Infusion List

 

I seem to enjoy soaking things in gin – myself included. Here’s  a grand list of things I’ve added to gin, with whatever notes I took. Please comment if you have suggestions or questions – I’ll try to add some thoughtful notes. All of these are in New Amsterdam gin unless otherwise noted.

  • Mulling Spices dried asst 1TBSP:1 cup. This is soaking, we’ll see. Smells nice!
  • Coconut – 1/2 cup toasted + 1/3 cup fresh (both from the same fresh bulk @ Whole Foods) : 1 cup, for about a week. Really tasty, very coconut, lightly sweet.
  • Coconut 3/4 cup nonfat frozen : 1-1/4 cups, 1 week. This was the first coconut, and it’s ok. The fat keeps separating and solidifying in chunks against the glass. When it’s not doing that it’s a pleasant mild coconut.
  • Elderflower 1/3cup:1cup 28 hours. New Amsterdam much more successful than Tanqueray. Lighter and more floral result. Try it with ginger and simple syrup and/or ginger ale.
  • Ginger – a big chunk diced:1-1/4 cup, 8 days. Nice.
  • Mint (from the yard, unknown variety) 10 leaves:1 cup, 48 hours.
  • Coffee 3-Bean Dark Rich 1/2 cup:1-1/4 cup, 12hrs. Wow that’s strong.
  • Chocolat Nibs 1/2 cup:1 cup. 7 days. Nice, unsweetened. Try it w/toasted coconut!
  • Basil 18 leaves:1 cup, 120 hours. This is really good. Mix with others.
  • Granny Smith Apple 1:1 cup, 96 hours. Nice tart green apple.
  • Gala Apple 1:1 cup, 2 days. Tasty red apple.
  • Mutsu Apple 1:1 cup, 2 to 8 days. Nice middle between green/red.
  • Honey Crisp Apple 1:1.5 cups (these were really big!) 2 to 8 days. Fantastic!
  • Macoun Apple 1:1 cups. Very nice basic apple flavor.
  • Grapefruit 1:1 cup. This is bright liquid grapefruit w/alcohol somewhere inside.
  • Black Plum (golden flesh, no skin) 3:2 cups, 60hrs.
  • Black plum (golden yellow flesh)  1:1 cup.
  • Black Plum (blood? something pure red inside) 1:1 cup, 72 hours.
  • Red Plum “Standard” 2 (small, with skin):1cup, 4 days.
  • Red Plum without skin 2:2 cups, 48 hours
  • Black Plum (golden flesh, no skin) 3:2 cups, 60hrs.
  • Cucumber 1 large, no skin:2 cups, 5 days. Not bad, but there’s something about it that can be improved. Mixes well.
  • Cucumber skin 1 large (skin only):1cup, 5days. Mostly to separate the skin flavor from the flesh. This is my first cucumber infusion, so I’m trying to isolate the flavors.
  • Peckham Pear 1:1 cup, 4 hours. Dang tasty.
  • Bosc pear 1:1 cup, 48 hours.
  • Bosc Pear (ripe!) 1:1 cup, 1 week.
  • Cherry 1 cup, pitted:2 cups, 52 hours. Good dark cherry.
  • Raspberry 6oz:3 cups, 5 days. Good bright raspberry flavor, gorgeous color.
  • Blackberry 6oz:2 cups, 52 hours. