Skittles

08.27.09 Skittles: Five test sizes

We used 50 skittles for 6.25 oz vodka (1/4 of 750ml bottle). We separated the skittles into their colors. We bought at 14 oz bag of skittles, and had plenty left over for all the colors...except for green, which only had 45 skittles for some reason. Poor green. :( We'll shake these up multiple times in the next day and then filter, as we want to have them ready for our vodka tasting party - Philly edition which takes place tomorrow night.

08.28.09 Filtering & Tasting

We filtered this using the mesh coffee filter and it was a pain! The skittles, when fully "dissolved," leave a gross white greasy residue (think crisco) in the filter. These each had to be filtered at least 3 times to get out the gunk. Even then, not all of it is able to be filtered and it eventually settles into a layer.

These are very pretty little infusions. They definitely taste like skittles and the individual flavors can be told apart. They're pretty good.

12.31.09 Skittle color decay

Somewhere along the way, L noticed that there were 4 red skittle vodkas in the liquor cabinet at E's house, when we had only made 2. Strange. Upon closer inspection, we found that the purple skittle vodka had decayed into red. Now the only way to tell red and purple apart is to taste test.

Caramel

07.18.09 Caramel test size - the easy way

We purchased small containers to small batch tests so we can scale it later.

2 cubes of Kraft caramel. 6.25 oz Fris vodka (1/4 bottle). Shaken vigorously. (Mad Scientists used 8 cubes for 750 ml vodka.)

07.19.09 Taste Test

Here's the caramel infusion before the two cubes are fully dissolved:

12 hours later the two caramel cubes are dissolved. Taste test.

L: moderate caramel flavor, all vodka at the end.

E: agrees.

Added one more cube of caramel.

~24 hours after the original infusion, we tasted the 3 caramel cube version and declared it to be done.

Tastes sweet and caramel at the beginning but still has vodka burn at the end.

08.16.09 Tweaking the infusion

We still had a lot of the test size left, and Emilio was unhappy with it. So we added one more cube of caramel.

Recipe - the inferior version

750 ml vodka

12+ cubes of Kraft caramel

Approximately 12 hours 'infusion' time, with occasional vigorous shaking to mix




12.12.09 Caramel - the right way

L's friend Anne is a frequent cat-sitter, and L said she'd make her a vodka as a thank you gift. Anne requested caramel, but made by caramelizing sugar. L & E tried to make the caramel. We had no idea what we were doing. E found a helpful website: How to Make the Perfect Caramel We followed the instructions there and, given that L is a klutz, E made her wear full protective gear, apron and oven mitts (see pic). In an attempt to get "just past" the point where it starts to smoke, we left the first batch on for ~10 seconds too long. The caramel burned. It was clear it had burned so we threw it out right away.

The next time we had better success. We were experimenting with 12.5 oz vodka, and we used 1/2 c sugar. We got the caramel quite dark, and the vodka had a nice rich, almost buttery taste. L thought there was a hint of burnt caramel flavor. E declared that one a success. The best part about the caramel is how cool it looks when it is poured into the vodka, it bubbles up and forms solid structures within the vodka.

Note: Later that week, E decided that he could taste a teeny bit of burnt caramel flavor in that vodka, so L doctored it up ad added another 1/2c of caramel, which helped. 

The caramel solidifies within minutes, but before that it's still hot, so if you're going to taste test, be careful!






A few days later, L moved onto making the version for Anne. This was 750 ml Fris with 1 cup sugar. After several rounds of taste testing, the final formula that Anne and L determined was 2c caramelized sugar for 750 ml vodka. The caramel does add volume but not the full volume. The hard carmel can be shaken when poured into the vodka, but in general it will dissolve within 8 hours, if left unshaken.

Our caramel making tips: We really like the website linked above. However, for our purposes, we say the caramel is done the instance it shows any sign of smoking. We find the flavor just fine, and are significantly less likely to run the risk of burning it. 

Here's what the finished Caramel vodka looks like:

Recipe

750 ml vodka
2 cups caramelized sugar

Spiced Cider

10.10.09 Spiced Cider

We decided it was time to do a seasonal flavor to welcome in the fall, and to try out at our upcoming CT vodka tasting party. We debated between a Pumpkin Spice vodka and a Spiced Cider, and decided that the Spiced Cider would be much more versatile and we should go with that one.

