Infused vodka

Many moons ago, Mom made this pomegranate vodka that was out-of-sight. Inspired by this, for Christmas 2008, I decided to make some infused vodkas as gifts. I bought some bottles from Cost Plus for packaging, and I used an old 1.5 liter rum bottle for doing the infusion.

Mom uses Stoli, so I used that as well. There was a thread on Chowhound on the topic, but it was inconclusive.

Lime-Ginger Vodka

• 750 mL vodka (Stoli 80 proof)
• 2 limes
• ginger

I based this recipe on a blog post I found. Zest the limes. Slice the flesh and remove the pith. Place the zest, flesh, and ginger in a jar with the vodka. Keep in a dark place for a few weeks, stirring occasionally. Filter and bottle.

Filtering using cheesecloth doesn't get everything out. Jessica suggested using a coffee filter, which I'll try next time.

I tasted this vodka after six months, and it was really delicious! Tastes great with Coke!

Grapefruit Vodka

• 1 L vodka (Smirnoff)
• 1 grapefruit (about 200 mL of juice)

Given the surprisingly good taste of the lime-ginger vodka, I decided to try making grapefruit-infused vodka using grapefruits from Mom's garden. This time, I used cheap vodka (Smirnoff) instead of the good stuff. On June 15, 2009, I zested and juiced the grapefruit and mixed it with the vodka. We'll see how it turns out!

References

• "Do-it-yourself flavored vodkas." San Francisco Chronicle
• "Bottle rockets." San Francisco Bay Guardian
• Chowhound thread