusion redeemed!

[huisenfusion]

Pineapple Vanilla Infused Rum

It's Tiki Time! I have a bizarre love of all things tiki, which Khi does not share. But we both love a good tiki drink. This infusion was inspired by an amazing cocktail we had last year at Tiki Oasis, called Missionary's Downfall, with pineapple, rum, and mint.

1 pineapple, cut into wedges

3 C. light rum

1 vanilla bean, split

There's not a whole lot to explain on this one. Slice the pineapple into medium-sized pieces and add to a glass jar. Add the split vanilla bean, pour over the rum enough to cover it all, and put in the fridge for a week. I normally keep our infusions in the cupboard at this stage, but our apartment is pretty warm right now.

After 7 days (and several sneaky sips in between), strain the liquid through a sieve, and then again through a funnel and paper coffee filter. Even with the second filtering, we noticed there was quite a bit of sediment that settled to the bottom of the bottle after a few days.

Now on to the fun part: cocktails! We didn't have the exact ingredients for a proper Missionary's Downfall, but we made a decent approximation. We combined the pineapple rum, a little bit of leftover regular rum, pineapple juice, frozen peaches, a dash of orgeat, fresh mint, and ice in the blender. YES. It was delicious. Good enough for me to be lazy and rush through photos so I could drink it. Enjoy your tiki time.

[huisenfusion]

Lavender Simple Syrup

With the warmer weather approaching, I've been craving lighter, more refreshing drinks. (Don't worry, bourbon, I still love you.) I decided to try a lavender simple syrup for mixing with cocktails.

1 C. water

1 C. white sugar

2 Tablespoons dried lavender buds*

*Dried lavender buds can be purchased from Whole Foods and other natural grocery stores. I bought mine from the bulk tea section at Vitamin Cottage.

Bring the water to a boil, and add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add the lavender buds and lower the heat to a simmer for five minutes. Turn off the heat and let the syrup cool. When cooled, filter through a mesh sieve into a glass container and keep in the refrigerator. It should keep for a couple of weeks, although I am guilty of keeping these mixtures much longer and they're usually okay.

Super easy. Now...what to make with lavender syrup? First up: a combination of vodka, Chambord, the lavender syrup, lemon juice, and muddled blackberries. Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass. I'm sure I measured each ingredient out at the time, but of course I forgot to write it down. I was too excited making fancy drinks. My usual drink is: pour bourbon in glass. Drink. Repeat.

Drink experiment number two: vodka, St. Germain, lemon juice, and lavender syrup. Shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass, and top with club soda. Fancy straw is optional.

                     Conclusion? Lavender syrup = winner.

[huisenfusion]

Apple Cordial

I made a goal this year to do at least one infusion post a month. Three months in and I'm not doing so well. I never thought I'd say, "I need to drink more!" Our most recent infusion (and one of our most popular) is an apple cordial. It's a strong and sweet sipping drink that tastes like apple pie. Trust me, you want to make this:

6 granny smith apples, peeled

1 vanilla bean, split

2 cinnamon sticks

750 ml bottle of Everclear (yes, Everclear)

simple syrup

Chop the apples into medium sized pieces. Place in a glass container with the vanilla and cinnamon. Pour the Everclear in, making sure the apples are completely covered. Store your container in a cool dark place for two weeks, occasionally giving the container a shake to mix things up a bit.

Strain the liquid through a sieve, and again with a paper coffee filter and funnel to remove any tiny bits of vanilla. The funnel/coffee filter step takes awhile, and sometimes requires using multiple filters. Even with this step, later on you'll still see some settling at the bottom of the bottle after a few days. This is okay.

Wait. You are not done. Do not drink the apple Everclear.

At this point, we'll be adding the simple syrup. Due to the strength of the Everclear, the recipe calls for at least 1.5 cups of simple syrup. It sounds like a lot, but this is a liqueur. It's meant to be consumed in small doses. If you don't want to go the super-strong-super-sweet route, you could use vodka instead, and less syrup.

Of course I forgot to write down how much simple syrup we used. I kept adding a little bit at a time until the mixture tasted good and not like the Everclear was going to kill me. Once you find your personal ratio of syrup to the apple alcohol, store it again for another week. This allows the flavors to meld and mellow out a bit.