We did minimal research on this and decided to stick with the recipe for the Mad Scientists' spiced cider infused vodka, and to more-or-less follow their methods.

We took one apple, cored it, sliced it thinly, and added it to 750 ml Fris vodka. We also dropped in a cinnamon stick.

10.16.09 First apple replacement

Emilio took out the apple slices and replaced them with new ones.

10.21.09 Second apple replacement

Again, replace old apple slices with new apple slices.

10.22.09 Adding the spices

Emilio removed the cinnamon stick...because the directions say so. We set it aside to add back in later, should that be necessary. He also peeled an orange and put two orange wedges in the infusion, after tearing the wedges in half, to help provide surface area for the alcohol to access the orange. Three nutmeg seeds were also added at this point. Emilio was wondering if the nutmeg should be whole or not, given that it seems like it would be difficult to extract the flavor from the seed while it is still whole. We threw them in and decided we'd make changes later, if needed.

10.25.09 More spices

We tasted this one today and it was good! A good apple flavor. However, not as complex as a spiced cider. Hopefully the additions today will help! We added 20 whole all spice berries (~3g) and 24 cloves (~3g). Our digital scale wasn't very reliable with the weights, but they're in the correct ballpark. From the Mad Scientists recipes, we expect this one to be done in a day or two.

10.26.09 Needs another day

E did a taste test. The cinnamon needs to get put back in; there is almost no cinnamon flavor. The cloves etc, may be ready to come out tomorrow. The orange-to-apple balance is fine. There is still not much of a nutmeg taste. It currently tastes like apple juice, so we need more time for the spices to infuse. The cinnamon stick was put back in. E will taste test again in a day or two.

10.27.09 Almost done

E tasted it, and decided it was nearly done. He says it has much more of the holiday spice right at the front and fades into a apple cider. No vodka burn what so ever. L can't wait to try it. E thinks that it needs more cinnamon, so he's removing everything but the cinnamon stick. He'll test it again tomorrow.

The cloves and nutmeg are soft. The nutmeg seeds that weren't split are at the bottom.

11.22.09 Let's do it again!

We like the spiced cider so much that we decided to make a lot more of it. We divided a 1.75L bottle of Fris between 2 containers. We decided to use 3 different apples for the infusion, like we did for the previous version. Also, we decided to use 3 tangerine wedges instead of 2 orange wedges to increase the sweetness.

For each container:

875 ml Fris vodka, one thinly sliced Rome apple.

11.27.09

For each container: Removed old apple slices. Put in one thinly sliced Macintosh apple and a cinnamon stick.

12.02.09

For each container: Removed old apple slices. Put in one thinly sliced Golden delicious apple. Put in 3 nutmeg seeds, cut in half. Also added 3 tangerine wedges, with a slice in the wedge to aid in the infusing. E said he will taste test more often now as we're doing something different with the nutmeg and the cinnamon might be reaching its max. E said he's going to taste it tomorrow so it doesn't get "too cinnamoninized."

12.03.09

E removed the cinnamon stick.

Hibiscus

11.22.09 Hibiscus (test size)

1 tsp Hibscus and 6.25 oz Svedka vodka. 7:45pm. This one could be FAST, if its anything like the mint. Because the mint took only ~30 min, we tried this one after a half hour. It had a lovely bright pink color, but no hibicus flavor at all. We'll give it another try later, and if necessary add more hibiscus. 11:30pm tasted again. Barely any flavor, if any, a lot of burn. E thinks that the burn may have gotten worse. Tasted a flower and it had no flavor left, so we filtered out what was in there and put in 2 tsp more. Are planning on repeating this procedure as necessary.

11.27.09

Added 1 tbs because the flavor did not cover the vodka burn.

11.28.09

Removed the 1 Tbsp hibiscus because the hibiscus flavor was quite strong. Still some vodka burn, but much more bearable.

Black Pepper

11.22.09 Black Pepper (test size)

1 tsp whole tellicherry black peppercorns and 6.25 oz Svedka vodka. This should be quick. We'll taste daily because we have no idea what we're doing for this one.

