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Any tips for mint? Winter's coming around and I love me some peppermint schnapps, but it's always so syrupy I get a sugar headache from drinking it straight (or on the rocks. Mmm. Arctic.). I'm ashamed to say that I don't actually know where mint flavors come from and always kind of assumed that "peppermint" was an invention of the candy industry. Can I just crush up some fresh mint and toss it in some Smirnoff?
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Oct 5, 2011 17:37
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 01:54 |
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The two main types of mint you'll see at the store are peppermint and spearmint. There's a wide variety of "mint" family herbs.
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Oct 5, 2011 18:03
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I definitely plan on trying some vodka/rum infusions within the next couple months. Someone posted some blueberry vodka on the last page and, while it sounds awesome, I can't get over the colour. I guess I'm used to the artificially flavored Smirnoff vodkas/Bacardi rums. Is there a way to make them clear of colour and transparent like normal vodka, or do you have to expect some colouring? I started a vanilla rum a long time ago but never really drank it, since it didn't taste right at the time. Now that I read that OP I realize it may have been because I only waited a week or two. I have the bottle still, and it's been 4+ years... I think I'll try it out again. 
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Oct 5, 2011 21:05
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Ktb posted:I have never tried chocolate infusions but I would guess that a greater fat content would increase infusion. I don't know if anyone here has tried it but you might have better luck with white chocolate. Cocoa itself is not particularly soluble in either water or alcohol. Most of the cocoa you buy for hot chocolate has been treated with basic (alkali) chemicals in a process called "Dutching" which makes it more soluble in water. So you may be able to infuse from hot chocolate mixes with much greater success. Untreated cocoa such as nibs may not infuse so well but it could be worth a shot. Particularly as they are very strong flavoured so it may not matter if they only partially infuse. I have never tried so so again this is speculation. I've brewed chocolate stouts before by aging the beer on cacao nibs to infuse the taste and can tell you first-hand it works really, really well. When you do beer you just let it infuse until all the nibs have sunk to the bottom for a few days; I'm not sure what the time frame is for doing liquers though. Really you could just strain them back out, take a taste test, then remix everything and age further if it hasn't quite gotten to what you want yet.
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Oct 5, 2011 22:20
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Ktb posted:I have never tried chocolate infusions but I would guess that a greater fat content would increase infusion. I don't know if anyone here has tried it but you might have better luck with white chocolate. Cocoa itself is not particularly soluble in either water or alcohol. Most of the cocoa you buy for hot chocolate has been treated with basic (alkali) chemicals in a process called "Dutching" which makes it more soluble in water. So you may be able to infuse from hot chocolate mixes with much greater success. Untreated cocoa such as nibs may not infuse so well but it could be worth a shot. Particularly as they are very strong flavoured so it may not matter if they only partially infuse. I have never tried so so again this is speculation. I don't see the point of a white chocolate infusion, since white chocolate is basically just cocoa butter and sugar (and some milk).
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Oct 5, 2011 22:41
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Lord of Laughton posted:I definitely plan on trying some vodka/rum infusions within the next couple months. Someone posted some blueberry vodka on the last page and, while it sounds awesome, I can't get over the colour. I guess I'm used to the artificially flavored Smirnoff vodkas/Bacardi rums. Is there a way to make them clear of colour and transparent like normal vodka, or do you have to expect some colouring? The color is going to be off because it's an actual natural infusion and takes the characteristics of whatever you're infusing. Especially if it has a tint like blueberries. My blueberry one was really a hit at the parties I've taken it to. I think that was my third or fourth go at it since it wouldn't last long. From the last thread I got so hooked on making infusions that I would anticipate the new fruit seasons just to buy something fresh to infuse. I'll leave you with my pumpkin pie vodka. 
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Oct 5, 2011 22:50
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Lord of Laughton posted:I definitely plan on trying some vodka/rum infusions within the next couple months. Someone posted some blueberry vodka on the last page and, while it sounds awesome, I can't get over the colour. I guess I'm used to the artificially flavored Smirnoff vodkas/Bacardi rums. Is there a way to make them clear of colour and transparent like normal vodka, or do you have to expect some colouring? Commercial poo poo like Smirnoff/Bacardi is re-distilled after infusing. This gets rid of the color, but also some of the flavor. Why would you want a clear spirit anyway? Do you know what color a blueberry-infused spirit is? It's a deep purple blue color. It looks awesome. If you're trying to imitate Smirnoff you should just buy Smirnoff, because you won't be able to get either the crystal clear spirit, nor the vaguely bitter industrial-sweet flavor from home processes.
