Saturday, August 20, 2005

Grape-infused Vodka

Inspired by rae’s recent post, I started making infused vodka about 2 weeks ago. This is what my grape-infused vodka looks like at this point.

I poked the grapes with a toothpick to let the purple color come out from the skin. Right now the drink looks rather light pink than purple, but it’s getting sweeter and I do notice the fragrance of grape when I take a sip. Maybe it’d be really good and flavorful in another 2 weeks.


Another project that's going on in my kitchen now is plum-infused vodka, but this is going to be a little disappointing. Its color is nice…but it’s rather tasteless compared to the grape-infused one. I wonder if it’s OK to add some sugar at this point…

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a nice color ..Obachan..!!  

Posted by Big BoK

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should add the sugar/syrup when you intend to serve the vodka. Coz if you think about it, most hard alcohol have no real taste, unless you add juice to it when you serve it. 

Posted by Carol

Anonymous said...

Big Bok
Thanks. It's real cute pink now.

Carol
Hmmm...that sounds convincing. Yeah, I'll try adding a little syrup when I serve it. Thanks for the advice ;) 

Posted by obachan

Anonymous said...

Obachan,

I always enjoy your "drink receipes." The grape infused vodka looks delicious! What brand of vodka did you use?? You probably have better grades of vodka there than I have here. 

Posted by kyle

Anonymous said...

*hic* flavoured vodka! yum!  

Posted by AugustusGloop

Anonymous said...

Sugoi! 

Posted by jonny

Anonymous said...

Ne ? Grape-flavored vodka sounds wonderful, Obachan. I suppose it also smells fantastic. For some reason, it reminds me of Absolut Kurant. 

Posted by Midge

Anonymous said...

kyle 
Thank you. I used Gilbey’s vodka just because it was the only kind I could find at the nearest supermarket. I have no idea how good/bad this is…. It wasn’t terribly expensive but not awfully cheap, either.

AugustusGloop
Sounds like you’re already in a happy mood.

Jonny
Naniga?

Midge
I had no idea what Absolute Kurant was, so I just googled… It’s a blackcurrant flavored vodka, right? Sounds really tempting : ) Is it in purple color? 

Posted by obachan

Anonymous said...

Hi Oba-chan - I enjoy reading your blog. What's the difference between plum-infused vodka and umeshu?

 

Posted by Theresa

Anonymous said...

Hi Theresa, 
The plum I used for my plum-infused vodka was the kind that tastes sweet when ripe. Ume is the kind of plum we use for pickles and drinks here and they don’t taste sweet even when they are ripe.

To make umeshu, shochu (distilled spirit) called “White liquor” is used. I didn’t know this before but I just googled and found out that the “white liquor” is actually highly-purified alcohol, i.e., ethyl alcohol with 35% alcohol content. So our shochu is something similar to vodka, I guess. The difference seems to be that our shochu is made from imported molasses alcohol these days. Vodka is made from wheat, right? 

Posted by obachan

Anonymous said...

Konnichiwa, Obachan!  Absolut Kurant definitely tastes like blackcurrants, but it's a clear and colorless drink. I suppose they just used blackcurrant essence instead of actually steeping the fruit in the vodka to give it both color and flavor. 

Posted by Midge

Anonymous said...

Oh, really?! Colorless? That's too bad. I always think the color really makes a difference... 

Posted by obachan

Anonymous said...

hi obachan,
your grape vodka looks so pretty. i had some pretty good results for strawberries - yikes, i used the frozen ones since they're not really in season anymore and it turned out so pretty and tasty! i wonder if a shiso-cucumber mix might taste okay...or maybe awful... 

Posted by rae

Anonymous said...

Hi rae, 
I tried cucumber, but not shiso yet. The cucumber-vodka wasn't bad actually, but I can't call it my favorite, and right now I don't really feel adventurous enough to try that herb-veggie mix. Sounds like strawberry-infused one is everyone’s favorite, doesn't it? Well, I think I know what I’m going to do next spring…;)
 

Posted by obachan

Cliff said...

Cherries work very well. Be sure to wash any fruit well to get rid of pesticides. Use "triple-distilled" vodka-- Absolut or Stoli, etc. Dont skimp here. Be patient. Color/flavor develop +one week.

I'm trying plum.

Martin Hill said...

The color of Grape-infused Vodka is very beautiful and pretty also. You should use Smirnoff Vodka for vodka infusion as Smirnoff vodka is so clear that when you pour it in a glass it looks like water.And it also mixes very well . Grape-infused vodka are sweet in taste but if you want you can add little sugar syrup .Before serving Grape-infused vodka remember to garnish that.I never taste plum-infused vodka so update the outcome of plum-infused vodka ,like its color,taste,time to prepare .I like to enjoy grape-infused vodka with Cohiba cigar.

Buy Generic Viagra said...

Vodka was always my favorite drink, I just love it and the good thing is that you rarely vomit it! LOL This is something I have to try for sure.