Infusions

I've embarked upon a new little summer project, as inspired by this article from Bon Appetit: 

http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2011/05/homemade-flavored-vodka-recipe-infuse-alcohol.html

Lis and I have been talking for a while about making our own vodka infusions, but this post got me thinking about other things I could try. The one I was most excited about finally putting into practice was peppercorn vodka. We've developed a recipe that would call for this, should it work out. I'll let you know how that goes.
 
My other raw ingredients were coffee beans, blueberries, and peaches. The coffee went into whiskey, the blueberries into gin, and the peaches into vodka. I used old jars I found in our garage and at an antiques/junk store. Mason jars work the best, as you can seal them very tightly and be able to shake them once a week without anything spilling.

I used five different kinds of peppercorns for a diverse flavour. Half were Lampong Peppercorns, which are much sharper and have more of a kick. The other half was a four peppercorn blend of traditional black, red, white and green. The red peppercorns are not true pepper, but are often included in these blends to give a hint of a floral note. Green and white peppercorns are the same as black, just in different stages of processing and slightly lighter flavours.

I used pretty cheap alcohol for all of these, because I wasn't sure if the additions would enhance or mask the taste. So I figured, why waste money on an experiment of this level? If any of these do taste really good, though, you can be sure I'll try it again with some of the better stuff.

The article said that it can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks for the flavour to fully develop. But I will definitely revisit these on the blog, maybe even with recipes, to let you know how it went. But in the meantime, why not try your own? Cherry season isn't quite over yet. How about pineapple rum? Lychee vodka? Jalapeno tequila? Your grocery store/farmer's market is the limit.