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Oct 5, 2011 22:55
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I had half a bottle of cheapish vodka lying around, so when I read this thread, the vodka suddenly had a purpose. I'm steeping 1/2 teaspoon of good quality coffee & 1/4 of a vanilla bean in it, I plan to filter it out after 7 days. The flavour development has been amazing so far (I'm 5 days in) - what was a horrible solventy vanilla concoction seems to be starting to mellow out, allowing the coffee to share the stage. However, it is still a very powerful in-your-face taste that might be considered too strong to thoroughly enjoy. Now I'm wondering if I should : 1. dissolve some sugar in water to mix with this when bottling -or- 2. let it age enough that the flavours mellow out to a more palatable level Any advice? Also, if #1 is the way to go, does anyone have some suggestions for how much water/sugar?
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Oct 6, 2011 01:52
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So, I'm contemplating taking a run at limoncello, but I can't find unwaxed lemons anywhere. Is there a way to reliably remove the wax from waxed lemons? I assume I don't want to throw that into my infusion.
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Oct 6, 2011 02:26
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Scrub the lemon rinds with a coarse sponge/equivalent under warm-ish water. That will get most if not all of the wax off.Wardhog posted:However, it is still a very powerful in-your-face taste that might be considered too strong to thoroughly enjoy. Now I'm wondering if I should : I would definitely recommend aging it at least a couple weeks before sweetening. Also make sure you filter the poo poo out of that, you don't want grounds in your liqueur. To sweeten you'll need to make a syrup, since sugar dissolves poorly in ethanol. I typically sweeten with a syrup made of equal parts water and sugar (you can just shake them together in a jar), since it will also dilute the liqueur to a more drinkable proof. A richer syrup is useful when you don't want more dilution, and just want to up the sugar a little. A good thing to do when you're sweetening is to reserve a bit of your infused spirit and sweeten the rest, so you can add it back in case you go overboard with the sugar. Can save you from ruining a batch.
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Oct 6, 2011 14:18
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betaraywil posted:Any tips for mint? Winter's coming around and I love me some peppermint schnapps, but it's always so syrupy I get a sugar headache from drinking it straight (or on the rocks. Mmm. Arctic.). You don't want to mangle mint leaves. If you do, the chlorophyll will leech out into your booze, bringing with it a kinda gross bitterness. Some of that is gonna happen anyway thanks to booze, but you really don't want to help it along. My suggestion is to gently roll leaves between your palms until they're fragrant, then toss them in to infuse. You probably want to check on it pretty frequently, I don't think it would take very long to infuse.
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Oct 6, 2011 16:17
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Kenning posted:I don't see the point of a white chocolate infusion, since white chocolate is basically just cocoa butter and sugar (and some milk). Sorry I expressed that really badly. I meant to say adding white chocolate alongside cocoa powder rather than implying you should just use white chocolate. Cocoa butter has a mild chocolate flavour and in theory the fat would dissolve better in the alcohol than the solids and add more chocolate flavour if you weren't getting enough. However Kilersquirrel said that the nibs infuse really well so if you can get them you shouldn't have any problem after all. Also the nibs contain both cocoa butter and cocoa solids so you should get both coming out of them. But if you can't get nibs and you try to infuse from cocoa powder you might need to bung some white chocolate in as well to infuse the cocoa butter along with the cocoa solids to get a more mellow overall chocolate flavour rather than cocoa flavour. Again this is theory and I haven't actually tried it. I'm going to look into getting hold of some cocoa nibs and giving it a go. I've never seen cocoa nibs for sale here but I'm sure I can get them online. As a caffeine addict I'm now quite keen to try this to mix with the coffee infusion and see if I can make mocha vodka. Wardhog: definitely try ageing it for a while before you sweeten it. The harsher flavours should develop over time to a sweeter and more complex mix of flavours. After you strain the solids out taste it every few days and you will see what I mean. Jack Skeleton posted:Pumpkin pie vodka Ktb fucked around with this message at 16:59 on Oct 6, 2011 |
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Oct 6, 2011 16:49
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Lyssavirus posted:You don't want to mangle mint leaves. If you do, the chlorophyll will leech out into your booze, bringing with it a kinda gross bitterness. I can't believe mojitos steered me wrong. Now I don't know what's real  Okay, I'm probably gonna get this one going tonight. I'll be back with a trip report! Ktb posted:How does that taste? And would you mind posting your recipe? I know some people in here have been asking how to get a good pumpkin infusion. And pumpkins are finally available here so I might give one a shot too. Here here! Share your secrets.
