For those who love to kick back with a good cocktail in the evening, making your own infused booze might be an exciting DIY project. Plus, it’ll mean that flavored vodka, gin, or other libation is done with the real thing rather than artificial ingredients. It’s easy to do, and making it yourself means many more flavors are possible.
Tons of cocktails can be improved by flavoring your booze. Adding hints of lime to tequila might make a margarita soar to new heights. Or, infusing a whiskey with mint could make those mint julips all the more refined. Cranberries in vodka could turn a cosmopolitan into a deeper experience.
Who knows what new cocktails might come from these home-infused boozes as well? All sorts of fun flavors can be added. Jalapeño seems perfect for those who like spicy stuff. Imagine a jalapeño vodka in a Bloody Mary! Or, how about jalapeño tequila for a crazy margarita? Or, it could be garlic or ginger or cinnamon or peaches or strawberries. Whatever you like!
Liquor and Flavoring
This whole operation begins with choosing the right kind of spirit and pairing it with the right choice of flavoring. It might simply be adding established flavors to known cocktails, such as onions to gin that will used for Gibsons or oranges and cherries to a bourbon destined for old fashions.
This is a great way to start: A favorite cocktail and infusing the necessary booze with the right flavor.
Then, again, it could be choosing nice flavors to compliment those in the cocktail. For example, maybe a hint of lemon in that gin and tonic would be delightful. An orange-infused vodka could be awesome for a chocolate martini.
A Mason Jar of Moonshine
Once the liquor and flavoring(s) are chosen and acquired, it’s very simple. Use a quart-sized mason jar (or whatever size is appropriate), add the spices, fruit, or herbs to it, and pour in the alcohol until the jar is full. Seal it all in there with a lid and store it in a cool, dark place.
Here are a few helpful tips for getting going:
- Clear liquors are generally easy to play with. They tend to have milder flavors to begin with, so the new elements added won’t clash with anything or be too overpowered to register.
- Think about the cocktails made with whatever liquor you’re using and work from there. In other words, there aren’t many pineapple whisky drinks. It’ll probably work better with something like cinnamon, apples, or cherries.
- When infusing with fruit, the more the merrier. However, spices and herbs can be very powerful and require a bit more caution. This also applies to the time left to infuse: herbs and spices won’t need as much time as fruit.
A While Later
It doesn’t take long to infuse liquor with the essence of whatever. With fruits like strawberries or peaches, a week is long enough to flavor the booze, but it can sit for longer and become stronger. Contrarily, something like jalapeño is going to make a significant impact in just a day. Leaving it longer could result in something only suitable for dares.
A good general rule of thumb is to start checking spices and herbs within a couple of days and checking fruits within a few days. Regardless, the alcohol content is going to prevent anything from spoiling. That won’t be an issue. It’ll simply be a matter of taste, so taste it to see if you are happy with the level of infusion.
Once the booze is sufficiently infused, the added solids should be filtered out, and the newly flavored liquor put into a clean jar. It’s ready to be used for the next happy hour.
Using It Responsibly
Flavored alcohol can be a lot of fun, and frequently a bit too easy to drink. Use it with caution, particularly when sweet fruit, i.e. added sugar, is in the mix. (Watch out for hangovers.) This is a great gift for friends and loved ones. It’s a fun way to make thematic holiday cocktails. It’s a simple project that can provide impressive results however you choose to use it.
Related Content:
Easy Ways to Help the Planet:
- Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
- Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade repeatedly.
- Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
- Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
- Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
- Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!