This can be sipped on its own over ice, or a little mixed in with other drinks. It's still deceptively strong, so be careful! Now drink your apple pie in a glass.

[huisenfusion]

Pumpkin Infused Vodka

I've procrastinated so long on this post that pumpkin season is pretty much over. No more pumpkin lattes, we've all moved on to the eggnog and gingerbread lattes (which by the way, are terrible. Drink your coffee black, people.) But hey, this recipe was worth sharing, even if it is a bit late in the season. It's basically boozy pumpkin pie.

I adapted this recipe from the awesome Serious Eats series, found here: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/10/diy-pumpkin-liqueur-recipe.html

3 T. pumpkin puree

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 whole clove

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 cinnamon sticks

1 C. vodka of your choice

Bring the water to a boil and stir in the sugar until it is dissolved. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the clove, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla, and cinnamon. Let this simmer for about 10 minutes, then turn off the heat and let cool for about 20 minutes. This will also make your house smell amazing, like you're baking pie. But then you'll be sad because there's no actual pie.

Once the mixture is cool enough, strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down with a wooden spoon to get as much liquid out as possible. Repeat the straining process with a funnel and paper coffee filter. Alternatively, you could just use a cheesecloth over the sieve and skip the double filtering.

When the liquid has completely cooled, combine with the vodka, and let rest for 1-2 days. This should be stored in the refrigerator.

Verdict? Very good. Smooth and lightly sweet. Our first cocktail attempt was a pumpkin pie martini using the infusion, vanilla vodka, and cream, with a brown sugar and cinnamon rim. Yum. You could also skip adding the vodka, and have a tasty syrup for coffee, poured over ice cream, etc.

Next up, apple cordial!

[huisenfusion]

Strawberry Lime Infused Tequila

It's been a year since I started this blog! Whoa, weird. It doesn't feel that long. For this current infusion, we decided to do something a bit different and infuse tequila. Tequila has been our drink of choice this summer, and who doesn't like strawberries?

2 C. silver tequila

1 lb strawberries

1 lime

Wash and slice the strawberries. Use a microplane to zest the lime, avoiding the white pith. Combine in a glass jar with the tequila. Let sit in a cool dark place for 2 weeks. Normally we keep ours in the cupboard, but it's been ridiculously hot in our apartment lately, so I kept the infusion in the fridge. Maybe it doesn't matter, but I didn't want to risk ruining the batch.

Seriously, get a good microplane. One of my favorite kitchen tools.

After 2 weeks, the berries will have lost their color and be ghostly white. Filter the liquid through a sieve, and then again through a funnel using a coffee filter. Store in the refrigerator.

So, strawberry tequila=WIN. It's delicious. It didn't need any added sweetener. It was already lightly sweet and smooth. It can be sipped on it's own over ice, but it makes excellent strawberry margaritas. We muddled fresh strawberries in a glass, added equal parts strawberry tequila and regular silver tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau. They were amazing. I want to start a new batch this week and have it on hand for the rest of summer.

            (Our strawberry lime margarita. Please pardon the bad photo. I was busy drinking and eating ceviche.)

[huisenfusion]

Blueberry-Vanilla Vodka Infusion

Sometimes I make too much of an infusion and we have it forever in the fridge. Not this one- it disappeared quickly and I wish I had made more. Fortunately it's up there on the list of easiest infusions ever.

1 pint blueberries

1 vanilla bean, sliced open lengthwise

vodka (enough to completely cover berries)

simple syrup

Combine the blueberries, vanilla, and vodka in a glass jar. Let sit in a cool dark place, such as a cupboard or pantry. After two days, remove the vanilla bean. You can leave it in longer, but then you risk overpowering the flavor of the berries.

After 5 days, filter the liquid through a sieve, and then again using a paper coffee filter and funnel. The coffee filter step is optional, but it will help get out all the tiny vanilla bean bits. Slowly add simple syrup, a bit at a time, until your infusion is at the desired sweetness. Store in the refrigerator.

             This infusion was tasty and got drank quickly (ahem...Khi). I've already started a second batch. I like my drinks simple, with just the infusion over ice or with club soda and a citrus garnish. But this would blend well with a lot of things. I really need to start experimenting more with creating cocktails. Suggestions, anyone?

Up next: infused tequila!

