Boozed + Infused

Infusing liqueurs at home with inspiring and seasonal ingredients

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Chocolate Covered Candied Bourbon Cherries

Are you sick of me posting about cherries yet? I figured it has been long enough since the last cherry cocktail that I could revisit one of my favorite fruits.

When we make a liqueur or infusion, we occasionally get questions about what to do with the “boozed” substance that is left behind after making an infusion. Jim from 2012 Will Be Delicious! said that he made the Oatmeal and Brown Sugar Booze and later ate the oats as a “hangover cure” breakfast. Sounds interesting!

I hate to admit to waste, but I nearly always toss out the ingredient after it has infused the alcohol. Usually the ingredient has become overwhelmingly boozy, with almost no flavor left behind. I often save vanilla beans from infusions, and we have scraped what was left in the pod to use in something else. I have a bag of cinnamon/vanilla/bourbon soaked apples in my freezer with the intent of using them in a boozy pie… but I don’t know if that will ever happen. We did use some bourbon soaked figs in a baked English Toffee Pudding (in place of chopped dates).

With the Cherry Bourbon, someone asked what I was going to do with the dried cherries after I filtered all of the bourbon out. Well, we candied them and covered them in chocolate!

Step 1: Candied Cherries

1 1/2 c. Bourbon soaked Cherries (from the Cherry Bourbon)

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. Cherry Juice (the one we used was called “Just Black Cherry”)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Simmer on low until almost all of the liquid is gone (ours took about 20 min.).

Spread them out on parchment paper or a silicone pan liner. I spread them out individually so they wouldn’t clump together. Alternatively, you could press them into a layer in a baking dish and cut into squares or use in a cookie bar, etc. These are super sticky and chewy, but very tasty.

Allow to cool. We kept them on wax paper, and placed them in the refrigerator until we were ready to use. (And by ready to use, I mean ready to coat with chocolate!)

Step 2: Cover with Chocolate

I followed the recipe from Oh She Glows for 3 Ingredient Chocolate Covered Raisins, substituting the Candied Cherries.

1 1/2 c. Candied Cherries

1/4 c. Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 TB Coconut Oil

Place chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for approximately 1 minute. Stir to incorporate all the chocolate, ensuring all the chips are melted. Mix in the cherries, about 1/4 cup at a time. Spread out onto parchment paper or wax paper, and place in freezer to harden. Once the chocolate has dried, remove from freezer and break up the fruit. Delicious!

Have any of you saved the “boozed” ingredients from your infusions? What have you made with them?


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Sweet & Sour… the drink

I’ve never been a big fan of “sweet and sour” food dishes. But give me a sweet and sour cocktail and I’m in heaven.

Last week we enjoyed a delicious dinner at one of our favorite Portland restaurants, Pok Pok. After sipping Tamarind Whiskey Sours, we returned home, anxious to try another tamarind cocktail with our Tamarind-Orange Gin.

Sweet & Sour

2 oz Tamarind-Orange Gin

2 oz Bourbon

1 TB Fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 tsp chocolate bourbon (or substitute a dash of chocolate bitters)

2 dashes cranberry bitters (optional)

Stir with ice, strain over more ice, and garnish with lemon slice or twist.

This made 2 small cocktails. You may want to double this depending on how thirsty you are…

Because we have so many infusions building up in our liquor cabinet (also known as the coat closet) we were able to throw a lot of additional flavors in there. Some of the last ingredients could be substituted with a different variety of bitters, and would turn out great.

Cheers!


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Tamarind-Orange Gin

I have been enjoying tamarind flavors in a number of Indian and Thai dishes for years, but until recently it had not occurred to me to attempt to use tamarind in anything myself. Last year, I was making a recipe that called for tamarind concentrate. We used it in a few dishes (and a few cocktails), and when I recently stumbled upon a bag of dried tamarind pods in a local international market, I decided it was finally time to figure out how to really use this lovely fruit.

Now, I am certainly not an expert on how to properly use tamarind. So for those of you who are, feel free to chime in on how I should have prepared this fruit.

