Infused Vodkas

Vodka is my drink of choice.  Mostly, just a vodka tonic.  I've always enjoyed flavored vodkas, but I've always found them kinda disappointing in the depth of whatever flavor they were supposed to be.  When I saw a post on Pinterest for cranberry-lime infused vodka, I was intrigued.  It never even occurred to me that I could make my own!  I immediately sent out Ken to buy some vodka.  He arrived home with two 1.75 liter bottles.  Four days later, one of them was gone.  Oops!  I guess we enjoyed taste testing all of our creations a little too much.  My friend's fortieth birthday was coming up, and as she is a martini lover, I knew that a gift of infused vodkas would be well enjoyed.  Here's what I came up with.

Please check out this link for this marvelous cranberry-lime infused vodka.  Click here.  It's perfection and I wouldn't change a thing!  First, I picked up some fancy bottles at Pier 1.  Then I poked holes in cranberries with a paring knife.  I filled the bottle halfway with cranberries, added a few lime peels, and filled the rest of the bottle up to almost the top with the poked cranberries.  I added two tablespoons of sugar, then used a funnel to fill it up with vodka.  I let it sit for a day (it was really, really hard to wait!!).  Delicious!  The recipe I used says it can last up to a month.  But trust me, it will be gone before you know it!

 

 

Ok, I was hooked!!  The next day, I just happened to see in the December 2012 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray, a recipe for peppermint infused vodka.  (It was fate telling me to drink more vodka.)  All you need to do is crush up twelve candy canes in a food processer, add it to 750mL of vodka, and let it dissolve.  It takes about half an hour.  Two ounces of this peppermint vodka with two ounces of Godiva chocolate liqueur in a martini glass drizzled with chocolate syrup???  Heaven, that's what it is.

 

What else can I do??  I had tons of clementines in the fridge.  I washed them, rolled them on the counter a bit to release the juices, cut them in half and filled a carafe.  I then filled that with vodka.  I let that sit for two days as well, before I strained it and put it in a bottle.  Especially tasty with tonic water! 

 

 

 

Finally, I decided to try and spruce up my bloody marys.  Three tablespoons of black peppercorns added to 750mL of vodka really does the trick.  Let it sit until it turns a disgusting brown color (sad, but true) and then strain it. Again, two days for me.  Just use it along with your favorite bloody mary mix (We like Zing Zang).  Bloody marys will never be the same.

 

I decided on Peppermint, Cranberry-Lime, and Clementine for my friend's birthday.  Here's how it turned out.  Put in cute bottles with some Fabulous Felt Ornaments  (martini themed, of course!) and you've got a great holiday (or birthday) gift. 

 

 

 

I can't wait to try some more!  But sadly, my vodka budget is used up for the month.  LOL.   I'll update you with any new ones I try, and please let me know if you have some ideas, too! 



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