Cocktails
Autumn,
2010
Infusing
Vodka with Dried Fruits and Nuts
After my
summer cocktail tasting at Prospect Wine Shop working with herbs and
summer fruits, my attention turned to the flavors of
autumn and what I'd like to be drinking come
autumn. I've spent many hours brainstorming,
shopping, experimenting and finally imbibing some fruit
and nut infused vodkas. My labors are starting to come
to fruition, so to speak.
I began with nut vodkas, knowing that they had to steep
longer that fruits or herbs. My favorite nut is a
toasted hazelnut so that kicked off the project. I
toasted them myself in a dry cast iron skillet on a
carefully watched flame. You have to pay attention it
never smokes and that the nuts are turned regularly so they
don't burn. After a while you can hear the skins
crackle and they start to release their aroma and get a bit
golden colored. When they get to the desired color
transfer them to a bowl to cool thoroughly. Once you
can handle them rub the skins off one by one. Now
they're ready to be chopped. As you can see these are
a labor of love. The end result is worth it.
Use about a quarter of a cup of chopped hazelnuts to one
cup of vodka. Shake them daily and let sit for about
a month before filtering.
I also made toasted walnut,
almond and pistachio. The walnut was good, nutty but
wasn't distinctively walnut. The almond was similar,
maybe should be tried without the skins, but was much
improved with a splash of pear nectar. The pistachio,
however, is divine, although I noticed that it can't age
for too long or it can take on a soapy
note.
Then I moved on to
dried fruits. Pears were a certainty and it turned
out beautifully. I had three kinds of figs to
test: organic Turkish, pajerero and black
mission. The black mission fig vodka is a winner and
is a beautiful purple color. The fruit releases it's
sweetness without being cloying so they're nice to sip
alone or can mix with juice without getting too
syrupy. I used roughly about one third cup dried
fruit to one cup vodka for about five days.
After filtering
them I got a better idea of what works and what doesn't and
made more of the tastier things and drank the rest with
friends. Now it was time to play mixologist. I
took a good look at my essential oil collection and made up
some new dilutions to play with. I've added
cardamom, clove, honey absolute, labdanum and sandalwood to
the dilutions collection.
I had lot of help conjuring up the three cocktails for the
tasting at Prospect Wine Shop. Rebecca Winzenried helped
come up with the original parings, Lori Firpo and Diane
Fargo helped hone the Kashmere and the Black Dog and
Prospect Wine's resident wine expert (and natural
perfumer) Amy Louise Pommier helped define the Bindi.
The essential oils are diluted so that can readily be mixed into
cocktails. A bottle holds about 90 drops and in general you
use one drop per drink.
The Bindi
one jigger
pistachio infused vodka
one ounce
milk
quarter teaspoon
rosewater
one teaspoon agave
nectar
one drop clove oil,
20%
Give the combined
ingredients a good shake and strain into chilled martini
glasses. Finish with grated nutmeg.
Clove essential oil
dilution, 10%
1/8 ounce 10.00
Black Dog
2 ounces pear
infused vodka
one ounce creme de cacoa
one drop labdanum absolute dilution, 10%
splash of soda
Give the combined ingredients a good shake and strain into
a chilled martini glass.
Labdanum absolute
dilution, 10%
1/8 ounce 10.00
The Kashmere
one jigger fig
infused vodka
one jigger pear nectar
two drops coriander oil, 10%
splash of seltzer
Give the combined ingredients a good shake and strain into
a chilled martini glass.
Coriander CO2 dilution,
10%
1/8 ounce 10.00
Summer, 2010
I've developed a real passion for mixing cocktails lately. It all started with a phone call from my local watering hole. They were trying to conjure up a new summer cocktail with cucumbers and asked me to come down and help out. I had such fun collaborating on that drink and it got me thinking about the ingredients from my apothecary.
