Gettin’ Crafty in the Kitchen: Infused Vodka

We’re normally into all-ages sorts of crafts, but once in a while a crafty gal has got to cut loose! How about fancying up your next cocktail party with a home-made vodka infusion?

Many store bought “infused” vodkas are full of mystery sweeteners and artificial flavors. Keep all those unwanted chemicals out of your cocktail and get creative at the same time! You can even go for an organic vodka.

This infusion recipe only take a few days, so if you get started today, you’ll be all set for any shindigs this weekend! Here are a basic recipe and a couple of flavor suggestions to get you going:

    Basic Vodka Infusion 

  • clean glass containers – bonus points if you rescue something from the recycle bin! Old juice bottles or large glass jars work great for this.
  • funnel, for pouring the vodka into your container
  • organic vodka of your choice
  • fruits, veggies, and herbs of your choice
  • cheese cloth, for straining
    To prepare: 

  • Clean your glass container out really well with hot, soapy water. Make sure it’s totally dry.
  • Cut up your ingredients into large chunks and stab each piece multiple times with a fork. If you’re using fresh herbs, you can leave these whole.
  • Put your fruits, veggies, and/or herbs into a glass container, fill with vodka of your choice, and let the mixture steep for 2-3 days.
  • Strain your concoction through the cheese cloth a couple of times, trying to get out as much sediment as you can. If you used herbs, you can actually stick them back into the bottle after straining for a decorative touch.

The best part about infusions is that you can get experimental! Try fun combinations of fruits, herbs, and even veggies and see what you get! You can mix these into cocktails, serve them over ice, or combine them with a little simple syrup and soda water to really bring out the flavors in the vodka. If you’re not sure what you want to try, here are a couple of tasty options:

  • lemon cucumber – this would be great in a bloody mary or sweetened with a little soda water and maybe a sprig of organic mint?
  • basil – totally delicious mixed with pomegranate juice. Fact!
  • whole vanilla bean – perfect for making white Russians. White Russians are easy to veganize, too – just substitute almond or soy milk for the light cream
  • pear – try mixing this one with raspberry soda
  • garlic – yet another infusion that’s great in a bloody mary.

This list is far from comprehensive. Experiment with different flavors, and have fun! Have you made any boozy infusions? Tell us all about it in the comments!

Image Credits:
Infusing Vodka – photo by Becky Striepe
Limoncello – Creative Commons photo by Chad Miller

8 thoughts on “Gettin’ Crafty in the Kitchen: Infused Vodka”

  1. try infusing lavender as well – it’s delicious! for a cocktail mix lavendar vodka with lemonade for a fabulous summer beverage.

  2. There’s a pub by the Thames in Hammersmith called The Ship that we used to go to a lot as students because of their massive range of home-made infused vodkas. Not only did they have around 20 different fruit vodkas (including the awesome Red Chilli Vodka!), they also had just as many chocolate bar-infused vodkas. Fancy a Mars bar vodka? Have a craving for a Galaxy vodka?
    I always went for the Dime Bar Vodka. Tasted like armadillos…

  3. I wonder how you’d go about doing a chocolate vodka! Maybe organic cacao nibs would work? You’d probably sweeten it somehow to get a caramel situation going….maybe simple syrup? Or agave nectar?

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  5. I’ve made peach liqueur, plum liqueur, and pear liqueur. They are fun to make — basically taking the store-bought liquor and adding fruit and sugar and letting it all steep for two months in a dark, coolish place. Then you serve just a little bit over lots of ice. They’re very tasty.

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