11.27.09
Done! The pepper is nice and strong and will mix well with other drinks. Not so good for a straight tasting.

Recipe

6.25 oz vodka

1 tsp whole black peppercorns

Infusion time: 5 days

Ginger

10.07.09 Ginger

Since we love our Gingercello so much, and we had some ginger on hand, we decided to make a ginger-infused vodka.

We used 500 ml Chopin vodka and ~3/4c ginger, thinly sliced.

10.25.09 It could be finished...

We taste tested this one 18 days later and it very well could be done. It has a strong ginger flavor, and minimal vodka burn.

Peach

08.30.09 Peach

750 ml Skyy Vodka

1 cup thinly sliced peaches (a bit overripe, oops)

1 tsp sugar

Decided to start a peach infusion which should turn out light in color and flavor. We decided to use Skyy for this one because we thought the sweetness of the peaches would help mask the bitterness E tasted in Skyy.

09.13.09 Tasting and reinfusing

Strong vodka taste and a slight peach after taste. It barely tastes like any fruit. Lissa thinks it has a bit of sweet front but mostly vodka. We grabbed 2 more peaches (1 cup of white peaches) and added 2 more teaspoons of sugar.

Here is the singly infused peach vodka with the new peaches to be added. We don't expect much color change this time.

09.20.09 Tasting

L: Improved. Has a weird flavor at the beginning, then moves into a mild peach flavor. Not much of a burn. It's not as strong of a flavor as I'd like.
E: Much improved. It's sweeter, probably all that sugar we added. It's smoother, much less burn.

E took one for the team and tasted a bit of peach. There was still some flavor left in it, so we decided to let this one sit for a bit longer in an attempt to extract as much additional flavor as possible.

10.10.09 Declared done.

E tasted this and says that it is improved. Peach taste with a bit of a vodka burn at end. It could be further improved by another round with fresh peaches, but we don't feel like doing it. The finished product, with more color change than we had anticipated.

Recipe

750 ml vodka

1 cup thinly sliced peaches (~2 peaches)

1 tsp sugar

Infuse for 2 weeks.

Remove peaches and replace with:

1 cup thinly sliced peaches

2 tsp sugar

Infuse for 1-3 more weeks, to taste.

Chocolate

07.18.09 Chocolate test size

Lissa just loves chocolate, and of course, it was Daniel's chocolate infused liquor that got us started in the first place. We decided we needed to try a making a chocolate vodka. We'd heard that the alcohol in vodka would not be strong enough to draw out the chocolate flavor, so we didn't think we could repeat the cocoacello experiment with vodka. We finally decided to adopt the methods the Mad Scientists used for their chocolate vodka.

Tasted the chocolate: Ghirardelli 60% cocoa, Evening Dream intense dark chocolate. Label says that it is "a milder dark chocolate with a hint of Madagascar Vanilla"

L: I wish we would have picked a sweeter chocolate. I like it as a chocolate, but in a drink I'd like it to be sweeter. Hopefully we'd be able to sweeten it by adding sugar or a simple syrup at the end.

E: I wish it was sweeter, because the vodka may make it more bitter.

2 squares (out of 8) of 3.5oz (100g) bar of Ghirardelli 60% cocoa. 6.25 oz Fris vodka (1/4 bottle).

Broke the chocolate up into little chunks to increase surface area.

07.19.09 Taste testing

Vodka has taken on a brown color. Lots of broken pieces of chocolate at bottom of bowl and chocolate particulates floating in layer on bottom of bowl.

L: Chocolate beginning, but definitely strong vodka flavor. Taste-wise, I like the flavor of this better than the caramel. Hopefully more time will strengthen the flavor of this one.

07.25.09 Done! 1 week "infusion" time

We tasted the infusion a week later. This one probably would have been done in a few days, but we hadn't gotten around to trying it. It remained unchanged in the last several days of infusion. The infusion had taken on a brown color with a considerable amount of sediment at the bottom, and smushy but distinct chunks of chocolate laying on the bottom of the bowl which would not dissolve. The remaining chocolate chunks were filtered out using a mesh coffee filter. Out of curiosity and the desire to not waste what might be perfectly good chocolate, Lissa sampled one of the soggy chocolate chunks. The outer layers had an unappealing waxiness to them. The middle was more solid, but the whole thing tasted like, well, chocolate and vodka. As much as Lissa loves chocolate, she decided that the chocolaty bits was not worth saving and pitched the remainders in the trash.

