Cocoacello

03.09.09 Cocoacello Version 1

We started our first infusions today. We used Daniel's Blog post about how to make a cocoa infused liquor as the guidelines for our infusions, which were ginger and cocoa. For each infusion, we had one 750ml bottle of 190 proof Everclear. After some searching, we managed to find cocoa nibs in the bulk bins at Whole Foods.

We used 1/2 lb cocoa nibs (~227 grams).

We poured in the Everclear. Then Emilio took the infusions to their shelf, and we had to wait.

04.18.09 Cocoa infusion done! (~6 weeks)

After the cocoa-Everclear had been infusing for nearly 6 weeks (5 weeks, 5 days to be exact), we decided that it was done.

The nibs had settled into layers. There were a lot of fine particles, which would require careful filtering. We double filtered it first with a gold mesh coffee filter to remove nibs, and then again with paper coffee filters. This left us with 3 cups of cocoa-infused Everclear.

For the cocoa liquor we mixed it with a vanilla syrup: 5 c sugar, 4 c water and 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise. Bring to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes.

After taste-testing we determined the final ratio: 1.5 c cocoa-Everclear to 2.5 c vanilla syrup. We store in the freezer, this has also become thicker with age.

Our infusion turned out more purple than a chocolate brown, because we didn't use roasted cocoa nibs.

08.16.09 Cocoacello version 2

We have 750ml of Graves Grain Alcohol, 95% alcohol by volume (190 proof).

We will be treating this infusion like the vodka one, and so we'll be using 1/2c of roasted (thanks Daniel!) cocoa nibs for 750 ml of grain alcohol.

We had started a chocolate vodka infusion approximately one hour before, and that one started taking on a brown color rather quickly. It soon became apparent that the everclear was not going to take on the flavor as quickly as the vodka, which had surprised us.

Emilio hates that it will take longer than the vodka!

We're not quite sure how long this infusion will take. We are using considerably less cocoa nibs than we did in version 1. These are roasted, but we still suspect that it will take 6+ weeks.

Recipe

750 ml grain alcohol

1/2 lb roasted cocoa nibs

Infusion time: 6 weeks

Mix with vanilla syrup to taste.

Vanilla syrup: 4 c water, 5 c sugar and 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a few minutes.

We used 1.5 cups cocoa-Everclear to 2.5 cups vanilla syrup.