Boozed + Infused

Infusing liqueurs at home with inspiring and seasonal ingredients

Tag Archives: rum


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11 Favorite Holiday Booze Infusions

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

Peppermint Bark Liqueur

This is such a great time of year! No matter which holiday you celebrate, now is the time to get into the holiday spirit. Between holiday parties, family gatherings, gift giving and more, there are many reasons to start a holiday booze infusion right now!

A few years ago, I put together a list of some great holiday infusions (Holiday Fun Time). But since then, I have added a handful of holiday-themed booze infusions to the blog. I thought it would be a good time to share with you some of my favorite infusions for this time of year (and really, any time of year).

So here they are, in no particular order…

1. Gingerbread Liqueur – this one tastes just like gingerbread, and takes only a few days for the full infusion. Plenty of time to enjoy it this holiday season!

Gingerbread simmer

2. Peppermint Bark Liqueur – candy canes and cacao nibs in vodka!

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3. Pimento Dram – see why many people call this Christmas in a glass…

Allspice in rum

4. Apple Pie Bourbon – find out why this is our most popular infusion

Apple Pie Bourbon 1

5. Coffee Bourbon – I can’t tell you how great this is… you need to try it for yourself.

Coffee Bourbon

6. Winter Spice Liqueur – this is my attempt at turning the “Christmas Fragrance” of my childhood into a liqueur. And it is delicious!

holiday spice liqueur-ep

7. Irish Cream – this is ready immediately and is hard to resist…

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8. Cherry Bourbon – this is one of my all-time favorites!

dried cherry bourbon

9. Quick & Simple Limoncello – who doesn’t love limoncello? This fast and easy recipe will be infused well before the holidays!

lemons

10. Pear & Cranberry Liqueur – these are a few of my favorite flavors of the holidays.

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11. Oak Aged Manhattan – this is great for parties or gifts. It is a pre-mixed batch of cocktails, that has aged and mellowed with oak. If you like Manhattans, you must try it!

 

Oak Aged Rye Manhattan

I wish you a very happy holiday season filled with joy! Cheers~

Related Posts

Holiday Fun Time

Booze Infusion Index

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Apple Spice Liqueur

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This fall, I was making a big batch of apple butter with some delicious, sweet apples from my parents’ farm. As I cored and peeled the many many apples (and no, I do not yet have an apple peeler/corer), I decided it would be a shame to toss all of those fabulous apple scraps. Even though the worms in my compost bin would love them, I figured there would be a much better use… how about apple spice liqueur?

This recipe is very versatile. Feel free to use any apple variety that you enjoy, and the alcohol of your choice. I had a large bottle of silver rum, and thought it would be great with apples, spices, and brown sugar. You can also use whatever spice combination you prefer.

One of the most common questions I get is about the need to refrigerate the infusions. One of the most important factors in avoiding refrigeration is ensuring your final alcohol content is high enough. My rule of thumb when using an 80 proof spirit is to ensure the original liquor content is at least 50% of the total volume. So if you are placing your ingredients into a quart jar, make sure to fit at least 2 cups of 80 proof liquor. As long as you can close the jar, you can add as much of the other ingredients as you like.

I made three versions of the apple spice liqueur, all of which turned out great. I’m actually going to mix them all together for the final product and bottle them for the holidays.

Apple Spice Liqueur

2 cups Rum or spirit of your choice (480 mL)

1/3 to 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large cinnamon stick

6 whole allspice

2 cloves

Apple peels or apple slices

Place the first 5 ingredients in a quart jar. Add the apple peels and/or slices until the jar is full. Close the jar tightly and shake to help dissolve the sugar.

Place in a dark, cool spot for about a month, or until it reaches your desired flavor.

Strain and filter the liqueur, bottle, and enjoy!

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Have a very happy Thanksgiving! Cheers~

Related Posts

Apple Pie Bourbon

Holiday Infusion Ideas

Apple Liqueur


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Blueberry-Orange Liqueur for Party Cocktails!

Going to a fun summer party or cookout? Bring some infused booze!

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When we were invited to a family barbeque, I knew the best thing to bring would be a fun and easy infusion. I had a few weeks, so I knew there would be time to allow the flavors to infuse well. What did we make? Well, because we had blueberries and oranges in the house, I decided to be lazy and just go with whatever was handy. But really, you can come up with any combination you want. While we already had an infusion recipe for Blueberry Gin, we wanted to test out a little easier version. I think you will find this one to be really simple! (No cooking of the berries like the previous version.)

