How to make your own flavored vodka

Photo: elvispresley

Pick Your Flavor for Infusion

There are countless options to choose from when it comes to vodka flavors. You can use any fruit, vegetable, herb, or even a strip of bacon as your own taste playground.

Maybe you’ll want watermelon or citrus vodka on those hot, sunny days, or maybe warm yourself up during those chilly nights with honey pepper vodka or the newly popular tea vodka.

Photo by: sonofparker

Prepare the Ingredients for Infusion

Choose one to two pieces of fruit or veggies or two to three handfuls of berries, herbs, etc. Since you will likely be straining out the ingredients at the end of infusion, it doesn’t matter if you cut them in big pieces, slice them thin or muddle them.

Beware: If you choose to muddle or thinly slice your ingredients, the vodka will take on a more distinct color and flavor from them, which may be overbearing for stronger flavored ingredients.

Preparing the Infusion Vessel

Photo by: mccun934

It’s a good idea to find a big jar with a large mouth opening, to be able to fit all your ingredients (make sure the lid has an airtight seal). You can find big lemonade jars with spouts at most of your local superstores (these are really useful, since you can taste your vodka periodically throughout infusion, to get just the right flavor).

Make sure you clean your jar well with hot water and dish soap and make sure it is completely dry before you begin.

Infusing the Vodka

Now it’s time to throw all your ingredients into the jar with the vodka. A fifth of mid to high-end vodka will be your best bet, because the better vodka has been distilled more and has a more neutral taste to grab the flavor of the ingredients. Feel free to use more or less vodka depending on the occasion. Shake well, than set your jar in a cool, dark area of your choice.

Waiting and Macerating

Maceration (when the alcohol leaches out the properties of the ingredients) is now occurring inside the jar. If you have a pour spout on your jar, you can check the flavor as much as you want, although it is only necessary to check every 24 hours. Give the jar a good shake every time you check the taste.

Photo by: goosegoddesss

Storing and Serving

If you are happy with your achieved flavor, grab a strainer and a bowl (a standard kitchen strainer should be fine, although if the ingredients were muddled it may be best to rubber band a couple pieces of cheesecloth to the lid for fine filtering).

Strain your flavored vodka into the bowl, and decide what container you want to store it in (you can funnel it back into the original bottle, or you can use that handy dandy, pour spout jar for easy serving). Once it’s in the serving container, place it in the refrigerator or freezer to preserve freshness.

You are now ready to hold your own infused vodka party and let everyone enjoy the benefits of your frugality!

Community Connection

Looking for something non-alcoholic to create? Try South America’s drink of choice, mate. If you’re out for a binge instead, see our tips for drinking in Prague and Iceland.