Boozed + Infused

Infusing liqueurs at home with inspiring and seasonal ingredients

Tag Archives: Bourbon


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German Chocolate Cocktail

Who’s ready for a drink?

That’s what I thought…

We have started accumulating so many delicious liqueurs and infusions in our liquor cabinet (ok, it is really the coat closet) that it seemed a shame to just let them sit there… time for a fun, new concoction…

German Chocolate Cocktail

1 oz Chocolate Bourbon

1 oz Coconut Liqueur

1/2 oz Walnut Liqueur

1/2 oz White Creme de Cacao

Coconut flakes for garnish

If you’ve read this far, you know what to do…

German chocolate cake usually has pecans instead of walnuts, but I figured this was close enough. I think this would be delicious with any other nut liqueur as well (try it with Frangelico or Amaretto).

We thought it was a nice dessert beverage (and not too sweet). Give it a try and see what you think. Or try some variations and improvisations and share your taste tests with us…

Cheers!


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Chocolate Bourbon

I knew this would be a big hit in my household. My husband is both a chocolate lover and bourbon lover, so the combination seemed perfect.

How do you infuse alcohol with chocolate? You need to get your hands on some cocoa nibs. Cocoa nibs are easier to find than you might think. In Portland, we are fortunate to have some amazing chocolate shops. I picked up these organic, Madagascar cocoa nibs at Cacao. Their website says that they accept orders by phone or email, but they do not currently have online shopping. Also in Portland (and NYC), cocoa nibs can be found at The Meadow. The Meadow carries Valhrona cocoa nibs, and does have online shopping. Try some of the finer chocolate shops in your town to see if they carry them. (If all else fails, they can be found on Amazon.)

Chocolate Bourbon

2 c. bourbon

1/2 c. cocoa nibs

One-inch piece of vanilla bean, split

Combine all ingredients in a glass jar or vessel. Infuse for approximately 3 weeks, or until it reaches your desired taste. Strain & filter. Enjoy, sip, and savor…

The final product is very a rich chocolate color. After three weeks of infusing, this tasted strongly of chocolate, but did not overpower the bourbon.

This is delicious!

If you are not a bourbon fan, try substituting brandy for the bourbon. In the coming months, I’m sure we will feature several more cocoa nib infusions and cocktails.

If you love chocolate, give this a try!


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Chocolate Infused Cherry Cocktail

My love of cherries has been no secret. The pale beauties in this drink come from the preserved cherries we made last summer. They feature the Queen Anne or Royal Anne cherries. The flavor of the Royal Anne cherry is very delicate. They might just be my favorite cherry.

We preserved the Royal Anne cherries in a variety of sugary/boozy mixtures. One of which was a simple syrup with Creme de Cacao. It gave just a hint of chocolate flavor to the sweet cherries.

I like chocolate martinis, but typically the clear variety. I much prefer it to the thick, creamy, syrupy versions. My chocolate martini consists of equal parts vanilla vodka and white creme de cacao. So for this drink, we added a hint of cherry.

Chocolate Infused Cherry Cocktail

1 oz Vanilla Vodka

1 oz White Creme de Cacao

1 oz Cherry Bourbon or Cherry Brandy

Creme de Cacao infused preserved cherries (or brandied cherries)

Shake all ingredients with ice, and pour into chilled or frosted martini glasses. Garnish with Creme de Cacao infused cherries.

Of course this would be delicious with brandied cherries instead of the Creme de Cacao cherries. And any cherry brandy or cherry liqueur would work well in place of the cherry bourbon. This gives a nice light mix of cherry and chocolate without either flavor overpowering.

Cheers!


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Cherry Bomb!

If you haven’t yet made the Cherry Bourbon, you will want to for this cocktail!

Cherry Bomb Cocktail (makes 2)

3 oz Cherry Bourbon

1 oz Cherry Juice (you can find in the health food/organic section of the grocery store – called Just Black Cherry)

1 oz fresh squeezed Lemon Juice

1 oz Creme de Cacao

Brandied Cherry – for garnish

Combine all but the brandied cherry in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with brandied cherry.

I really don’t mean to call every cocktail my “new favorite”. But seriously, this is SO good! If you have even remotely considered making the cherry bourbon recipe, I would highly recommend it.

Cheers!

Related Posts:

Cherry Bourbon (with dried cherries)

Fresh Cherry Bourbon


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Cherry Bourbon

I’ve never met an infused bourbon I didn’t like…

I love cherries. You will see cherry brandy, brandied cherries, and perhaps many other varieties of canned/boozy cherries in my cocktail recipes. When we get to cherry season, I no doubt will have many postings for making your own cocktail cherries. We are many months from cherry season in the Pacific Northwest. In the meantime, dried cherries are just the prescription.

