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Apple: SUCCESS
Cinnamon: SUCCESS
The Apple Experiment.
After many sample tastings of the apple vodka over the past two weeks, I knew the final product would be quite good with little to no hint of vodka, and my hypothesis was correct. In fact, I assert that the apple was done 5 or so days ago, before I added the third apple; the final days really didn't add much to the flavor, and in fact may have proved detrimental to the final product. In the name of science, I wanted to test to relative alcohol content of the apple vodka, as Andy and I had joked about it not tasting like alcohol because there was no alcohol. Without a hydrometer, though, the only test I could think up involved a 500lb device that all of us seem to have on hand: the freezer. (Do refrigerators weigh 500lb? I don't know, and neither do you, so shut up.)
After two hours or so in the freezer (it may well have been more, I really don't even remember), I was left with a solid block of apple "vodka". Was it completely frozen? Most likely not, as we all know that the freezing point of ethanol is -114 degrees celcius, and my freezer certainly doesn't get that cold. However, research tells me that a 24 proof liqueur will freeze at around 20 degrees fahrenheit, which I'm sure my freezer can reach, and 65 proof will freeze at -10 degrees fahrenheit, which I doubt my freezer can reach. My hypothesis, then, is that my apple vodka is more than likely apple schnapps-style, with an alcohol content of between 15-25% (30-50 proof).
But it's oh-so-tasty.
The Cinnamon Experiment.
The cinnamon vodka is quite good, but very... cinnamon-ny, and not sweet at all (not that I necessarily expected it to be sweet). The result is a shot that is alcoholic, but not easy to drink straight like Goldschlägger. If you wanted to drink a straight shot, you're best off mixing it with a bit simple syrup, which we should all have on hand (equal parts water and sugar).
One of the greatest drinks of all time.
If you remember back to my very first post, you will recall that I was more than excited about the idea of "liquid pie." Well, This was obviously the very first thing I wanted to make, and after a few trials I've come up with the most awesome recipe ever:
2.0 oz. Apple Vodka
1.0 oz. Cinnamon Vodka
0.5 oz. Simple Syrup
This really does taste like liquid pie, and it is beautifully delicious.
Update on the Strawberry Experiment.
I tasted the strawberry vodka yesterday evening (I know, only 3 days.), and though the strawberries had turned nearly completely white (as expected, due to their generosity in giving their color completely to the vodka), it still tasted heavily of vodka. Worried that the strawberries didn't have much more to give, I threw out the old ones and replaced them with gloriously red new ones, added some more sugar, and a day later we're left with a much more red vodka that is smelling wonderful.
I'll taste it again later this week, when it will most likely be ready for bottling.
I AM DRUNK RIGHT NOW.
So today Andy comes over to get something from me, and we decide that we should sample some vodkas because... well, why not. He's super pumped about the butterscotch, so I pour us some shots. His response was, "holy crap. this is good. we need to go to the liquor store right now so I can get some vodka and make this."
So then I made him a buttery nipple, which he said was wonderful. Then we moved on to the coffee vodka, which I never really mentioned here because I still don't think I've come up with a good solution that the problem everybody seems to have. Most people are taking coffee beans and crushing them a bit, them letting them stew for a few days. Then they complain of bitterness and just... weak, not very good vodka. So I took some freshly roasted (by me) espresso, ground it to a coarse grind, and basically let it steep (like with a french press) for about 24 hours, and I was left with what looked like coffee. The smell is delicious, but unchilled it tastes heavily of vodka, and there is quite a burn present. However, when you shake it with ice, it's quite pleasant in mine (and Andy's) opinion. The burn of the vodka is nearly gone, and it tastes mostly like chilled coffee.
From here we moved to the cinnamon, which I've been excited about. I poured two shots, and Andy and I agreed that it tasted like watered down cinnamon, which isn't quite what I'd hoped. We plan to add some sweetener to try and make it great. From here it was time to change out the apple again in my apple experiment, so I got to work with the some process as last week. The apple was again brown and the vodka looked gross.
As I was throwing out the apple pieces, Andy says to me, "you know, we should try pressing those apples and try to save some volume since you're losing so much. Really you can just press them between two hard surfaces, or put them in a food processor and see what the result is." So he insists that he wants to try it, and as I'm preparing a ziploc baggy in which to put the discarded apples, Andy starts pressing the apples between a bowl and a frying pan.
A quick taste of the resulting liquid brings the following conversation (for the most part):
Andy: Oh my.
Jason: So it's disgusting?
Andy: Oh my. That's horrid.
Jason: So do you still want to take them home? Or...
Andy: No.
Jason: No? You're sure?
Andy: No.
Out with the apples. I ran the vodka through a filter again, which took a while, then we sampled a half shot each.
This tasted like apple juice. There's just no flavor or burn of vodka left. It's just... so good. Andy immediately wanted to run to the liquor store to purchase several handles of vodka with which to make this, so we did that. I was drunk. Thank god I wasn't driving.
Anyway, we're going to start working on something that will make this whole thing even better than awesome, so here's hoping that it's a success. The final tasting of apple and cinnamon will happen this weekend.
Well, today was the day to change out the apples in my apple experiment, so I was feeling bloggy and took pictures along the way.
The first batch of apples was brown and gross, as expected, so first I threw those out and was left with a yellow-green jar of murky apple vodka.
I wanted to filter out the floating apple fibers before adding the new apples, so I clipped a coffee filter (props to Daniel for the clip idea) to the jar and poured the vodka through. which took forever.
Then it was time to cut the apple.
I cut my apples into sixteenths, because they're huge, and I figure the more surface area the better. The guys at Infusions of Grandeur used a granny smith apple for the duration of their experiment, but complained about a slight, though not unpleasant, sourness. To avoid this, I first decided to use my favorite eating apple, the Golden Delicious. Then Bryan suggested that I use several different types of apples, like in an apple pie. So for the next four days I'll be using a Granny Smith apple, then maybe I'll use a Fuji and a Gala. Or a Pink Lady. Maybe a Rome. But never a Red Delicious, because they are disgusting and taste like rotten plums, and the last time I checked I wasn't making rotten plum vodka.
Anyway, so I put the cut apple into my jar and poured the filtered vodka right over top.
You'll notice a loss of volume here, which was certainly lost in the discarded apples and the coffee filter, but losing an ounce or two isn't all that bad. In case anybody is wondering, yes I tasted it. The taste is still strongly of vodka with a hint of apple in the back end. So here's hoping that in a few days time the harshness of vodka begins to die.
An update on the Cinnamon Experiment
The Cinnamon vodka is looking great, and its color is getting darker each day. Check my earlier post to see the color after 12 hours.
The taste is very heavy of cinnamon at first, with vodka following, and I'm almost worried about how heavy the cinnamon flavor is. I'll try it again in a few days and form a plan then.
Well, it's been about 12 hours since I began my infusions (only 324 to go!), and I thought I'd blog about it.
Anyway, I stole the idea from the guys at Infusions of Grandeur, and I chose to do their very first two experiments: cinnamon and apple. The fact that these were their very first is purely coincidental, and I really just chose them because a third party suggests that the apple is "the most dangerous brew of them all. I could not tell that this is alcoholic. There's a tartness there, but it's like a very light cider, beautiful and high at the tip of your tongue that fades gently to a shimmer of apple that resonates around your entire mouth. You could drink a whole glass of this and never know that it contained a drop of alcohol up until your brain stopped working."
But then, when you mix the two together, "This smells like strudel filling," Karla says. "This is heaven in a plastic cup. This - is dangerous." It's like drinking pie - glorious, liquid pie. Everyone stands around, shell-shocked by the perfect beauty that has just exploded wetly across their throat as they down the apple and cinnamon vodka."
Needless to say, I must have this.
I also made a fifth of honey vodka, which is beyond amazing. There's really no hint of vodka. There is maybe a slight taste of vodka barely on the back end, but it comes and goes in less than a second. I really see no need to ever drink anything else (until the apple and cinnamon are done!).
Photos make everything easier to understand, so here they go.
You can see the apples are starting to brown, as expected. I'll be changing the apple out every three days, as the guys at IOG suggest makes for the best result.
The cinnamon is already showing some color, which is exciting, and research shows that it will become much darker as time passes. Given that Goldschlager is one of my very favorite alcohols, I could not be more excited about this one.
I really can't say how awesome the Honey vodka is. It's just... holy crap. Given that this takes very little time to procure, it's something everybody should keep in their stock at all times.
And for those of you wondering, yes those are de-labled Burnett's bottles. And yes I'm using Burnett's vodka. At $12.49 for 1.75L, all of these vodkas are $0.21 per shot. You can't really beat that. ...Actually you can, if you buy even lower quality vodka and run it through a Brita filter about 5 times, as the guys at IOG do. To each his own.