For a summer barbeque, we also wanted to be able to make easy, refreshing cocktails, so we chose an infusion that could easily be made into a simple highball.

Blueberry-Orange Liqueur

3 c. Frozen Blueberries (smashed)*

Zest of 1 Orange

750 mL Clear Liquor – 80 proof (we used Gin, but you could use vodka, rum, cachaça)

1/3 c. sugar

Combine all ingredients into a large glass jar or vessel. Shake well to combine. Infuse for 2-3 weeks or longer, depending on when your party is. Strain and filter, and return to the bottle (or something larger). Now you are ready to party!

*Note: we used frozen berries, as I did in our previous Blueberry Gin, but you could try fresh as well.

For the party, we thought it would be easiest to make Gin & Tonics. And who wouldn’t love a Blueberry-Orange G&T? All you need are a few bottles of tonic, a few lemons (we thought the lemon would go better with the blueberry-orange flavor than lime) and your home-infused booze!

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Blueberry-Orange Gin & Tonic

2 oz. Blueberry-Orange Liqueur

4 oz. Tonic

Lemon Wedge

Ice

Fill glass with ice. Add the blueberry-orange liqueur and tonic. Stir well, squeeze the lemon wedge and add to the glass. Alternatively, you could mix up a big batch in a pitcher and let everyone help themselves. (This did not last long at our gathering, so you could make a double or triple batch.)

Now go enjoy your party!

What kind of fun infusions will you bring to summer barbeques and cookouts this year? (Yes, sangria counts…)

Cheers!

Related Posts

Blueberry Gin

The Blueberry Pieball – our new favorite highball

Blueberry Orange Liqueur on Punk Domestics


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Favorite Raspberry Booze

Hi there friends. Sorry I have been so absent… Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

I can’t believe it is summer already! The time is flying by. This is my favorite time of year for many reasons. Among the top reasons are all of the fresh berries. So imagine my delight to receive a message from my grandmother asking if I would like to pick raspberries with her… of course I would! And I’m proud to say I made it home with a flat of them. Not bad for the first picking of the year.

raspberries

Last year I put together a line up of raspberry infusions. So rather than duplicate it, I will link you back to it, and share a few more tips and recommendations.

Raspberry Infusions: a little splash of heaven

If you are a fan of raspberry liqueur, I recommend the Chocolate-Raspberry Liqueur. I made this for the first time last year, and it was so good we made several batches of it. This was one of my favorite new recipes last year.

For those of you who enjoy caipirinhas, I would like to recommend infusing some cachaça with raspberries. The infused cachaça is highly coveted around here. Follow the recipe for Simple Raspberry Liqueur.

I hope you are all enjoying the summer!

Cheers~


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Holiday Liqueurs – Eastside Distilling

Can you believe it is December already? This time of year tends to get very busy. There are holiday parties, family gatherings and traditions, holiday decorating, and much more. Making gifts on top of all of that can be challenging! I would love nothing more than having each of you make some of our holiday-inspired infusions this December. But… I know that isn’t going to be possible for everyone. So for those of you who would like some holiday cheer without all the effort, we recommend checking out your local distillery. They may have some fun holiday-infused spirits already beautifully bottled for your parties, gift giving or just enjoying the holiday spirit this season.

Holiday Liqueurs at Eastside Distillery

Holiday Liqueurs at Eastside Distillery

We recently went to Eastside Distillery in Portland, Oregon and were blown away by all of their holiday inspired liqueurs and other spirits that will be great for the holiday season. This great little craft distillery has concocted an Eggnog Liqueur, Peppermint Bark Liqueur and Holiday Spiced Liqueur. They are all wonderful and will be great for any occasion. Many of their standard spirits will also be perfect for the holidays, including the Coffee Rum, Cherry Bomb, Ginger Rum and Burnside Bourbon. We loved everything at Eastside. And we think you will too!

Burnside Bourbon

Eastside spirits are available in Oregon and Washington, and some of them (including the Holiday Spiced Liqueur, Cherry Bomb whiskey and Coffee Rum) are even available online through Vintage Wine & Spirits.

Eastside also has some great gift packs available at their tasting room. Be sure to check them out!

Eastside Gift Pack

Eastside Gift Pack

We are fortunate to have a number of amazing craft distilleries in Portland, and many of them have spirits that will be great to enjoy this holiday season. We are looking forward to checking out the Booze Bazaar (yes you read that correctly) at House Spirits next weekend. We have been to House Spirits before and they are amazing. Their Whitedog Whiskey is one of my favorites, and their Coffee Rum and Aquavit would be great for the holidays as well.

