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Sunset Cocktail

April 24, 2012 by Alicia | 13 Comments

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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El Pepino Cocktail

April 26, 2012 by Alicia | 13 Comments

You’re going to think I’m some kind of freak of nature when I tell you this… but I don’t like Margaritas. I’m kind of scared to admit that to people, especially as I’m writing this blog about boozing and infusing. It is almost Cinco de Mayo! What a perfect time for Margaritas, and infused tequila. But not for me. I usually go for a Mexican beer with lime. Which is delicious in its own right. But… this year will be different.



A few weeks ago, I made the Lime-Chipotle Finishing Salt from The Cozy Herbivore. It is delicious on popcorn, and sprinkled into a variety of dishes. Among the list of recommended uses is a Margarita Rim. I’m always jealous of those who drink Margaritas. They always look so tasty.
So, I decided I would enjoy this salt on the rim of a different drink. We happened to have some Cucumber Vodka left, so it seemed only logical to pair it with this salt.

El Pepino

2 oz Cucumber Vodka
1 oz Gin
1 TB Dry Vermouth
1 TB Fresh squeezed lime juice
Lime-Chipotle Finishing Salt
Run a lime wedge around the rim of the glass, and then dip in the Lime Chipotle Salt. Stir the remaining ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, strain and enjoy.
The salt and chipotle finish off the flavor so well, without being over-powering. I can see why others have said that this had really stepped up their margarita consumption. It is not too late to infuse some cucumbers before Cinco de Mayo… if you’re so inclined. This would be a great addition to your festivities!
Salud!

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Chocolate Covered Candied Bourbon Cherries

May 3, 2012 by Alicia | 2 Comments

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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Star Anise Gin

May 15, 2012 by Alicia | 13 Comments

Anise… I think this is one of those flavors where you either love it or hate it. My mother happens to love it, and she loves gin. So this was one of her Mother’s Day goodies.



Star Anise Gin

20 grams Star Anise
1 c. gin
1 TB Simple Syrup (or more/less to taste)
Place Star Anise in a jar, add gin, seal tight and shake. Allow to infuse for about 2-3 days, then add simple syrup.
At 3 days, this tasted pretty good. Keep infusing until it reaches your desired taste, then strain and filter with cheesecloth and coffee filter if desired. Your infusion time will depend on how strong you want the flavor. It reminded me of a Good and Plenty candy (which I always loved).
I happened to have a lot of star anise, but you could probably cut way back on the amount in the infusion and just allow it to sit for a longer period.
This was very easy and really tasty on its own. And I think might make for a very refreshing gin and tonic!
Cheers to Mom!



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Sesame-Honey Vodka

May 17, 2012 by Alicia | 12 Comments

I like sesame, and I like honey. When I was a kid, we used to make a variety of a honey-sesame candy, and somehow I thought it would be good to infuse vodka with these flavors. … it is delicious!


Sesame-Honey Vodka
1 oz Sesame Seeds
1 c. Vodka
2 TB Honey
Stirring frequently, toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan on low, until they start to brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add all ingredients to a small canning jar or other sealing jar. Shake, and allow to infuse in a dark, cool place for 3-4 weeks. Strain and filter, with cheesecloth and a coffee filter, then enjoy!
This infusion really tastes like sesame and honey. I think it will be great in cocktails… any ideas?
Ok, so back to these sesame seeds… Since I’ve been on a roll trying to use my infused ingredients, I decided to keep the infused, vodka soaked seeds. I toasted them on low in the oven until they started to brown, stirring occasionally. I then roughly followed the instructions for a sesame-honey candy (from Nourished Kitchen), and … they were pretty good! They disappeared pretty fast.


If you like sesame, you will like this liqueur.

Cheers!


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Peanut Bourbon

May 20, 2012 by Alicia | 8 Comments

This is an easy one. And if you like peanuts, you will like this.


Peanut Bourbon
2/3 c. Raw Peanuts (unsalted)
1 1/2 c. Bourbon (or other spirit of your choice)
Remove skins from peanuts, and give just a quick rough chop (not much). Toast the peanuts lightly until they just start to brown and the oils are starting to come out. Set the peanuts aside and allow to cool. Once cooled, add both the peanuts and bourbon to a jar and cap it. Shake or stir, and keep in a cool dark place. Allow to infuse until it reaches your desired taste. We let this infuse for about a month, but you could do a much shorter time. It started to get the peanut flavor very quickly. Strain and filter with cheesecloth, and if desired, with a coffee filter.
* Keep those peanuts after you have strained them! (And stay tuned for a future post about the delicious treats we made with those infused peanuts.)