Dried fruits tend to infuse fairly quickly, and leave a thicker feel to the liqueur. This infused so quickly that I ended up adding more bourbon, and after a few more days, the same luscious cherry flavor had taken over.

Cherry Bourbon

6 oz dried cherries (we used dried tart cherries that had been sweetened – Mariani brand)

3 c. bourbon

This will taste really good after a few days, even better after a week, and amazing at 2 weeks – if you can wait that long. I haven’t even bothered filtering or straining the cherries out of this. We just started pouring the bourbon off the top.

Cherry bourbon makes amazing cocktails. Recipes will be forthcoming… so go out and get some dried cherries, and make this!

Related Posts:

Fresh Cherry Bourbon

Cherry Bomb Cocktail


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Apple Pie Bourbon

This infusion is very easy to make. Both bourbon lovers and bourbon abstainers love this concoction.

I found some similar recipes that called for a 2-5 day infusion. Lately, I have seen a lot of tips that call for infusing liqueurs for only a few days. I taste all my infusions frequently, and while some ingredients may act quickly, I prefer to infuse most of my liqueurs for a longer time period. Sometimes it may take months. Use your judgment here, but I let this marinate about a month.

Apple Pie Bourbon

750 ml Bourbon

3 Granny smith apples (or enough to cover)

Cinnamon Stick

1/2 vanilla bean, split

Slice and core the apples. Discard the cores. Place the apple slices, cinnamon, and vanilla bean in a large jar. Add bourbon, making sure it covers all the apples slices. Close tightly and stir or shake every few days. Allow to infuse for about a month or until it reaches your desired taste. Keep in mind that the flavors will mellow and change over time. Strain and filter through a strainer, cheesecloth, and coffee filters.

Almost immediately, the harsh alcohol flavor was mellowed. The cinnamon took over pretty quickly. Be patient, the rest of the flavors will come through. After infusing for a month, the apple and vanilla were much stronger. And as with many infusions, flavors change and mellow after all of the ingredients are filtered out. A few weeks after straining, the cinnamon flavor was less intense and the liqueur was a very balanced, apple pie taste. This has been a favorite of many! We will make it again, and probably try some variations as well.

* Save the apples when you strain the bourbon. They make a great filling for Bourbon Apple Pies!

Related Posts:

Bourbon Apple Pies

Infused Bourbon

Apple Liqueur

Caramel Apple Liqueur

Apple Pie Bourbon on Punk Domestics


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Kentucky Apricot

Last summer I picked up a bunch of apricots at a farm stand in Central Washington. They turned out to be a little bland, but I decided to try making an apricot-vanilla liqueur. So with a pound or two of apricots, some sugar, half a split vanilla bean, and a bottle of vodka, I let the mixture infuse for two months. It still wasn’t a strong enough apricot flavor for my taste, so I added a half pound of chopped, dried apricots, and let it infuse another three weeks. It was very tangy and had a very strong apricot flavor.  This cocktail recipe uses that apricot-vanilla liqueur.

Kentucky Apricot

1 1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur

1 1/2 oz Kentucky Bourbon

3-4 dashes cranberry bitters (or other tart/fruity bitters) we used our house made bitters

long lemon twist

Shake with ice, strain and serve with lemon twist.

What I really like about having all of our house-made liqueurs is being able to experiment with new cocktail flavors.  I am certainly no mixologist. But I do have fun trying new cocktails and mixing up something new! My cold Friday evening just got a little warmer…

Cheers!


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Fig Manhattan

Step 1: Make a home-infused Fig Bourbon

Our recipe for Fig-Infused Bourbon:  750 ml bottle of Bourbon (we used Jim Beam), 12 oz dried Black Mission Figs. Place the figs in a large canning jar, pour bourbon over the figs and let them marinate for approximately 1 month (or until it reaches your desired taste). Strain and enjoy!

Step 2: Drink the fig bourbon as a straight liqueur at room temperature (sweet enough for a dessert beverage) or use it in cocktails. Our first cocktail attempt is a keeper – the Fig Manhattan. Essentially, we replaced Sweet Vermouth with Fig Bourbon.

Recipe:

2 oz Whiskey/Bourbon

1 oz Fig-Infused Bourbon

1/2 oz Dry Vermouth

Dash of Angostura Bitters

* Brandied cherry (add at the end)

Combine all liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini glass and add a brandied cherry.