First I cracked off the hard, outer pod. Then, inside the fruit are very large seeds which I removed. Although I probably could have infused the fruit at that point, I thought reconstituting the fruit a bit might help bring out the flavor. So I added some water and heated it on the stove (as above). It isn’t very pretty at this point, but it has that lovely, tangy flavor.

Tamarind-Orange Gin

50 g. tamarind flesh (approximately 1/3 cup)

1/2 c. water

Zest of 1 orange

1 1/2 c. Gin

2 TB Sugar

Combine the tamarind flesh and 1/2 cup water in a small sauce pan and place on stove. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 3-4 minutes, or until most of the water has either soaked into the flesh or evaporated. Remove from heat and let it cool.

After the tamarind cools, combine all ingredients in a jar, shake and let sit in a cool area for a few weeks. We let this infuse for about 3 weeks, but it seemed to infuse pretty quickly. You could probably do this in two weeks, or even use a bit more gin. Strain and filter through a strainer, cheesecloth or jelly bag, and finally a coffee filter.

We love this liqueur. Both the tamarind and orange flavors stand out beautifully. We have tried it in a gin and tonic, and I think you can guess how delicious it was. More cocktails recipes to follow…

Don’t let the tamarind intimidate you! I’m so pleased with how well this infused and how easy it was, we will make more tamarind infusions as well.

Enjoy!

Tamarind-Orange Gin on Punk Domestics


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Sunset Cocktail

I spent some time this weekend working on the landscape around our garden bed. This included laying sand, pebbles, cut stone, and ground cover. After the physical labor was done, it was time for a refreshing cocktail… and seeing as it was sunset, the Sunset Cocktail magically appeared on our patio.

Sunset Cocktail

3 oz Orange Juice

2 oz Pineapple Rum

1 oz Hibiscus Brandy

Add ice to glass, pour ingredients in order listed above. Enjoy!

As an alternative, we had Hibiscus mimosas a few weeks ago that were a great morning version of this cocktail (not that this Sunset can’t be enjoyed at Sunrise… it does have orange juice, after all!)

For the Hibiscus mimosas, try 2 oz OJ, 2 oz champagne, and 1/2 oz Hibiscus Brandy.

Cheers!


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Mushroom Vodka… I’m not kidding

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:

Maple Mushroom Martini


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Oatmeal & Brown Sugar Booze – why oatmeal is not just for breakfast anymore!

How do you like your oatmeal? Do you like it with cream and brown sugar? How about raisins and walnuts? Even if you don’t normally eat or care for oatmeal, I have a feeling you will like this…

I was inspired by an Oat and Honey Vodka recipe from Chow, which lists that it is adapted from Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

I have trouble following directions, so I didn’t follow the recipe. I really love brown sugar in my oatmeal, so we adapted it accordingly. It was hard to keep myself from putting dried cranberries and walnuts in there, but we wanted to be able to try this on its own first.

Oatmeal & Brown Sugar Booze

1 c. rolled oats

1 1/2 c. vodka

2/3 c. brandy

1/4 c. packed light brown sugar

We infused this for about 9 days, then strained and filtered well.

We did not refrigerate as the Chow recipe indicates. With the portions of ingredients we used, it was not necessary.

The oatmeal gives it a creamy flavor, and it is delicious! We have not tried it in cocktails yet, but this recipe from Chow says to add half-and-half for a Quaker Shaker.

Maybe the true inspiration for this is my college reunion (which I am not attending)… our mascot was the Quaker. Here’s a toast to dear old Penn!

Give this one a try. You won’t regret it.


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Carrot Vodka

I’m convinced that adding booze makes anything delicious! That kind of makes it sound like I have a problem…

I love carrots, especially raw carrots. Infusing cucumbers in vodka worked so well, we thought we’d give carrots a try!

Carrot Vodka

2-3 medium carrots, peeled

1 1/4 c. vodka (or enough to cover your carrots)

After discarding the outer peel of the carrots, continue to peel them until the whole carrot has turned into thin strips. Place in jar, and lightly press into place. Cover with vodka (or your choice of spirit) and infuse until it reaches your desired taste. We infused for about 9-10 days.

Strain and filter the liquid and enjoy! The result is a little cloudy, just a hint of pale orange, but deliciously tastes like sweet carrots. It is not over powering. This will be great in a number of cocktails… Bloody Mary?