If you can’t find raw peanuts, you could probably try any unsalted peanuts. Make sure if you do use raw peanuts that you toast them to bring out the flavors. I made another nut-infused liqueur without toasting and it didn’t turn out as well.
Cheers!

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Chocolate Bourbon-Peanut Clusters

May 22, 2012 by Alicia | 11 Comments

These chocolate peanut clusters are made with the bourbon-soaked peanuts from our last post, Peanut Bourbon.


I wasn’t sure how these were going to turn out, so I didn’t measure precisely. These are rough estimates, but I don’t think the amounts are all that important. The recipe was following the same idea and inspiration from Oh She Glows (which we also used on the chocolate covered candied bourbon cherries.)
Chocolate Bourbon-Peanut Clusters
2/3 c. Bourbon-soaked Peanuts (from the peanut bourbon)
1/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 TB Coconut Oil
2 healthy pinches of Sea Salt
Roast the peanuts in a low oven (225-275 degrees) tossing occasionally, until the peanuts are nearly dried out. Let sit until the following day.
Heat chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave or double boiler until the chocolate is mostly melted. Stir in the peanuts, and sea salt. Spoon onto a plate or parchment paper and place in refrigerator or freezer to set. Keep in refrigerator until you eat them (which probably won’t be that long…)
The sea salt is what really made these perfect. You could probably substitute a flaked salt or finishing salt with great results. We had a hand-picked, Oregon Sea Salt which gave it just the right flavor.
Enjoy!


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Almond Liqueur

August 8, 2012 by Alicia | 19 Comments

Ah, summer! We are finally enjoying the warm weather in the Northwest. With all the gorgeous fresh, local fruits available it is tempting to infuse everything in sight! So you may be wondering why I’m posting an almond liqueur recipe that can be done any time of year.



I started this infusion way back in March. I wasn’t crazy about it at first, so I left the infusion in the back of my coat closet for many months.
I finally strained this about two weeks ago. All it was missing was a bit of simple syrup. Once that was added, this liqueur instantly turned into something that is amazing and delicious.

Almond Liqueur

1 c. Raw Almonds, roughly chopped
1 c. Brandy
1 c. Vodka
1/2 Vanilla Bean, split
1 1/2 – 2 TB Simple Syrup
Place the almonds, brandy, vodka, and vanilla bean in a quart jar or bottle. Close the jar, and allow to infuse for approximately four weeks. (Probably not necessary to let it sit four months like I did!) Strain, then filter through a jelly bag or cheesecloth, and finally coffee filters. Add simple syrup to taste (approximately 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons).
The coffee filters are really important with this straining process. The liquid was very cloudy until it passed through the coffee filters, and then at once became a beautifully clear, golden color.
This liqueur is delicious and may become a regular infusion, and a favorite.
Cheers!

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Lemongrass Vodka

June 9, 2012 by Alicia | 10 Comments

This is a very simple infusion… almost to simple to post. But I’m posting anyway, and there is a reason behind it.
A few days ago I participated in a twitter chat called #GartenderChat. What is Gartending, you might ask? Gardening + bartending = growing your own cocktails!
Wonderful, right?!? This was the brain child (please correct me if I’m wrong) of Jayme Jenkins of aHa! Modern Living and Nest in Style. The chat was hosted by Jayme and Nicky from Dirt and Martinis.
All that gardening/cocktail chat inspired me to make a garden-themed cocktail. I ended up making a spectacular drink with some herbs from my garden, plus this lemongrass infused vodka.



Lemongrass Vodka

1 scant cup Sliced Lemongrass
1 1/2 c. Vodka
Let infuse for 2 weeks. Strain and filter.
This smells and tastes like a lovely lemongrass-infused vodka… exactly as you would expect. I happen to adore lemongrass, so I couldn’t wait to make this.
I promise to post the cocktail very soon. In the meantime, you should definitely start this infusion.
Cheers!

Related Posts:
Lemongrass-Sage Cocktail

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