[huisenfusion]

Rosemary & Blackberry Simple Syrup

We bought a giant rosemary plant from Whole Foods recently. I pretty much killed it immediately, but before its imminent death at my hands, I used some for a delicious rosemary and blackberry infused simple syrup.

Several sprigs of rosemary

1 pint blackberries

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Heat the water until it's almost boiling and slowly add in the sugar, and gently stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the blackberries and rosemary, and lower the heat. Simmer the liquid for about 20 minutes.Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool.

Next, filter liquid through a sieve. Then interrupt the process to stop the cat from eating packing tape in the living room. Resume process by filtering a second time using a funnel and paper coffee filters. Store in refrigerator.

This syrup is fairly versatile. I enjoyed it on its own with club soda. But it works with vodka, gin, bourbon, and can be combined with our other infusions. It worked really well with lemon vodka. And I'm sure it would work well with desserts, like drizzled over vanilla ice cream. Win.

[huisenfusion]

Lemon-Basil Vodka Infusion

I thought this would be amazing, then I panicked and thought it would be awful, and in the end, it turned out quite nicely. I got the idea from a lemon-basil bread sample at Whole Foods. I guess some combinations work well with anything.

For this batch, I infused the basil and lemon separately and then combined them. That way I could control the ratios and flavor. (Also it's a good thing because I screwed up the basil batch. More on that later).

5 lemons

Several sprigs of basil

Vodka, divided into two cups

Simple syrup

Place the basil in a jar and pour in enough vodka to cover all the leaves. This is important. If the leaves get exposed to air, they get black and slimy and gross. Next, use a peeler or zester to remove the peels from the lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Place in a separate container and pour in enough vodka to cover. Each jar had about a cup of vodka.

For the basil, let sit in a cool dark place for 1-3 days. Check the jar daily. I thought 3 days would be fine, but I think the leaves weren't completely covered and they turned black. When I opened up the jar, the smell was gag-inducing. Blech. So I re-did that batch and let it sit for just one day. Much better result!

Strain using a coffee filter and funnel. The additional straining through a sieve is unnecessary with this. Do the same with the lemons, except you will let them steep for 5 days.

And here is where you become a taste tester. You don't want to just mix everything together and risk ruining the entire thing. I ended up with several small bottles: a basil, a lemon unsweetened, a lemon sweetened with simple syrup, and a bottle of the unsweetened lemon and basil combined.

For the combined lemon-basil, I basically just poured a little at a time until I got the ratio where I wanted it. It was roughly 2 parts lemon to 1 part basil. Then I added simple syrup to taste. The end result was  surprisingly good. Refreshing, summery and mild. Huisenga approved!

[huisenfusion]

Pineapple Infused Vodka

1 C. Vodka

1 C. Pineapple

Simple syrup

Combine pineapple and vodka in glass jar and let sit in a cool dark spot for 3-5 days. Filter through sieve, and then again through a coffee filter to get out any tiny bits.

Add a few tablespoons of simple syrup. This part is completely subjective. I prefer my infusions on the sweet side and Khi is the opposite. So I added a few spoonfuls until it had a nice slightly sweet taste, but not so much that it tastes like candy. And there it is. Easiest thing ever. We drank it on its own over ice, but it would be a good addition to tiki drinks or to make a pineapple martini. This batch disappeared before we could test out any cocktails with it. I guess that means I have to make some more...

[huisenfusion]

Bacon Habanero Infused Vodka

Does it sound awful? Does it sound awesome? It's both.

I came across a recipe for this and it was too interesting not to try. Here's what you'll need:

5 strips of bacon, strained and cooled

2 habanero peppers

1 serrano pepper

vodka (we used 2 cups)

Remove stems from peppers, cut length-wise, and add to jar. Wash your hands. That bears repeating: Wash your hands after you touch hot peppers. Add the bacon and enough vodka to cover ingredients. Let sit in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. We left ours in for 5 days.

Strain through fine-mesh sieve, and then again through a paper coffee filter. You don't want bacon bits in your vodka. (Or do you?)

Now, for the first tasting: Yikes. This is not something you want to sip on it's own. My first thought was comparing it to the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark where everyone's face melted off. We had opted to use 100 proof vodka, as we often do for our sweeter or fruit-based infusions.  In this case, the higher alcohol content compounded with the crazy capsaicin levels of the habaneros to put us in the burn unit.  I would definitely advocate staying with the standard 80 proof if attempting this concoction.  But what about in a mixed drink? I tasked Khi with making us some Bloody Marys, utilizing both the infused vodka and regular vodka so it wouldn't be so intense. It was still intense! But good. It was incredibly spicy, and the cocktail only needed a bit of the infusion to take it up a notch. Combined with a Highlife chaser, it was pretty decent. Besides, it's all about the skewer snacks anyway.