Infused Vodka
First I started experimenting with infusing vodka with herbs from my local community garden. I began with angelica which is in the celery family but with a twist. It's one of the main ingredients in Chartreuse. It's been a big hit at garden parties this summer. After spending quite a bit of time on the internet reading about infusing vodka I was surprised by how quickly the vodka took on the flavor. Although I had read that it took weeks to infuse, some were ready in less that 12 hours. I tried to filter them before the herbs released their bitterness. Simply chop up the herbs (I used about six or seven six inch stems of plant material per cup of vodka, discard any brown or damaged parts) and place in a clean glass jar with a tight fitting lid and cover with vodka, shake and test in about eight hours. I tried my hand at lemon verbena, lavender, chocolate mint, lemon thyme, tomato leaf and basil. Angelica was done quicker than most but I hardly left any of them in longer than 24 hours. The exception was the vanilla. Vanilla pods can be sliced and scraped, chopped and added to vodka (I found one pod per cup worked) and leave for at least a month.
Take good notes while you're working. That way you can repeat your efforts when you finds something you really like.
I realize that all of the herbs I worked with might not be available to everyone. Look over the herb selection around you and see what's reasonable. Other herbs would be lemon balm, rose geranium, fennel, shiso, citrus, berries, etc. I made one with cucumber and mint that was interesting, but it might be better in white rum. I also tried a couple of chocolate vodkas.
I took a good hard look at my essential oil collection and came up with a few that might lend themselves to a good cocktail, yet not so ordinary that you couldn't just get the original material (such as orange or peppermint). I've made up dilutions that can readily be mixed into cocktails. A bottle holds about 90 drops and in general you use one drop per drink.
Then it was a visit to the food coop and local bodega to contemplate juices. What I've come up with are three cocktails that my good friends were happy enough to help me hone.
Summer Crush
1.5 oz.
lemon verbena infused vodka
1.5 oz. passion fruit nectar
one drop petitgrain essential oil, 10% dilution
Give the combined ingredients a good shake and strain into
a chilled martini glass.
Petitgrain essential oil
dilution, 10%
1/8 ounce 10.00
The
Silk Route
1.5 oz. vanilla infused vodka
1.5 oz. apricot nectar
one drop jasmine absolute, 5% dilution
one drop coriander co2, 10% dilution
Give the combined ingredients a good shake and strain into
a chilled martini glass.
Jasmine absolute dilution,
5%
1/8 ounce 10.00
Coriander CO2 dilution, 10%
1/8 ounce 10.00
The Sprite
1.5 oz. basil infused vodka
one drop yuzu essential oil dilution, 10%
one drop black pepper essential oil dilution, 20%
1.5 - 2 oz. tonic water
Shake with ice and pour into a short glass. Garnish with a
fresh basil sprig.
Yuzu essential oil
dilution, 10%
1/8 ounce 10.00
Black pepper essential oil dilution, 20%
1/8 ounce 10.00
More
Drink Ideas
At another garden gathering I brought an assortment of
infused vodkas for everyone to sample. I also bought four
bottles of seltzer and put a tablespoon of rosewater in
one, orange blossom water in another, rosemary and
chamomile waters in the last two. Guests mixed and matched
concoctions and I got a chance to sample quite a few. It
would be hard to pick one combination! The flavored
seltzers on their own were lovely and refreshing.
Lavender Floral
Water
4 ounces 20.00
Rosewater
4 ounces 20.00
Orange Blossom Water
4 ounces 20.00
Rosemary Herbal Water
4 ounces 20.00
And one more cocktail!
After my initial experience with the "Cujito" at Barbes I stopped back in to mix up some more magic. In a collaboration with bartendress Hannah Cheek came the Bloody Hell.
The Bloody Hell
Muddle a few sprigs of mint in about a tablespoon of creme de cacao. Add two ounces of white rum and two drops of blood orange essential oil dilution, 10%. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Outrageous.
Blood orange essential oil dilution, 10%
1/8 ounce 10.00
And just because it's so amazing and I'm sure you could find a use for it:
Cocoa absolute dilution, 15%
1/8 ounce 10.00
Disclaimer: I must unfortunately dampen the mood of this cocktail page by a standard discalimer. These recipes and instructions are purely a tale of how I spent my summer. I don't recommend any of this. Please use caution and discretion. Make sure to know the effects of any herb or essential oil before you begin. Essential oils are intense concentrations so use carefully. None of this is FDA approved. Use only the amounts specified, never use synthetic oils, do not drink essences directly from the bottle, keep away from small children, be cautious of allergies, do not ingest if you are pregnant or nursing. And of course never get behind the wheel of a car after imbibing alcohol.