I don’t know if you will believe me, but Mushroom Vodka is actually delicious!
I struggled with what kind of mushrooms to infuse, and what spirit to put them in. Many of you who are not vodka fans, but our intent was to try to leave the mushroom flavor to stand on its own. We didn’t want to mask the mushroom or interfere with the flavors it was infusing into the booze. Vodka seemed the best way to do that.
As for the mushrooms, I have heard a few accounts of infusing candy cap mushrooms, which apparently give a slightly sweet, maple-like flavor to the alcohol. I also found one reference to using porcini mushrooms. I have never had candy cap mushrooms, and truthfully, I was too lazy to go looking for them. I happen to love chanterelles, so that was what we infused.
Mushroom Vodka
1/4 cup Dried Chanterelle Mushrooms (a bit overflowing)
1 cup Vodka
Combine ingredients in a jar, seal and infuse for about 3 days. Strain.
Now we need to figure out what kind of cocktail we would like to use this in. We will probably do something simple, to appreciate the mushroom flavor. It is slightly sweet, and has subtly mellowed the vodka a bit.
Please let us know if you infuse any mushrooms and feel free to send us your cocktail suggestions.
Cheers!
Related Post:
Boozed + Infused 
April 19, 2012 at 6:45 pm
neat idea and another one I’ll take a whack at myself. there’s a local NorCal mushroom grower at my farmers market who has all manner of fungi. I’ll see what he has this time of year, and dust off my dehydrator!
the closest thing I’ve had was a black truffle vodka made by Modern Spirits. it kind of missed the mark.
April 19, 2012 at 6:51 pm
Thanks, I will be interested to hear what you end up making. I think people have a tendency to think anything made with truffles would have to be delicious, but they don’t belong in everything. Hard to know until you try it! I was nervous in making this infusion (hence the ultra-small batch). But I’m very glad I did.
April 19, 2012 at 6:54 pm
Mmmm, I’ll bet mushroom infused bourbon then mixed with Cointreau or just a touch of orange bitters would be outstanding!
April 19, 2012 at 6:59 pm
You may be right… Bourbon is amazing for infusions. I think I appreciate it more each time we infuse something with it. So, I think mushroom-bourbon will have to be on our list… and the orange bitters sounds tasty. Thanks!
April 20, 2012 at 3:54 am
I’ve done a mushroom bourbon before. It’s delish! However, I simply drank it straight instead of going the cocktail route. If I did it again I’d probably do a Mushroom Manhattan.
I’ll have to give mushroom vodka a try though.
April 20, 2012 at 7:30 am
great! I was thinking I might like to do a mushroom bourbon, and a Manhattan sound perfect. Do you Remember what kind of mushrooms you used?
April 19, 2012 at 6:57 pm
Mmmm, mushroom infused bourbon on the rocks with a dash of orange bitters sounds really good! I’m inspired now.
April 20, 2012 at 6:12 am
Crazy, but chanterelles are the right choice- sweet flavor…
April 20, 2012 at 9:28 am
Reblogged this on La Chica Hungry and commented:
This girl is amazing. First carrot vodka and now mushroom. What will she think up next! Kudos to “Boozed and Infused” for AMAZING creativity!
April 21, 2012 at 9:08 am
Thanks for the lovely compliment!
April 20, 2012 at 10:41 am
I used to do a chanterelle mushroom-infused vodka for a cocktail I had at my old job. I spent a long time trying to find the right vodka for it, because I wanted something that was a bit unctuous a flavorful in its own right. Something early. I ended up settling on Karlsson’s Gold (If you aren’t familiar, you should go out and get some).
I tried a few different infusions, but ultimately found a heavy mushroom infusion (like the one you show here) to be a bit too much like rubbing mud in my face. I was going for something more delicate. Eventually I settled on a light chanterelle infusion along with pink peppercorns. This got served with a little Cocchi Americano, stirred and strained into a martini glass, garnished with a cocktail onion. It was delicious.
I’d love to find other uses for mushrooms in cocktails. I definitely like the mushroom manhattan idea. I’d also love to play around with infusing a scotch for a mushroom rob roy. Some scotches (Springbank, for example) are already quite earthy and might take nicely to it.
April 21, 2012 at 9:06 am
I have not tried Karlsson’s Gold – will have to add it to the list. As for the chanterelle’s in vodka, If needed, I can thin this out a bit. I like the sound of the pink peppercorns, and your cocktail with the Cocchi Americano. Sounds very interesting.