Would I make this again? Probably not. But it was a worthy experiment. Next up for Huisenfusion is pineapple!

[huisenfusion]

Apple Infused Bourbon

I based our infusion off of this Apartment Therapy post, although we were missing some of the ingredients:

http://www.thekitchn.com/winter-gifting-162130

Even without some of the ingredients, it was delicious.

1.5 C. bourbon (we used 1 cup of Jim Beam and .5 cups of Old Overholt Rye)

2 apples, cored and cut in cubes

1 cinnamon stick

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

3 T. brown sugar

3 T. water

Heat the sugar and water over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the apples and spices, and cook until the apples turn brown and slightly soften (about 10 minutes). Remove from the heat and let cool. Add the mixture to a glass jar, and add the bourbon. Let sit for 24-48 hours, then strain through a fine mesh sieve. We also choose to strain it through coffee filters to remove all the tiny vanilla bean bits.

And that's it! A warm, tasty apple-pie-like bourbon in two days. It was sweet, mild, and smooth.

[huisenfusion]

Ginger Simple Syrup

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. water

A couple knobs of ginger, peeled and cut in thin slices

Heat the water on the stove. While it's warming up, peel and cut the ginger.

When the water is almost boiling, slowly pour in the sugar and stir until dissolved. Next add the ginger, lower the temperature, and let simmer for 20 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let the liquid cool.

Strain the mixture into a jar and refrigerate.

We were low on cocktail supplies, so I ended up using whatever we had on hand to mix with the syrup. It went well with some bourbon and peach liqueur, and made a pretty decent martini with vanilla vodka and the peach liqueur. I definitely preferred it with bourbon. Another option would be to add it to club soda to give it some flavor for a nice non-alcoholic drink.

[huisenfusion]

Chocolate Liqueur

For this recipe, we referred to the excellent infusion series on the Serious Eats site: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/01/diy-chocolate-liqueur-how-to-make-creme-de-cacao-recipe.html 

2/3 C. cacao nibs (you can find these at stores like Whole Foods)

1 1/3 C. vodka

1 C. simple syrup

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the vodka and cacao nibs in a jar, and let sit for 8 days in a cool, dark spot. On the 8th day, add the simple syrup* and vanilla extract, and allow to sit for an additional day. Filter mixture through a fine mesh sieve and then through a paper coffee filter. The liqueur doesn't need to be refrigerated, and should last a couple of months.

*Note: the original recipe called for 1 cup of water and 1.5 cups of sugar for the simple syrup. If you'd prefer a less sweet mixture, reduce the sugar to 1 cup.

The finished product is sweet and easy to drink on its own or as a mixer. We drank a little mixed with Bailey's on ice and it was like drinking chocolate milk. I guess it might be a little on the sweet side for some, but I think in this context the sweetness was fine. We're already making a second batch!

[huisenfusion]

Cranberry Infused Vodka

Inspired by the winter season, we tried a batch of cranberry vodka last week. Probably one of the easiest and least messy infusions so far:

1 bag of cranberries

1 vanilla bean, split length-wise

zest from 1 tangerine or orange

1.5 C. vodka

simple syrup to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a jar. It's not very pretty at this point. Store in a cool, dark place for 7-10 days. After the first 2 days, remove the vanilla bean so it doesn't overwhelm the infusion. After a week (we waited 10 days) strain the liquid through a sieve, and then through a coffee filter. The filtering process went much quicker this time since there weren't a bunch of tiny bits of fruit to strain out. At this point the liquid had achieved a very pretty pinkish-red color. Add simple syrup to taste. We added about 1/4 of a cup to 1.5 cups of vodka, but you could add more if you prefer a sweeter infusion. Let sit for a few more days to allow flavors to develop more fully.

The verdict? Meh. It's okay, but not amazing. We only tried it with some club soda and lime, so I think it has potential to be much better if we can figure out the right cocktail combo. I may give these to friends and tell them to invent a drink. I'm sure they won't mind the challenge.