Infusions and Liqueurs

Sometimes you're looking for something just different enough. This summer I certainly was. When Luscious Liqueurs showed up on my doorstep, I had to give a couple of the recipes a try. None of the recipes were exactly mindblowing, but they at least gave you a beginning ratio to start with.

I started out with two projects at the house. There was a strawberry liqueur as strawberries had just come into season and a ginger liqueur as I'm a ginger fanatic...the more ginger the better if you ask me. Both recipes were incredibly easy. As with all infusions, all you need is time.


I started out with two pints of strawberries and diced them up, exposing as much of the flesh as I could (the strawberries'...not mine). I simply allowed them to macerate in 3 cups of vodka for 2 weeks before adding a 1.5 cups of simple syrup as well as 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract. After another week or so, I strained all the random strawberry particles out, and there you have it. Your very own strawberry liqueur. For a great summer cocktail take 2 oz of the liqueur, add 1 oz of fresh lime juice, and top with soda water. Refreshing and not something which will knock you to the ground.



The best thing about infusions is you're only limited by your imagination. For work, I was able to take the strawberry idea and add it to tequila without the simple syrup. The tequila came out a lovely red color but admittedly with a bit too much of a burn still attached to it. I blame the Sauza Blanco. Surprisingly, my take on the classic margarita helped eliminate the burn completely. Instead of the Cointreau I ordinarily use, I thought the addition of St Germain elderflower liqueur would be a nice touch. The St Germain not only knocked the burn out but even pulled the strawberry flavor out even more.

Two others I have sitting behind the bar at work are a cucumber-lime infused gin (regular Bombay with 2 cucumbers and 2 limes) as well as a blueberry mint vodka. Sadly, there aren't many people I can talk into a Last Word with the gin (why, oh why are people scared of gin?!), but the Blueberry, Canton, Lemon (I've started calling it the Blue Note) concoction I've thrown out to people seems to be going over well.

I might be over my infusion craze of the summer of 2010, but there are certainly more surprises coming down the road for the patrons of the restaurant. Expect some homemade bitters, an amaro, house vermouth, triple sec, and a few other twists when the seasonal options come around.

Cheers.