The First Kit

On 12/22/2008 I dove into infusing vodka. I had a very flimsy grasp on what I was doing. But I knew I needed a kit.

I started with a dozen 1-pint mason jars and additional lids.

I also grabbed two 1.75 litres of Seagram's vodka and a variety of ingredients.

Finally, amidst the confusion, I grabbed a nearly empty, leather-bound journal to record this mess.

Catching Up

So far, this blog is a recitation of the past.

I am trying to catch up to the present by telling my story.

Meanwhile, I thought this photo captured this early stage very well.

How long should the infusion last?

So, how long do I infuse this stuff for?

After a bit of reading, I realized that the length of time that you allow the vodka and ingredients to steep was a hugely important component in the process. However, I found a wide range of contradictory information regarding infusion times.

For example, here are some of the infusion times I found for cucumber vodka.

“Chunk up the cuke, and put in an airtight container with enough vodka to cover, maybe a little more. In this case I used maybe up to 750 ml. Store in a cool, dry place for about seven days, but start tasting it at the five day mark.”

-Hedonia.com

Then there was this winner…

“Place the cucumber in a large glass container, add the vodka, and cap tightly. Let stand at room temperature for 3 weeks, shaking gently every couple of days. Taste for the preferred flavor intensity, allowing it to infuse for up to another week if needed. (Do not allow it to infuse any longer than 2 weeks, or a bitter flavor will result.) Strain the infused vodka into the original bottle. Cap tightly, label, and refrigerate until ready to serve.”

-“Vodka Infusions” Epicurean.com

• Huh? Really?! So, I am supposed to infuse the cucumber vodka for three to four weeks but never more than two weeks otherwise it will taste bad. Right? Ok. Thanks for the tip.

Ok, so there is no clear answer. That’s ok. I like to cook and I can handle that everyone uses different processes. I realized that I was going to have to do a lot of testing and figure the times out for myself.

So, I Had This New Hobby...

In December 2008, a couple of weeks after my first encounter with infused vodka, I began to research. There were many posts on blogs and articles written about infusing but I couldn't find any really thorough sites that sounded credible on the topic.

Wikipedia had some thoughts.

There were these guys at ‘Infusions of Grandeur’ that seemed to be stumbling through the infusion process and they had a lot of information… but not the refined, culinary source I was hoping for.

There were many, many pages of information but there was no single source for all of my infusion needs. So off I went, to scour the internet for information on the infusion process.

The Inspiration - The Crye Baby

In November of 2008 my parents were visiting me in San Diego, CA for the first time since I moved from AZ a few months earlier. My family has always been culinarily adventurous and, being new to San Diego, we were provided the perfect opportunity to explore.

One night we tried George’s at the Cove: California Modern in La Jolla, CA. George’s is an upmarket restaurant overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Before perusing the dinner menu, I glanced at their cocktail menu and was surprised. They have a line of chef-driven specialty drinks whose descriptions were fascinating.

I decided to try the “Crye Baby.” The description: "red bell pepper-thyme infused Belvedere vodka, goats cheese stuffed black olive.”

The Crye Baby was delivered up in a martini glass with tiny flakes of ice floating throughout… just the way I like my martinis. I was, however, surprised by the perfectly clear color of the beverage. By looking at it I could not distinguish it from plain Belvedere vodka. I was expecting a reddish, savory drink but by looking at it I assumed it would be more like a Belvedere Martini with a touch of flavor.

I was wrong. The Crye Baby was exploding with flavor! And it wasn’t savory at all. The infusion brought out a very robust, sweet, red bell pepper flavor with a hint of thyme. I recognized the red bell pepper flavor but I never experienced a concentration of its flavor like this. To top it off, the goat’s cheese stuffed olive added a contrasting close of savory when it was eaten.

I wanted to learn more. The server explained that the chef steeps the Belvedere vodka with fresh red bell peppers and thyme for a period of time and then filters it. A vodka infusion. I had another. I was impressed with this novel concept of using fresh ingredients to dramatically change something as simple as vodka. I imagined the possibilities. This was something I had to try to make myself.