We had been wanting to do a carrot infusion for a while, then really got some inspiration from Good Booze with their Carrot Top. They infused carrots in rye, which I’m sure is fabulous.

Happy spring and happy sipping!

Carrot Vodka on Punk Domestics


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Kiwi Liqueur

I wanted to do a kiwi liqueur for St. Patrick’s Day. I thought that the green fruit would produce a green liqueur.

I was wrong. It’s not green. Not even remotely. The good news is that it’s delicious.

Kiwi Liqueur

9 kiwi (peeled and sliced)

3 c. vodka

3-4 TB Simple Syrup (or to taste)

Place the kiwi and vodka in a large jar and keep in a dark place for about 4 weeks. Strain and filter the kiwi out, and add 3 to 4 Tablespoons of simple syrup, or until it reaches your desired taste.

At this point, I got a little frustrated. I thought that I had filtered the liquid well enough, but there was a thick sludge in the bottom of the jar. So I let this sit around for another month while I stewed about it…

Finally, I decided to filter it again. I doubled the coffee filters and changed them several times during the process. I even had to just toss out about a half cup of the liquid that was just too thick to even try to put through the coffee filters.

The result is a pale yellow, and surprisingly clear liquid!

The additional month since the first filtration gave the liqueur some time to mellow, and it tastes pretty good. I think it will continue to get even smoother.

So far we have only tried this on its own. Any cocktail suggestions?

Cheers!

Kiwi Liqueur on Punk Domestics


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Black Forest Cocktail

What happens when boozy cherries, cherry bourbon, chocolate bourbon and coconut liqueur get together? Deliciousness! That’s what happens.

It may not look pretty, but it is freaking awesome!

We present to you the Black Forest Cocktail (serves 2)

3 oz Chocolate Bourbon

2 oz Cherry Bourbon

2 oz Coconut liqueur

2 oz boozy cherry syrup (from creme de cocoa cherries, brandied cherries, etc.)

4 Creme de cocoa or brandied cherries

Muddle 2 cherries in the bottom of each glass. Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker or glass, add ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into glasses over the muddled cherries.

The boozy cherry syrup is a simple syrup that is infused with a spirit of your choice and fresh cherries. We will (at some point… probably cherry season) post our boozy cherry recipes. But we have cocktails to make and booze to infuse… please be patient.

This cocktail used a lot of the flavors that we have shown you over the last few months. If you don’t have all of them, I’m sure you can figure out some substitutions. Coconut liqueur is a pretty easy one to figure out, as is the cherry bourbon. If you don’t have the Chocolate Bourbon… please make it ASAP!

Enjoy the weekend… we are!


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Elder Gin

We are calling this simply Elder Gin because it includes both elder berries and elder flowers… they were both dried. Sorry we didn’t have fresh. We started this back in February and fresh ingredients were a bit scarce. It is amazing the varieties of flavors and ingredients you can find when you just look for them.

Elder Gin

2 TB Dried Elder Berries

1/3 c. Dried Elder Flowers

2 c. Gin

2 TB Simple Syrup (or to taste)

Infuse the elder berries and flowers in gin for about 2-3 weeks. Strain, filter, add simple syrup. Tasty!

The first thing you should know about this liqueur is that if you don’t like licorice, you may not like this either. I don’t think it has much of a licorice flavor (I happen to love licorice), but my husband (a licorice hater) commented that he thought this tasted like licorice. My sister thought so as well. I had no idea that the elder berry is called “Sambucus (name your species here)”. Did you?

I can tell you that it is very flavorful on its own, and I think many people will love it. I tried it in champagne over the weekend, and it was fabulous!

For those of you who are St. Germain fans, if you have trouble finding the fresh flowers to make a liqueur, try using the dried and see what you think. I obtained both the dried elder berries and dried elder flowers at Homebrew Exchange. Their store is in Portland, and they also sell online.

It was amazing how quickly the little dried elder berries, which were about the size of pepper corns, infused the color into the liqueur. The color is very rich and looks beautiful.

I haven’t tried it in any other cocktails yet, but welcome your suggestions!

Elder Gin on Punk Domestics