DIY {Flavors of Fall} Infused Vodkas

That's right!  I have returned from our fabulous vacation with the family and I am going to show you how to infuse the "Flavors of Fall" into liquid heaven. It is a super simple and age-old process that can be done with any flavor for any season. I let the gorgeous herbs, spices, and freshly harvested fruits below be my inspiration for my four Fall-infused vodkas that I have created. When you serve this at your next party, you will trick all your guests into thinking you are fancy pantsy.

These make lovely gifts as well!  

Collect all your supplies

-A decent amount of mid-grade vodka. Since it will be infused with robust flavors, a top-shelf brand is unnecessary

-Four airtight jars (or the number of jars for amount of flavors you will be making)

-Four bottles (or... blah, blah, blah, see above bullet)

-Fruits, herbs and spices of your choice

The flavors that I have created are:

Apple, Pear, Cinnamon, Vanilla (my favorite!)

Rosemary Vodka 

Vanilla Vodka

and

Blackberry-Sage Vodka

but... you can create anything your boozy little heart desires. 

Let's begin, shall we?

You will want to clean your fruits and herbs and prepare them accordingly.

For Herbs

Rinse with water and dry. You will use the herb as it is, leaving the stems attached.

For Fruits

Clean and towel-dry fruits. Leave berries whole. For larger fruits such as apples or pears, leave the skin on and chop in chunks. If you are using mangos, papayas or pineapple you will need to remove the skin and cut into chunks as well. The more chunks you have the more the flavor will be infused into your vodka. For citrus fruits and strawberries, cut into thin slices or use the citrus peels or zest.

Vanilla

For vanilla infused vodka, slice the bean vertically and use whole bean. 

For Peppers and Garlic (fabulous for Bloody Marys)

Cut peppers into large chunks.

Remove skin on garlic and use the entire clove.

Place your fruit, spices, and herbs in your jars and fill up with vodka. Once the jar is sealed, you will shake the vodka (and your booty!) for a few seconds and continue doing this several times a day.

Store your jars in a cool dark place until your vodka is ready! 

Here are the estimated infusion times for the different flavors you may want to use. The times below are just a suggestion, the best way to find out if your vodka is ready is to taste test it. Remember, these are to be used with mixers and are unsweetened. 

Peppers will only need to infuse for a few hours (around 2-3).

Intense flavors such as cucumbers, basil, coffee beans or vanilla beans take about 3-4 days to infuse. 

Moderate flavors like berries, lavender, cardamom or rosemary will take a week or so to infuse.

Mild flavors like lemongrass or ginger will take around 2 weeks to infuse. 

The estimated ratios for my flavors were:

Vanilla

About 2 cups vodka

1-2 vanilla beans

Rosemary

About 2 cups vodka

3-5 sprigs of rosemary

Blackberry-Sage

About 1.5-2 cups vodka

A Handful of blackberries

6 sprigs of sage

Apple, Pear, Cinnamon, Vanilla

About 1.5 cups vodka

1/2 pear

1/2 apple

2 cinnamon sticks

1 vanilla bean

Modify it however you would like! The best part about this is you don't need to be exact, you can play around to get different flavors and intensities. 

After the vodkas have been infusing for the right amount of time, many will turn a beautiful, rich color. Once it is ready, you will want to filter all the gunk out by using cheesecloth or a coffee filter. 

Voila! It is that simple!

The fresher ones that I created are de-lish in lemonade and the ones with cinnamon and or vanilla are great in cider. Vanilla is good in all the above, including coffee!

I am working on my Christmas flavors now! The mashed potatoes and gravy flavor didn't turn out too well (insert wink).

What flavors will you be creating??

Enjoy and remember to drink responsibly.

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