skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Well, I actually bottled the strawberry on March 20, but I haven't done an update until now for some reason. Anyway, I sampled it again in the jar and decided that the flavor was quite strong of fresh strawberry such that there was only a mild hint of vodka burn, and I was scared to let it go for any longer in fear of the alcohol disappearing as in the apple experiment.
The second batch of strawberries wasn't quite as ghostly as the first batch, but I felt that they had given up plenty of their flavor, and the color of the vodka was great.
I filtered out the strawberries through some cheesecloth, poured it into a bottle, and it was done.
This is easily mine and Alexa's very favorite so far, and we were interested in comparing it to Smirnoff's artificially flavored variety of strawberry vodka. We poured a half shot of each kind, and sampled the Smirnoff first. It tasted like... I don't know... a strawberry lollipop. So, basically fake. Beyond that it's very harsh of alcohol.
My strawberry tastes like fresh strawberries. It smells like fresh strawberries, it looks like fresh strawberries, it doesn't feel much like fresh strawberries, but it probably sounds like fresh strawberries (had to get all five senses).
Strawberry experiment: ULTIMATE SUCCESS
Length of infusion: 7 days
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've been playing Super Mario 3 for NES all day today, and after beating in Koopa's face after 3 hours of trying to beat the maze that is World 8, I felt inspired to start a new infusion to symbolize... you know... being awesome at Super Mario 3.
. . .
I'd been wanting to do an infusion with strawberries for about a week now (since I tasted how well the apple was coming along), and since strawberries were on sale for $1.88 at Kroger, now was as good a time as any. I didn't really have a feel for how many strawberries I needed to use to get the proper flavor, so I just kind of chose an arbitrary amount, and if I decide it needs more in a few days, I'll add some more. Anyway, I took all the leafy green parts off, and started slicing. I ate a few pieces along the way. What of it?
I added them to my jar and sprinkled some sugar on top, just as you'd do when preparing strawberries to eat yourself. Then I filled the jar with almost exactly 750ml of vodka.
A quick stir and it was done. I've read that this can be done in as little as about four days, but I'll check along the way as usual. Look for updates.
Bryan's Orange Sweet Roll Infusion
Bryan checked on his orange sweet roll infusion again today after having taken the cinnamon out earlier in the week; he suggested that the cinnamon flavor was coming along way too strongly. Anyway, he tasted it again today, and said it was still a little strong of cinnamon, and that he'll probably add some more orange to the mix.
To speed things and add some sweetness, he decided to add some sugar, which should be nice.
And that was that.
We're worried that the nice lady at the liquor store is becoming curious of our alcohol habits and the combined total of 12,750mL of pure vodka that we've purchased in the past two weeks (your basic math skills will tell you that is equivalent to 17 750mL bottles). Either that or she thinks we're all PARTY MACHINES!!!!! WOOOOO!!!!!
