Firewater Friday - Peppery Bacon Infused Vodka

I like a strip of bacon as a garnish for a nice spicy Bloody Mary cocktail.  That got me thinking.  What about vodka infused with bacon and pepper.  Imagine that in your Bloody Mary!  Oh my!

So, I made it.  

Peppery Bacon Infused Vodka

3 or 4 Slices Smoked Bacon
16 Ounces Good Vodka
8 - 10 Peppercorns

Cook bacon in pan until crisp but not totally crispy.  

Place bacon strips into a jar and fill with vodka.

Place jar in the refrigerator for one week.  

After a week, put the jar in the freezer for an hour to solidify the fat.  

Strain the solids out of the liquid by pouring through a sieve or a stocking lined funnel.  

Pour into a bottle or jar.

For the most bacon flavor, serve at room temperature.  Use as a mixer or a sipper.  

Cheers!

Firewater Friday - Strawberry Dream

This is a cocktail of my own invention made with infused spirits of my own making.  Of course, you can substitute commercially infused vodkas . . . but it's oh so much more satisfying to make your own.  Unless of course you can't take the wait.

Strawberry Dream

1 Shot Vanilla Infused Vodka
2 Shots Strawberry Infused Vodka
   (1 Part Strawberry Vodka to 1/2 Part Simple Syrup to equal 2 Shots)
4 Ounces Orange Juice





Pour vodkas in a shaker filled with ice and give a quick shake shake shake.  

Strain over a rocks glass filled with ice.  Fill glass with orange juice and stir.  

Garnish with a strawberry and drink up the deliciousness.
 
Print Recipe

Firewater Friday - Very Berry Deliciousness

Hubby and were out for our weekly date night and spied a jug of strawberries steeping in a clear liquid.  The sign above the container proclaimed one shot of strawberry vodka $6.  Okay . . . a bit pricey for a simple shot but I just had to try it . . . and try it I did.  And OH-MY-GOD-BECKY it was soooooooo good!  And then I had another one.   Yeah, you can call me a lush.  

I figured how hard could it possibly be to infuse vodka with strawberries.  Not hard at all . . . here's how to do it:

First, you must have fresh strawberries.  They're in season, relatively cheap and very, very sweet.

Second you must have a neutral flavored spirit . . . vodka.

Take 2 cups of fresh clean strawberries, hulled and cut in half and put into a clean 1 quart jar (I use a Mason canning jar).  The stawberries should fill the jar halfway.

Next pour in the vodka to the top leaving about a half inch of headspace.  

Then place cool, dark place (like a pantry or cupboard).  Give the jar a little shake once a day to move things around.  

After a couple days you will notice that the strawberries are being leeched of color and turning a sickly albino white.  Don't panic, this is normal.  All the color and flavor is going into the vodka.

In a week you will have strawberry infused vodka with very pale strawberries floating around in it.

Strain the solids from the liquid.  I do this by placing a stocking . . . you know, like a knee high women wear . . . over the top of another jar.  You can use cheese cloth if you want.  Then I put a canning funnel over that and pour the infused vodka into the funnel and through the stocking.

What you are left with is a wonderful strawberry flavored vodka that is a beautiful red color.

I found it to still be a bit strong.  So to add a little sweetness and to make it perfectly delicious I mixed it with a simple syrup.  Take a 1/2 cup raw sugar and mix it into a 1/2 cup boiling water and stir until all the sugar is dissolved.  Let it cool.

Mix 1 part infused vodka to a 1/2 part of the simple syrup.  Pour into a shaker full of ice.  Shake, shake, shake and strain into a cocktail glass.  Sip and be in absolute heaven.

Of course, you can use the infused vodka and a myriad of other cocktail recipes but I like it cold and simple.  

Delicious!