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Oct 6, 2011 18:26
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Most bartenders can't muddle mint for poo poo. Listen to this dude. Also mojitos taste so much better if you don't mangle up the mint.
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Oct 6, 2011 21:45
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The reason you need to muddle in a mixed drink and not in an infusion is one of time and of proof. The mixed drink is going to be somewhere between 10 and 20 percent ABV, and the mint will only be there for a couple minutes while you suck it down. In an infusion you're dealing with 40%+ and leaving it for hours or days. Gives it time to get the mint flavor out more gently.
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Oct 6, 2011 23:48
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I thought that might be the case, but I wasn't sure. Either way, crushing/tearing mint leaves is a terrible thing to do. About how long should I do a cucumber infusion in gin? I was thinking probably a couple weeks, and then a month of aging, but I'm not sure.
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Oct 7, 2011 00:46
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Ktb posted:
Delicious. The base isn't as spice filled as I originally wanted it to be but I seriously did it the hardest way possible for that batch because of the depleting amount of pumpkins around the end of November/December last year when I started it. I'll track down some of the pictures I took of the step by steps but it boiled down to this: You'll need at least one Handle of vodka. You're going to mask the taste so just stick to something between $9-14 range. Hell, for many infusions I've used Vodka of the gods. I then got canned 100% pure pumpkin and with paper towels I strained/soaked up all the water it had leaving you with the pumpkin puree mixture alone. Dumped a good half of that canned/drained pumpkin into a carlo rossi gallon wine bottle along with a liter of the most cost effective vodka. Poured in a good portion of allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon into the mix and then let it sit for a good month, month and a half shaking it around every few days as well as putting a bit more allspice and more ground nutmeg into the mixture. On the side I was also steeping a small 500ml batch of ginger into vodka and another that was cinnamon and vodka on their own. Then comes the bitch part. The straining. That had to be the worse infusion I ever strained and if I can offer one piece of advice to anyone, it's use a cut up fresh pumpkin and not the mashed up canned stuff. The straining took me what seemed like the greater part of a week. I've done skittles vodkas.. all of the colors and this pumpkin infusion was far worse than all of those skittles straining combined. Once strained I tasted it and used the ginger vodka and cinnamon vodka infusion to mix in to balance out the taste and get it just like the pumpkin pie you want it to taste like. This year when I do it I'm going to use real pumpkin. One batch roasted and another batch just freshly cut into cubes. By all means, these make great gifts if you make a large enough batch and get those empty in-flight alcohol containers.   But may I suggest that you never ever get so hard up to try an infusion that you end up with this...  And need you not ask, it taste like hot dogs. Well, salty like a hot dog wiener drenched in vodka. On the plus side, it's finally something I can mix with the bacon vodka and make something interesting....
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Oct 7, 2011 11:17
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Lyssavirus posted:I thought that might be the case, but I wasn't sure. Either way, crushing/tearing mint leaves is a terrible thing to do. You can safely infuse with cucumber essentially forever. It just doesn't have a high enough concentration of flavor to wind up over-infusing, especially if you peel it first. If you leave the peel on I would start tasting after a week to see if it develops an unpleasantly green-ish taste, but at least two weeks to get that subtle flavor into your spirit. Feel free to revise upwards.
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Oct 7, 2011 11:44
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I cannot state this in enough bold text: If you're doing mint or basil or any leafy herb, don't let it go for longer than 48 hours. Some might be fine for a week or more, but I still wouldn't risk it. When I've done more complex infusions, sometimes all I want is a bit of basil, and letting it go for 12 hours was enough. On the other hand, I let some basil go for a week and it was undrinkably disgusting. Bitter, tasted really grassy. I ended up dumping it down the sink. My point is, when you're infusing herbs, DON'T think in terms of weeks. Think in terms of hours. If you bang your mint in a bottle of vodka and leave it for a week and then taste you may end up wasting a bottle of vodka. Look, I'm sure plenty of people are going to say, "But I left my herb of choice in there for three years and it's the best thing I've ever tasted!" That's great for you. You can still get the flavor you want with about 2 days of infusing. Leaving it that long doesn't add anything to the infusion, and all it does is risk truly disgusting flavors developing.
