Flavored vodkas appear to be having a bit of a “moment.” Walk through the liquor section of a grocery market, and you’ll find vodka flavors like strawberry, lemon, whipped cream, cupcake… even bacon! (have mercy…) Whether or not you wish to experiment with the bounty of new vodka flavors, one thing is for certain – people are becoming more and more creative with their cocktails.
When it comes to any recipe, alcohol-related or not, I usually prefer to start from scratch. In terms of cocktails, rather than buying a flavored vodka, I thought it would be more fun to infuse the vodka with flavor myself. My friend Ashley walked me through the basics, and together we experimented with a few flavors. The process couldn’t be more simple. Just place your natural flavoring– citrus peels, strawberries, herbs, vanilla bean, or whatever you like from the list below– in a jar. Add the vodka and secure the lid. Give the mixture a good shake a few times a day. In 4-5 days, you’ll have naturally flavored vodka, which you can use in a variety of cocktail recipes.
For this post, we tried orange peel, basil and vanilla bean. They turned out fabulous, but don’t let those flavors limit your creativity. If berries are your thing, add at least a cup (or more) of whole, well-washed berries to your vodka. Same goes for pretty much any other fruit. Pineapple, melon and mango should be cut into chunks. And if you like spice, try adding some whole chili peppers to the jar – your bloody mary will never be the same.
I wanted to share this infusion method with you this week, so you have time to make some lovely infused vodkas for Purim. If you strain the flavored vodka into a pretty bottle, as we have here, they make a fun added “bonus” gift in a grownup Mishloach Manot basket. Flavored vodka is also a lovely “host gift” for any Purim parties you might be attending. In the coming days, I will share some cocktail recipes using these flavored vodkas, which you can print out and give along with the vodka. Stay tuned!
Note: To make this recipe gluten free, use a certified GF vodka made from potatoes.
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How to Infuse Vodka with Flavor
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups vodka
- Funnel
- Mesh strainer
- Quart jar with lid
- 3-4 cup capacity glass bottle with lid or cork
Optional Infusion Ingredients:
- Choose one ingredient per 3-4 cups vodka:
- 2 oranges or lemons
- 1-2 large sprigs of basil or another favorite herb (rosemary, mint, etc.)
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 cup clean berries
- 1 cup fruit cleaned and cut into chunks (pineapple, apple, melon, mango, etc.)
- 4-5 chili peppers
Instructions
- First, prepare the flavoring/infusion ingredient you will be using in your infused vodka. Make sure any ingredient you plan on using is carefully rinsed clean. Citrus peels and waxy fruit should be thoroughly scrubbed clean with a mild natural detergent before proceeding.
- If using oranges or lemons, use a peeler to peel the colorful part of the peel from the fruit, leaving the white part (the pith) behind. The pith can lead to bitterness, so you only want to use the thin outer layer of the citrus peel.
- If using a vanilla bean, slice the bean from top to bottom in one long slit, keeping it attached at the upper stem, so that the bean looks like a large V-shape.
- If using chili peppers, make a long thin slit into the skin of each pepper. Do not cut too deep or wide; the seeds need to remain in side the peppers. Just a simple slit will do it. Apples and other fruits with thin peels can be used, peeled or unpeeled, as long as they are clean with as little wax as possible on the exterior. Melons and other fruits with tough outer rinds should be sliced from their rinds prior to infusion.
- Take a clean quart jar with a wide mouth and place your infusion ingredient inside. Pour 3-4 cups of vodka over the top of the infusion ingredient. You will want to measure the capacity of the bottle you'll be using at the end of the infusion process for storing the vodka, so you know how much it will hold.
- For the process photographed here, the bottles I'll be using for storage hold about 3 cups each. That means I'll be infusing 3 cups of vodka in the jar. You can use the original bottle that the vodka came in, if you wish, for storage-- just set it aside during the infusion process. You can also use jars to store the vodka, if you wish, but bottles tend to be more user-friendly when making cocktails.
- Seal the jar with a lid. Place in a cool, dark area for 4-5 days to infuse. Here, we've done three separate infusions-- orange, vanilla, and basil.
- Once daily, shake the vodka to speed infusion process. After 3 days, you can begin to test the flavor of your infusion. This is really a "to taste" kind of thing-- if it tastes right and smells right, with the essence of the flavoring you have chosen, then you can move ahead to the straining process.
- Our vanilla infusion was ready in 3 days; the other infusions took a bit longer. You want the vodka to have the flavor of the ingredient you've chosen, but you don't want that flavor to overwhelm.
- Once the vodka is infused, you will want to strain it into a bottle for storing and/or gift giving. I used these lovely decorative Italian bottles (link in the post above). Use a funnel and a wire mesh strainer, or multiple layers of cheesecloth, to strain the liquor into the bottle. This straining process will rid the vodka of the infusion ingredients, as well as any larger particles that might have accumulated during infusion.