April 22, 2012 at 11:03 am
I have only had one mushroom infused spirit and that was several years ago at the Bomba Shack in Tortola B.V.I. where I tried the mushroom rum tea that they have a full moon parties. I still cannot recall the three days that followed the party so you can guess the mushrooms were not Chanterelles or anything else you can “legally” acquire at your local grocer.
For your concoction I am thinking two applications:
1 – A Chanterelle Martini pairing the infusion with a herbaceous gin (like Blue Coat). Go heavy on the infused vodka so the gin does not drown out the subtle sweet earth mushroom flavor (say 4 parts vodka to 1 part gin — stirred not shaken!) Maybe garnish with a goat cheese stuffed Cremni mushroom to highlight the earth notes.
2 – Cook with it! Sautéed Mushrooms with Penne pasta in Mushroom Vodka Cream Sauce. Use a mix of mushrooms to create a balance of light and meaty textures in the dish.
April 22, 2012 at 11:09 am
Ok, I’m cracking up… yeah, probably not chanterelles…
April 22, 2012 at 11:48 am
Pretty sure they weren’t Portabella or Oyster mushrooms either … LOL! It was definitely a mind expanding experience but something I would only do once. If you are in Tortola during the full moon give a try but be careful. Hallucinogenic mushrooms are legal but by no means a mild infusion addition to your spirits.
April 22, 2012 at 11:19 am
I missed the recipes suggestions before – sorry! They sound great… I think I’ll have to try out both of them – yum!
April 22, 2012 at 11:49 am
Cool! Let us know how they work out.
April 24, 2012 at 7:56 am
i luv mushrooms and i luv vodka — how could you go wrong?
April 24, 2012 at 5:58 pm
thanks Jereme… My thoughts exactly!
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August 30, 2013 at 6:50 pm
I made candy cap mushroom vodka a few months ago, from some mushrooms I bought from Far west Fungi in the San Francisco farmer’s market. Delicious! Very subtle maple syrup flavor. Mostly tastes like miscellaneous grass cuttings ‘n vodka. I’m drinking it right now actually, and it’s quite delectable!!
September 25, 2013 at 7:23 pm
I have heard about infusing candy caps, but didn’t have access to them when I was thinking about infusing mushrooms. They sound very intriguing! Hope I get a chance to infuse them sometime… Cheers~
July 26, 2014 at 1:48 pm
I attempted to make an Amanita Muscaria tincture last year. The process I use is an alchemical and spiritual tincture process, but starts the same as a mushroom infusion. I infused ~30g of dried, crushed Amanita Muscaria mushrooms into Christian Brothers Double Distilled White Frost Brandy which is 80 proof. Within 24 hours, the mushrooms appeared to congeal and grow in the alcohol base. Thinking it wasn’t a big deal, I strained the mixture and set the infusion in a cool, dark place. I checked on it the following day (this is now 48 hours into the infusion), and it again had grown a gelatinous mass in the alcohol. I strained it a total of 5 times through coffee filters. I still have it sitting in a mason jar in my shoppe and it continues to grow jelly-like masses. I will not drink it for obvious reasons. 🙂 But I am genuinely curious as to why a chanterelle infusino would work so well when an amanita infusion scares me! lol
August 29, 2014 at 3:07 pm
Just made a “mushroom Mary” with chanterelle-infused vodka. If you are part Hobbit, or just love mushrooms, this is worth making. Go light on the W-sauce so you don’t mask the mushroom flavour. (yes, it has a u in Canada)
September 16, 2014 at 9:25 pm
Richard, I love the comment about being part hobbit! Interesting use of the mushroom vodka… I like it! Cheers~
December 5, 2014 at 2:35 pm
I’m very happy to have come upon this thread! I thought porcini cocktails sounded nice, so I have some dried porcini infusing gin, and some infusing bourbon. I’m looking forward to the gin in a Bull Shot, and the bourbon’s future is undecided. I want to avoid the obvious, but not get over-complicated. Wish me luck!
December 9, 2014 at 8:35 pm
Good luck! Mushroom booze is definitely not for the faint of heart… I hope you like it. Cheers~
February 15, 2015 at 1:15 pm
Why would u put mushroom quantity in cups? I want weight not volume.