Still riding the high of my recent LET’S-MAKE-EVERYTHING-FROM-SCRATCH! revelation I decided it was time for a little home alchemy thanks to a friend who, in exchange for my photographic services, presented me with a rather large bottle of vodka. Lovely.
After trawling the internet regarding the best methods of home infusion I shrugged and tumbled everything into a tub for steeping; I’m talking strawberries, blueberries, lemon rind, sugar syrup, a cinnamon stick and the most potent vanilla bean I have ever had the pleasure of using to create this DIY berry infused vodka.
The only difficult step to this process is waiting. I kept this tub in a dark place for three weeks after which time it looked a little something like this; the vodka had completely stripped the berries of their colour and little vanilla bits were floating everywhere. Straining this concoction was incredibly ugly (NOTE: no matter how tempted you are, do not eat the berries; your brain will melt out of your ears if you do).
After further cheesecloth straining I funnelled my wonderful liquor into glass bottles. The result? The most intensely delicious vanilla. Vibrant red and fragrant berry flavours. This was one of those times a pilot experiment has lead to immeasurable happiness!
Now, what to do with such a special brew? Keep it simple; one shot over ice, lemonade, freshly sliced strawberries to garnish. This drink is girly as all heck but is so absolutely special I’m convinced the boys will be more than willing to drink this over, and over again. Welcome to vodka with style!
EDIT: my brother, my dad and my boyfriend love this so yes, it is a blaring manly success!
Tags: alcohol, berry, blueberry, cocktails, liquor, strawberry, vanilla, vodka
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That photo of all the berries is AMAZING. I imagine your liquor would be too – I’ve always wanted to try infusing vodka with skittles, but this looks like it would be even better!
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Hey Alana, this looks absolutely amazing! What brand of vodka did your friend give you?
I presume it should be a “plain” vodka if there is such a thing coz Absolute comes up with so many flavours! I presume you meant “do not eat the berries” in your NOTE? Yes, I am tempted and yes I will be happy to try this too being a guy. I might keep this in the freezer as one should with vodka and serve it icy cold. This is great as the weather hots up and thanks for sharing!
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hey there! you’re right, it was plain vodka – i think using a flavoured, absolut vodka would be cheating! it’s funny you mentioned putting these in the freezer because that’s exactly what i did when my boyfriend gave it a try; it was like an adult slurpee. and thanks for helping with my stupid typo!
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Looks amazing. I’m going to have to give this a try :) I was just wondering where you got the bottles that you put the finished product in?
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thanks, ash! i bought the bottles from a local homewares shop. nice glass bottles are sometimes a little hard to come by so i was fortunate to find these fairly quickly.
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I like your throw-everything-in-and-hope-for-the-best method. seems like it worked!
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What a delightful way to capture the flavor of summer berries to enjoy for months to come! Beautiful photos, too.
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Did you store the vodka in the fridge while it marinated, or in a closet somewhere?
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hey lindsey! i hid him away in a dark cupboard for the three weeks. it’s fine unrefrigerated so long as you don’t open the tub and expose the berries to air.
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Pingback from alanabread · gingerbread macarons on December 9, 2011 at 11:35 pm
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Yum! I too must do something like this as it’s a great idea. Love the bottles you have used too :)
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Looks like a great flavor combination! Yum!
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Pingback from A Few of My Favorite Things | Laurenesque on May 21, 2012 at 1:30 pm
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where did you buy or bottles from?
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Hey there Claudia, I bought them from a little homeware store near my place. Any variety or gift store near you should carry them!
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Just gorgeous. Love the shots of the berries on their own. Makes you want to dive in and grab a handful to much on :)
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this is featured on buzzfeed community. spread the word! :-)
http://www.buzzfeed.com/loudstellar/15-awesome-foods-that-prove-that-strawberry-and-bl-qfi4
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How much vodka and sugar syrup did you put in the container?
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You think this would work with frozen strawberries??
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If I keep it in the frigidaire, how much would it last?
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