Visit My Etsy Store!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

cranberry-infused vodka


quel autumnal treat. cranberries get their tough skins popped with boiling water, then surrender their color and tart cranberry flavor to a bottle of vodka. the result is delicious, and absolutely beautiful.


cranberry-infused vodka

1 pint fresh cranberries
750 ml vodka (we used finlandia-- guy at the liquor store said it's best for infusions)
big ol' jar with tight-fitting lid

wash cranberries and remove any stems and leaves. in a large bowl, cover the berries with boiling water in order to pop the skins. they even make a popping sound!


drain the berries and put them in a jar big enough to hold 750 ml of vodka. pour in the booze. cover with tight-fitting lid, swish around, and let sit in a dark spot for about 3 weeks. taste periodically.  


this is the color after 23 days. so lovely!


line a colander with two layers of cheesecloth and position it over a large bowl, preferably with a pour spout. i used my 4-cup measuring bowl. strain vodka and pour it into a clean bottle for storing. 


i was serious about it being tart! this has a ton of cranberry awesomeness, but it needs a little something sweet added to any cocktail you make with it. i've imagined muddled sweet orange and a sprinkle of cinnamon, maybe a dash of simple syrup, but haven't tried anything yet. i gave half of this batch to rob's sister-- she's an adventurous cocktail mixer, so i'm hoping she'll come up with something great and tell me about it!


cranberries from eatonville farms

5 comments:

  1. Yum! Gorgeous color! I love boozy infusions. I'm trying to decide what to do this year. We did limoncello, arancello, grapefruit vodka and cranberry-orange vodka last year. I won't get so overzealous this year...but want to make something!

    ReplyDelete
  2. mmm, those sound fantastic. limoncello and arancello would be totally fun!

    ReplyDelete
  3. excuse me while I go make this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I tried it and it worked perfectly. Thank you so much for sharing this!
    http://natemaggio.tumblr.com/post/2555624631/holiday-vodka-my-first-experiment

    ReplyDelete
  5. yay, nate, glad it worked! your gift tags are fantastic, btw-- i do love a good 110 lb stock.

    ReplyDelete