We recommend checking out your local craft distillery this holiday season for some amazing holiday cheer! Distilling.com has a map of craft distilleries throughout the United States (and even  few in Canada). Also from Distilling.com is a list of distilleries in the US, but the map seems to be a bit more comprehensive and/or updated.

Cheers!

Related Posts:

Craft Distilleries: Drink Local!

Holiday Fun Time! Home-Infused Liqueurs for the Holidays


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Blackberry Infusions… Marionberry goodness

All of these infusions can be made with almost any variety of blackberry. Here in Oregon, we have a local cultivar of blackberry called the Marionberry.  This berry is slender and a bit tart, but a very tasty variety of blackberry.

I must be a bit greedy… because my recent trip to my parents’ farm to pick Marionberries yielded ten pounds of these beauties. (I also managed to come home with a couple pints of wild black raspberries, a favorite from my childhood.)

While most of the berries made their way into a large batch of jam, and a few ended up in a batch of Maple-Bourbon Blackberries, the rest were turned into several prized infusions.

Blackberry (Marionberry) Bourbon

2 1/2 c. Blackberries

2 1/4 c. Bourbon

Combine ingredients in a large jar, seal well and shake. Store in a cool, dark place for several months or until it reaches your desired taste, shaking contents every few days. Add sugar/honey if desired. Strain and filter with strainer, cheesecloth, and coffee filters.

Blackberry (Marionberry) Mojito Infusion

2 c. Blackberries

2 c. Rum

1/4 c. Packed mint leaves (we used a combination of spearmint and chocolate mint)

Zest of 1 lime

2 TB Sugar (or more to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a large jar and follow directions above for Blackberry Bourbon.

Blackberry-Lemon Liqueur

2 c. Blackberries

Zest of 1 lemon

1 1/4 c. Brandy

3/4 c. Vodka

2 TB Sugar (or more to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a large jar and follow directions above for Blackberry Bourbon.

While you may not have Marionberries in your area, try any of these liqueurs/infusions with your local variety of blackberry. As each variety has a different “sweetness” to it, you may want to alter the sugar content to suit your variety.

Cheers!

Related Post:

Bourbonberry Cocktail


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Strawberry Mojitos!

Happy 4th of July!

If you’ve been following along, you know that we started a Strawberry Rum infusion about a month ago. The strawberry flavor is now quite nice. And while I’m not quite ready to strain and filter the entire infusion, we can easily pour off some of the liquor to use in cocktails.

And to kick-start our holiday celebrating, we decided to test out some strawberry mojitos on July 3rd.

Strawberry Mojito (adapted from Allrecipes)

(makes one drink)

10 mint leaves

1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges

1/2 to 1 TB white sugar (or to taste)

2 oz Strawberry-Infused Rum

4 oz. club soda

ice

Muddle mint with 1-2 ice cubes in a sturdy glass. Add sugar. Squeeze 3 of the lime wedges into the glass, add the rind and muddle well. Fill glass with ice, add Strawberry-Infused Rum and club soda. Stir, and garnish with final lime wedge, and if desired more mint or fresh strawberries.

This drink turned out just as good as I had hoped. We loved them so much, we quickly had another! I have a feeling this Strawberry Booze will not last long…

If you are hoping to make these for your holiday festivities, you could muddle a few fresh strawberries into the glass, and just use regular rum.

What a perfect holiday refreshment.

Have a fun and safe holiday – Cheers!

Related Posts

Starting a Strawberry Booze Infusion

Update: Strawberry Booze Infusion, Day 5

Update: Strawberry Booze Infusion, Day 17


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Raspberry Infusions: a little splash of heaven

The first liqueur I ever made was Raspberry. I guess I should say the first four liqueurs I made were all Raspberry!

A few years ago, I went to my parents’ farm to pick some raspberries for jam. I came home with a LOT of berries. I made a few batches of jam, and it seemed like I had not even made a dent in the volume of raspberries. So I started going through my liquor cabinet, selecting anything that seemed like it would taste good with the berries.

I ended up with Raspberry Vodka, Raspberry Brandy, Raspberry Cachaça and Raspberry-Mint Gin. I left all of the infusions in the back of our coat closet for three months. And by the time we filtered them, they were heavenly. (Follow recipe for Simple Raspberry Liqueur below) Each year, the volume of Raspberry Liqueur in my pantry seems to grow.