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Oct 7, 2011 18:45
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I agree with you on that one. A day is what I was doing most of mine at. You can taste to check how it's going but you really don't need more than that time for it to impart all that it's going to impart.
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Oct 7, 2011 20:10
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Nicol Bolas posted:If you're doing mint or basil or any leafy herb, don't let it go for longer than 48 hours. Some might be fine for a week or more, but I still wouldn't risk it. Yeah, I'm keeping an eye on it. I did probably four smallish leaves last night, so I'll take a look after work tonight and see how it goes. I've actually let thyme sprigs sit forever without a problem. I mean, it didn't end up drinkable but that seemed like the fault of the recipe and not the infusing time.
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Oct 7, 2011 21:10
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Actually, it's better to use lots of leaves and shorter times, because what happens is the good flavors all infuse quickly, and then the bad flavors start infusing. If you have more leaves you'll get more flavor in the short "safe" period. Fewer leaves just means a more lightly-flavored spirit. I usually pack my jar with leaves, making sure they're just covered.
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Oct 7, 2011 23:32
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Ah, okay. I was going to say: 24 hours in and it's not really minty and still clearly vodka. But I pulled out the old leaves and put in another 3-4 but gently caress it, I've got two bucks worth of mint and no other pressing plans for it  Just for future reference: just leaves or are stems okay too? Ed.: drat, you guys are awesome. I never knew how much I didn't know! Thanks! betaraywil fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Oct 7, 2011 |
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Oct 7, 2011 23:37
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I usually remove the stems to be on the safe side w/r/t chlorophyll vs. deliciousness.
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Oct 7, 2011 23:44
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I scraped and chopped six Tahitian vanilla beans and tossed the whole mess in a handle of golden rum. It's been infusing for three days now. Any recommendation for length of infusion? The flavor is still pretty subtle. These beans are more aromatic and less strong-flavored than more common Madagascar or Mexican vanilla.
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Oct 8, 2011 01:58
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CrackyMcZap posted:I scraped and chopped six Tahitian vanilla beans and tossed the whole mess in a handle of golden rum. It's been infusing for three days now. Any recommendation for length of infusion? The flavor is still pretty subtle. These beans are more aromatic and less strong-flavored than more common Madagascar or Mexican vanilla. You can let vanilla go for as long as you want, actually, but it will turn into vanilla extract. I've actually never infused with JUST beans--I find tossing some extract in with the simple syrup is just as effective when it's just as backdrop to something like pumpkin spice liquor. So I'd say keep tasting it and shaking it and strain when it tastes good to you. Also keep in mind how you plan to use it; if you plan on diluting it with coke or soda water, it'll probably okay if it's pretty strongly vanilla. The other good thing is, vanilla doesn't get gross or bitter over time, just strong. Once your done with the chopped up bits, you can strain them out, use your liquor as you please, and toss the (dried) leftover vanilla bean bits with some sugar, and end up with vanilla sugar! And with regards to herbs, I just shove the whole drat thing in there because gently caress it, it's only in there for 24 hours or so normally and it makes it easier to pull out. Nicol Bolas fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Oct 8, 2011 |
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Oct 8, 2011 03:39
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Has anyone had any luck with an apple pie infusion? I was going to add some cinnamon (only a little though, i know that can cascade out of control quickly) and apples. I've got one of CT's largest apple orchards in my town so I think it will turn out great. Any words of wisdom before I start infusing?
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Oct 8, 2011 17:13
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rcman50166 posted:Has anyone had any luck with an apple pie infusion? I was going to add some cinnamon (only a little though, i know that can cascade out of control quickly) and apples. I've got one of CT's largest apple orchards in my town so I think it will turn out great. Any words of wisdom before I start infusing? I had a bit of luck making an apple/cinnamon/clove reduction and then letting that sit, but I also only had ~1.5 weeks to infuse, and I used my patented "don't get that picky about getting out all the fruit particulate" method. But everybody seems to suggest doing each individual element as a separate infusion, and I'm totally doing that next time. Mint's been sitting with the whole bunch for ~18 hours. There's more mintiness but not quite what I was hoping for, and a little bitter is creeping in. Probably just going to keep an eye on it, maybe test once an hour (weekend ) but drat you guys were right about not letting fresh leaves sit.
