Basil

07.18.09 Basil test size

After having an amazing Pineapple-Basil Gelato in Austin, Lissa decided she needed to try a basil vodka. E gave in... What the heck am I going to do with basil?

We had no idea how to do this infusion. Googling basil vodka brought up a page from azcentral.com with some instructions on how to make it.

It said to use 1 cup loosely packed basil for 750 ml vodka. Let it infuse for one day, then remove the basil and allow it to age for one week.

Test size.

1/4c loosely packed basil (1/4oz). 6.25 oz Fris vodka (1/4 bottle).

From Lissa's prior experience with basil olive oil infusion, she thought the basil leaves should be bruised with a wooden spoon first. So the leaves were bruised and then torn up.

Tasting the basil: L thought it tasted very green and the leaves were a bit tough. E thought it tasted like basil.

07.19.09 Taste test. ~12 hours infusion time.

~12 hours after the infusion started.

Tasted the basil vodka. Awarded 1 out of 5 stars.

E: Hell of a burn and bitter. Needs to be mixed with something sweet. I would NOT make a whole bottle.

L: Ick, that's disgusting! It tastes like decaying plant matter. Maybe that's why it needs to age. That's too bad, I really wanted basil to work.

* Pineapple-basil cocktail

Pineapple juice with basil vodka.

L: It was good. Definitely tastes better. Can taste the basil but it isn't as well as I had hoped.

Let's see what the aging does.

Future improvements: pick sweeter and more tender basil leaves.

07.25.09 It needs to age. Now this infusion is done!

Aging this one for a week seems to have helped. It still tastes pretty bad straight, but it has improved at least. The infusion has a basil taste at the beginning and a vodka burn at the end. Lissa thinks that it no longer tastes like decaying plants and is grateful for that. She'd still like to try another test size version of this one using a sweeter basil. We're still not sure if bruising the basil is the correct technique or not.

Recipe

750 ml vodka

1 cup loosely packed basil (~1 oz)

Use a sweet basil variety. Maybe bruise the leaves lightly with a wooden spoon.

Infuse for 12-24 hours.

Remove basil leaves and allow to age for 1 week before using.