This infusion definitely improved from when we tried it after a day of infusing. It had a sweeter chocolate taste, but still a lot of vodka burn. This will either have to have some sort of sweetner added to it, or it will need to be mixed with something sweet.

Recipe

750 ml vodka

25 grams chocolate bar, we used 60% cocoa

Break chocolate up into pieces, shake occasionally

"Infusion" time: 1 week


08.03.09 Chocolate test size v2

Daniel brought us some cocoa nibs that he had roasted. We used 1/4c roasted cocoa nibs in 375 ml Exclusiv vodca.

Within the 30 minutes, the vodka had already started to take on a light brown color.

08.09.09 taste test

This is developing very nicely. The infusion has the beginnings of a full chocolate taste, but still with a considerable vodka burn. We'll give it another week. Our research said that if infused too long, the cocoa nibs may make the infusion bitter.

08.15.09 Declared done after 12 days.

We found that this had plenty of chocolate flavor, but still had hints of vodka to it. We decided it was close enough. It was filtered using the wire mesh coffee filtered and then bottled.

We decided it would be fun to do a blind taste tests of both of the versions of chocolate vodka to see which one we prefer.

v2 (cocoa nibs) E: strong vodka flavor at beginning eases into a nice chocolate flavor at the end with a little bit of chocolate bitterness at the finish
v1 (chocolate bar) E: a little bit of vodka at the beginning smokey chocolate flavor in the middle, trailing into a smooth chocolaty finish
E prefers v1.

Here's what Lissa thought:
v1. (bar): Has a vodka burn at the beginning and a strong chocolate flavor in the middle and then goes into a combination of chocolate and vodka burn. Oh, and there is some sweetness at the beginning. I like it a lot.
v.2 (nibs): Smells more bitter than the other. There is a vodka and a hint of chocolate at the beginning but it is not sweet like the other. This has a more smooth mellow chocolate flavor. It is not as strong of chocolate flavor but it is pleasant. It fades into chocolate with a little vodka burn.
Lissa slightly prefers the first because of the fullness of the flavor.

demo.1 (nibs with sweetner): Very sweet with chocolate, has had some kind of sweetener added to it. Minimal burn.
demo.2 (nibs and bar mixwd): Twang of bitter in the middle. Definite chocolate. It's sweet and minimal burn.
demo.3 (bar): Taste like some vodka and more burn than the other two.
Lissa prefered first one over all but does not mind the bitter for the second.

Overall conclusion: Use the nibs for mixed drinks. Use sweetner or the bar for straight.

08.16.09 Chocolate version 1

We decided to make a larger version of the chocolate vodka made with cocoa nibs.

560mL Estimate of Fris (~3/4 of 750 ml bottle)

3/8 cup of cocoa nibs

Chemistry Question

Why does grain alcohol (95% alc/vol, 190 proof) take longer than vodka considering that the grain alcohol is a stronger proof? (see our notes in cocoacello v2) Side by side pictures of grain vs. vodka shows that the vodka (left) is drawing out the color of the nibs much faster in comparison to the grain alcohol (right).

We decided to see if the amount of water contained in the vodka makes a difference. For a mini-experiment, we infused 1 oz of water with 1tsp of nibs to see how the color is vs. the others. We also were curious about what sugar would do, so we did another mini-experiment with 1 oz water, 1/8 tsp sugar and 1 tsp cocoa nibs. After several hours, both of the mini-experiments had taken on a light brown color, similar to what the vodka infusion had done. There was no major color difference in the version with the sugar added.

08.29.09 Messing with the recipe

We decided this version was done and served it at our Philly edition of the vodka tasting party on August 28. All that remained was a volume of 350ml, and that included the nibs. E added 450 ml Chopin vodka to the remainder to make more.

09.13.09 Taste test

Decided that the nibs were not imparting flavor anymore so will filter old and replace with 1/4 cup fresh nibs.

09.20.09 Another Taste Test

It tastes good. Tastes like chocolate. It very well could be declared done, but Lissa wants to push the boundaries and give it a week more, just to see what happens.