- If you've infused large or heavy ingredients, like chunks of fruit, you may want to fish them out before straining to avoid making a mess. And if you snack on a few of the fruit pieces, like infused pineapple, I won't tell anybody... just make sure you have a designated driver on hand. 😉
- Seal the bottles. If giving as gifts, you can use decorative tags and twine to label the type of vodka you've infused. Here we used lovely wooden tags with natural twine (links in the post above).
Voila! Lovely infused vodka for gifting or making your own homemade cocktails.
Hellooooo. Just tried a chilli cherry vodka that was delicious and I would like to replicate (hence my stumbling across this site). Would you recommend dried cherries or fresh?
I used a bottle of black cherry cordial & then added 2 scotch bonnets chilli. It was amazing & so easy. Also did the same with an elderflower cordial & raspberry. No faffing about.. just a good drink ??
I recently received a bottle of apple infused vodka. The core was cut off from the apple slices but then there were about a teaspoon of seeds at the bottom. Is this okay?
Good question Julie– honestly I’m not sure.
Amazing recipes!! I wondered is it possible to do a chocolate and whipped cream vodka isn’t one and how is best to do it? Xx
How would you make a whipped cream flavored vodka? I live in Canada and they don’t sell it here.
Great site!
Do you have any opinion about adding glycerine and/or charred oak chips to home distilled vodka as part of the infusion & ageing process?
I agree yours have the best ideas so I started my today is July 7th it’s amazing how fast they infuse its only been a couple hours but I had to see if it works I think 3 or 4 days is going to be more than enough I just one called sweet apple pie I think it’s going to turn out alright thank you again great ideas
Any idea how to make the whipped cream flavored vodka? I have citrus trees and enjoy wiring bottles to my lemon trees when the lemons are quite small and allow the lemons to grow inside the bottle. When ripe, I harvest and fill the bottles with vodka. They make great Christmas gifts and people always ask “How did you get the lemon in the bottle?” Great fun!
I have recently found a bottle of blackberry vodka I infused about 10 months ago. There’s no visible mold, is it still good to sieve and drink? Thanks!
Any idea how to make whipped cream flavored?
Thank you for this tutorial, it was super helpful!
I have made many of these in the past.
Do not waste the fruit, make jam with it afterwards.
You can also make sweetshop vodkas by dissolving swwets in vodka, Cinder Toffee was very nice and can be used almost straight away as it dissolves quickly.
Keep tipling.
I just did another batch of Mexican (cinnamon) Chocolate; killer!
Cucumber vodka. Yum! And refreshing!
This tutorial was spot on. I used jalapeno peppers, basil and lemon (separate infusions) and they all turned out delicious. Now to whip up some new cocktails.
Mmm. Vanilla vodka and Mandarin Jarritos, makes a killer Creamsicle cocktail…
For chocolate infused vodka, use raw cacao beans. I made a honey-sweetened chocolate vanilla vodka for someone last christmas and it was fantastic.
I don’t know if brandy is GF (I think it is, but check to be sure), but apricot brandy, brandied cherries, lemon balm brandy, holy basil brandy are all winners.
Going back to vodka, my absolute favourite experiment was honey-sweetened ginger cardamom vodka. Takes 2-3 days: use fresh ginger slices and whole cardamom pods. If you leave the pods in too long, it becomes bitter, so be careful. Coriander seeds are good, too, as are saffron threads.
Hi Tori,
I found a batch of Orangecello i started las Nov, peels are still in it……what do you think? Still good to strain and bottle up or can I mix with more vodka with it to cut it?
Thanks in advance, Love your site!!
Hi Betty– usually when I make limoncello I infuse the vodka and add the simple syrup after infusion before bottling. If you just infused the vodka without simple syrup, it should be fine to strain as long as there is no visible mold or bacteria growth (example– if some of the peels are not completely covered by alcohol, bacteria can grow and it wouldn’t be safe to drink). The flavor will probably be fine, but you should taste to make sure– infusion stops once all of the oils are pulled out of the peels, so you can’t really over-infuse it as far as I know. I wonder if there might be a little bitterness to it after sitting so long; the only way to tell is to taste. If you added simple syrup, I am not really sure– it would depend on the ratio of alcohol to syrup. You should have a high percentage of alcohol in order to avoid spoilage without refrigeration. So I guess the answer is, it depends! Hope that is somewhat helpful. 🙂
hello
thanks i want to separate the flavor with vodka and use in a recipe that does not need alcohol . how do i separate the alcohol from it and have a more concentrated flavor ? .
Merime, there is no way to separate the flavor from the vodka. I would suggest if you need a flavoring for a recipe that does not need alcohol, that you should simply use a flavoring.
I just discovered your site and love it. Have you tried a peanut butter infusion? Any suggestions?
I have not tried Michael, that’s an interesting idea! I wouldn’t know how to go about it though…
hi
so how long it keeps is based on what you infused it with? how much do you have to filter it to avoid it going off?