Amy Boxleitner is a friend of mine from work & she has a passion for infusing spirits. I’ve heard of infusing spirits but have never tried it, so I was thrilled when Amy introduced me to it. It’s a very creative process, needing to consider the liquor, what ingredients would compliment it, what drinks could be made from the final product, how will it bottle, how will it present. She’s fantastic at it and she always seems to be somewhere in the process of an infusion. Patience is also involved - that’s probably why I haven’t tried it myself.
Here we have her B-Liquored 2014 Christmas batch of Cranberry Orange Infused Vodka. I can’t even begin to tell you how delicious this is.
Amy’s Cranberry Orange Infused Vodka
After considering various mixers and drinks, once I tasted it, I knew it only needed a tiny bit of fizz for a fabulous martini. One part of Amy’s vodka and 2 parts ginger-ale. It’s that simple.
Her recipe is posted below!
Amy’s vodka martini
Cranberry Orange Kiss Martini
It pours out of the bottle with a glorious light cranberry color. It’s full of fresh fruit flavor and a tiny bit sweet. Knowing the vodka is there - well….it’s important to keep that in mind.
This could also be served in a tall glass with ice, a little orange garnish and a straw. Yum…..
Cranberry Orange Kiss Martini
Thank you, Amy! Can’t wait for your next infusion!
Amy’s recipe is below.
Cheers!
B-Liquored Cranberry Orange Infused Vodka
Ingredients:
For the Vodka
- 3 + bottles vodka - 750 ML each
- 4 - 12 ounce bags fresh cranberries
- 4 medium oranges with rinds cut off, pith removed & cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 16 ounces, or 2 cups of Simple Syrup (recipe included)
- 8 pint sized liquor bottles
For the Simple Syrup
- 2 cups white sugar and 2 cups water. In a medium saucepan heat the sugar and water, stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let cool. This should yield 2 1/2 cups.
Directions:
- Make the simple syrup and let cool.
- Prepare the empty pint sized liquor bottles & lids, thoroughly wash, rinse and let dry upside down on a clean kitchen towel
- In measuring the fruit and how much you’ll need, the goal is to have about 1 cup of fruit in each pint jar with a ratio of about 3/4 cup cranberry & 1/4 cup orange slices.
- Wash the cranberries in a strainer and pick through to remove the withered ones. With a toothpick or something sharp, pierce each cranberry so it will flavor and color the vodka. Measure out the cranberries into 8 portions - each portion should be approximately 3/4 cup. You can measure out into 8 small bowls or plates, or lay out a long row of paper towels and place them into 8 separate piles.
- Depending on the size of the oranges, each orange should yield enough rind slices to make a 1/2 cup, which is enough for 2 of your pint bottles. If they’re smallish, you may need more than 4 oranges. Place about 1/4 cup of rind slices with each 3/4 cranberry portion.
- Line the jars up in an assembly line and insert a few of the rind slices, then some cranberry, then a few more rinds and repeat until each jar has about 1 cup of fruit in it. Try to get some layers going to make a pretty presentation.
- Then, in each jar, pour in 2 ounces of simple syrup
- Next, pour in the vodka, at this point, it will take about 1 cup of vodka per jar
- Cap and finger tighten (not too tight)
- Set aside in a cool dry place and check the next day, the fruit will have soaked up some vodka, so top it off again with more vodka to make sure the liquid level is above the fruit.
- Let infuse and check every other day or so, adding more vodka when needed.
- At the 2 week point, taste for flavor and sweetness. You can add a little more simple syrup, or even plain white sugar if you like. If you add plain sugar, make sure to turn the jar over to fully dissolve and incorporate.
- You can enjoy this anytime after the 2 week point, although infusing up to a month yields the best flavor and color.
- And a wonderful bonus is that the cranberries are delicious to eat…and as you use up some of the vodka for drinks, you can simply add more plain vodka and continue to infuse!