10.10.09 (over?) Done.

So, that week of pushing the infusion limits turned into more. L saw the jar there, needing to be filtered, and just never got around to it. E and our friend Jen tasted it, and said it tasted chocolaty, but had a bitterness to it. It would be best with a mixer and not straight. Lesson learned.

Recipe

750 ml vodka

1/2 c roasted cocoa nibs

12 day infusion time

Plum

08.16.09 Plum infusion started

750 ml Exclusiv Vodca

1 cup local Plums, pitted and quartered

1 tsp sugar

The plums were cut in halves or quarters to remove the pit and the bitter tasting fruit immediately surrounding it.

08.27.09 Declared done - 11 day infusion time [edit: ok, we take that back]

E: Not a bad burn, could use more plum flavor, but would require double infusion to obtain that flavor.

L: Plum taste at beginning, strong burn in middle, and light lingering plum taste at end. May not be done, but not sure how much more flavor we can get out of the plums.

This could be improved by double infusing, but we just don't feel like doing it.

Used the funnel to get the plum halves out. Then filtered using a wet cheesecloth (to keep the cheesecloth from soaking up the infusion like a sponge).

08.30.09 Double Infusion

Based on the feedback we got from the Philly vodka party, the flavor needed to be much stronger to be more easily identifiable.

1 cup red plums = 3 plums
1 tsp Sugar
Removed old plums and added the new back to up the quality of the flavor.

Emilio contemplates the single-infused version before adding the new plums.

09.13.09 Tasting

Plums pieces still have a bit of taste so we are going to keep them in for another week.

09.20.09 Infusion completed

E: What is this one? L: That's not a good sign.

E: It's subtle. It doesn't hit you in the face and say, "Hi, I'm plum." It's more kinda plum-y. I like it, subtle flavor a little sweet.
L: It tastes good, but the flavor is not readily identifiable as plum. I'm ready to call this one good enough.

10.10.09

We decided this one was done along time ago, but since it won't over infuse (from the strawberry experiment), we are leaving the plums in for visual appeal. Note the color change in the plum skins from the picture on 09.30.

To improve this one, leave the first cup of plums in longer, or replace the fruit more often.

Recipe

750 ml vodka

1 cup local plums (~3 plums), halved or quartered with bitter fruit around pit removed

1 tsp sugar

Infuse for 11 days, then remove the old plums. Add:

1 cup plums, quartered or halved

1 tsp sugar

Infuse for 21 days.

Yields a pleasant but not strong plum flavor.

Mint

08.27.09 Mint test size 1 (Mint Tea)

The book "101 Martinis" suggested steeping "one Moroccan mint tea bag in 5 ounces vodka for at least 20 minutes. ... If you are unable to find Moroccan mint, use equal parts mint and green tea."

We decided to use Trader Joe's Organic Mint Melange Tea (a blend of Peppermint, Lemon Grass and Spearmint). We are steeping 1 tea bag in 6.25 oz Tenure vodka, twice brita filtered for at least 20 minutes. (11:15 pm) We gave it 30 minutes, tasted it and decided that we liked it. We poured in the remaining bit of excess vodka from the test sizes we were trying that night and steeped it for another 30 minutes before finally removing the tea bag.

Recipe: Moroccan Mint Martini: 3 oz vanilla soy milk, 1.5 oz Moroccan mint-infused vodka, 0.5 oz vanilla schnapps, 0.5 oz simple syrup, mint leaf garnish.

08.27.09 Mint test size 2 (Fresh Mint)

We also bought some fresh mint from the store. We were originally going to do our mint infusion using this, but we couldn't resist the (nearly) instant gratification promised from the tea bag-infused mint. Anyhow, we decided to carry on with the original plan and make a fresh mint infused vodka as well.

We used 2 sprigs of mint, keeping the stems, in 6.25 oz of Tenure vodka, twice brita filtered.

08.30.09 Mint done!

Mint leaves were removed from the fresh mint test. Don't want to over infuse it.

Recipe - Mint (Tea)

6.25 oz vodka

1 mint tea bag

Steep 20-30 min, to taste

Recipe - Mint (Fresh)

6.25 oz vodka

2 sprigs of mint, including stems

Infusion time: 3 days.