As I started to infuse a wider variety of ingredients, the Raspberry liqueurs have remained some of my favorites.

I spent a good part of the day yesterday picking raspberries with my mother. (And I’ve got the scratches all over my arms to prove it!)

I ended up with about four pounds of amazing, sweet, delicious raspberries. If you have never infused raspberries before, you are really missing out. These wonderful liqueurs really are a little splash of heaven.

Simple Raspberry Liqueur

750 ml bottle of 80 proof booze (vodka, gin, rum, brandy, or cachaça)

3 1/2 c. raspberries

1/4 to 1/2 c. sugar (or more depending on your preference)

Combine all ingredients in a large glass jar. Shake or stir every few days, allowing to infuse for up to 3 months, or until it reaches your desired taste. Add more sugar if desired. Strain and filter well. The straining process can take a while with raspberries, but the jelly bag (or lots of cheesecloth) and coffee filters will produce a clear result.

Raspberry-Mint Gin (adapted from Get Fresh)

750 ml bottle of Gin

1 1/3 lb Raspberries

1/2 c. tightly packed mint leaves

1/2 c. sugar

Follow directions above, same as Simple Raspberry Liqueur.

This is a favorite of ours, and tastes amazing in a gin and tonic.

This year I decided to try out some new variations and flavors. I don’t quite know how they will turn out yet… I guess we’ll have to wait a while before we know. I hope these inspire you to get creative with your raspberry infusions as well.

Raspberry-Lemon Vodka

2 c. Raspberries

Zest of 2 lemons

2 c. Vodka

1/4 c. Sugar

Follow directions above, same as Simple Raspberry Liqueur.

ROB Rum (Raspberry-Orange-Blueberry)

1 c. Frozen Blueberries (cut in half or roughly chopped)

1 1/4 c. Raspberries

Zest of one orange

2 c. Rum

2 TB Sugar

Follow directions above, same as Simple Raspberry Liqueur.

After these have infused for a while, we may alter them with more sugar or simple syrup. We also may add more zest if necessary.

And finally, one last treat…

Chocolate-Raspberry Liqueur

1 1/2 c. Raspberries

1/4 c. cocoa nibs

1/4 c. sugar

2 c. vodka

Follow directions above, same as Simple Raspberry Liqueur.

We will let you know how these new flavors turn out… but it may be a while before they are ready. We will try tasting them before the three months are up to see if they infuse quicker than we think. But I think they will need at least a month.

Do you have any raspberry infusion flavor ideas? What are your favorites?

Cheers!

Related Posts

Raspberry Caipirinha

Raspberry Bliss

Update 7/12/12 Happy National Can It Forward Day! Visit great canning ideas at The Domestically Impaired Guide to Retro Kitchen Arts.


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Update: Strawberry Booze Infusion, Day 17

I didn’t forget about the strawberries, I promise! I took a little mini-vacation, hiking and beer-tasting my way through Central Oregon. (Both were amazing!) Now I’m back and have just sampled the gorgeous red strawberry infusion.

Our last post on the Strawberry Booze infusion was at Day 5, and it still had a fairly weak flavor.

At Day 17, the strawberry flavor is starting to get a bit stronger as is the color. I am hoping that the flavors will continue to enhance with more time, so I am still waiting… (fairly) patiently.

One thing that I did notice after looking back at the photos from Day 5, is that the strawberries have now sunk to the bottom of the jar. I’m no chemist, so I don’t really know what that means. I’m guessing there is more rum in the berries, and more of the fruit sugars in the rum at this point.

So, with the first day of summer almost upon us, we are not quite ready for those strawberry mojitos over here at Boozed + Infused. Maybe by the 4th of July? That would be quite festive! We can hope…

Cheers!


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Update: Strawberry Booze Infusion, Day 5

It is beautiful…

We started a Strawberry Rum infusion over the weekend. Today is day 5, and so far the color is gorgeous.

As you can see, the rum has very quickly taken on the beautiful red color of the strawberries, and the strawberries are mysteriously lacking color. I always love when this happens.

Right now the infusion smells like a lovely strawberry jam. The flavor tastes like strawberry, but not nearly as strong of a strawberry flavor as I would like. But I can see how some people would be perfectly happy with an infusion that is strictly rum and berries infusing for five days.

For me… I’m still infusing. I’m not caving this quickly.

How about you?