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Oct 8, 2011 17:33
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We're in the pipe, five by five. (That came out huge, my cameraphone is weird with pics) Seen below the jars are two fruit pyramids. I'm thinking kiwi vodka to be sweetened into a liqueur, and the green cactus pears (4/a buck at the store, I have zero experience with these) also into a vodka and also sweetened. Anyone have experience with either of these?
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Oct 8, 2011 23:36
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If the prickly pears ripen up a bit before you stick them in anything, it's very likely you won't need any additional sweetening.
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Oct 9, 2011 01:53
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I've done the kiwi. You want to make sure you get all the skin off those suckers first and then slice them into cubes to get more surface space. I left mine in for months, mainly because I completely forgot about it. But the result was really good once strained.
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Oct 9, 2011 03:33
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bartolimu posted:I've had some really drat good homemade nut cordials in Europe. When I asked how they were made, it turned out to be fairly simple. Take green nuts (underripe nuts, in some cases still in the surrounding husks*), soak them in vodka or other neutral spirit for six weeks, strain/filter and add a lot of sugar. I have a batch of green almonds about ready to be strained off now, will report back once I have it finished. As for where to get green nuts if you don't have a tree, I stumbled on them in a small Persian market. Farmers' markets might be another possibility. Started a batch of green pecans yesterday. Incidentally, the whole, "Green pecan husks can stain your hands black" is not an old wives tale.
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Oct 10, 2011 14:45
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Ben Nevis posted:Started a batch of green pecans yesterday. Incidentally, the whole, "Green pecan husks can stain your hands black" is not an old wives tale. I strained my green almond vodka yesterday. It smells like artificial banana flavor and tastes terrible.  I'll put it in storage for a while and see if it gets better. My guess is I oversteeped or that almonds just don't work for that application. It might require further experimentation if I can't get this batch to taste good in time.My Thai bird chile vodka, on the other hand, turned out spectacularly. It's very spicy, mostly up front but with a decent afterburn. There's a strong green/vegetable component to the flavor as well. It should make for some amazing bloody marys.
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Oct 10, 2011 15:04
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bartolimu posted:I strained my green almond vodka yesterday. It smells like artificial banana flavor and tastes terrible. Huh. Good to know. I'll keep an eye on things then. Hope that aging improves.
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Oct 10, 2011 15:12
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Nicol Bolas posted:You can let vanilla go for as long as you want, actually, but it will turn into vanilla extract. I've actually never infused with JUST beans--I find tossing some extract in with the simple syrup is just as effective when it's just as backdrop to something like pumpkin spice liquor. So I'd say keep tasting it and shaking it and strain when it tastes good to you. Also keep in mind how you plan to use it; if you plan on diluting it with coke or soda water, it'll probably okay if it's pretty strongly vanilla. The other good thing is, vanilla doesn't get gross or bitter over time, just strong. Yeah there is pretty much no way you can wreck a vanilla infusion by steeping or ageing it for too long. Also if it is too strong you can always add more spirit and leave it for a short period till you get your desired vanilla strength. "Chard posted:Kiwi infusion
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Oct 11, 2011 20:08
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If your fruit floats you can turn the jar upside-down every couple days and then back until the fruit is totally soaked in vodka, which should prevent the mold.
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Oct 12, 2011 00:20
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Anyone have any experience doing a tea-infused liquor? After reading this thread, I kind of want to do an infusion with this blood orange red tea I have a half pound of.
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Oct 12, 2011 04:47
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Liquid Communism posted:Anyone have any experience doing a tea-infused liquor? After reading this thread, I kind of want to do an infusion with this blood orange red tea I have a half pound of. Ooh. That sounds awesome, actually. I have no idea how long to let it go for, though. I'd taste it at 24 hours and see how you like it? I suspect it'll be something like 2 days to fully infuse, but last I checked red tea is delicious and doesn't get bitter like black or any other hue of tea. It takes 2 days to fully cold-infuse red tea and it's diminishing returns after that, so I'd be surprised if it takes longer than a week to pull full flavor out of your tea, though.
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Oct 12, 2011 05:11
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Kenning posted:If your fruit floats you can turn the jar upside-down every couple days and then back until the fruit is totally soaked in vodka, which should prevent the mold. This is what I've been doing, and it seems to be working so far. I give them a gentle shake when I turn them for good measure.
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Oct 12, 2011 05:15
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Anyone here have a decent tried and true nocino recipe?
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Oct 12, 2011 07:18
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