It’s rare that I drink hard liquor when I’m home – I typically just stick to wine with dinner. Here and there I’ll have a bourbon on the rocks or a post-dinner Sambuca. But now that we’re ALL staying home due to the Coronavirus with no end in sight, it’s time to become my own bartender.
It started with a hankering for a creation from Please Don’t Tell, a famous speakeasy-style bar in NYC. I checked my liquor cabinet which is nothing close to the set up you’d see at PDT, but I had to make it work.
I took a look at Vinepair.com and Liquor.com for some inspiration on what I could make with these old half-drank bottles I’ve inherited over the years of gatherings and parties. The first thing I noticed was how weak my cocktail knowledge was, followed by how many ingredients I didn’t have.
But I’m also in the apocalypse mindset of: I MUST use everything I have. Nothing should go to waste.
With that in mind, to “spice up” my years-old bottles of Russian vodka, the handles of rum my father-in-law insists on buying me each Christmas, and half-drank bottles of tequilas, gins and whiskeys I decided to use my almost-going-bad remaining fruit to make something new.
It’s a great way to put liquor AND fruit to use.
How to make the Liquor Infusions
Use about ¼ cup of fruit per 2 cups of liquor. I stored each in varying size Mason jars, tightly closing the lids and kept them in a low-light area. Leave the fruit to infuse for 5 days, giving them a decent shake twice per day.
Liquor Infusions I made
- Pineapple Rum
- Raspberry Vodka
- Jalapeno Tequila
- Tamarind Rum
- Blueberry Vodka
- Fennel Vodka
Before I knew it, my simple desire to go out for cocktails, had me moving furniture to make room for my own in-home speakeasy lounge I named “The Quarantine Café.” With all this time on my hands I cleaned out a small sun room that’s typically used for storage in the winter. I used knickknacks from around my house – a strand of lights from my wedding day, a wall mirror as a tabletop, plants that are always in the way, an outdoor carpet and mismatched chairs I was going to give to Goodwill. We urged our cat, Lita, to spend time in there with us so we can deem it one of those cat cafés as well, but she was giving me too much attitude.
The infused liquors are the perfect base for cocktails, some – like the raspberry vodka – are tasty enough on their own to shake up with ice and strain into a martini glass. Making simple syrup and using fresh-squeezed citrus fruits can really elevate these infusions into incredibly unique cocktails.
Use what you have on hand, and don’t be afraid to look up common substitutes for cocktail ingredients you might not have. All the infused liquors are really just a blank canvas. Think about the flavors you like and start creating. For further inspirations check out the Cocktail Subreddit.
Happy creating.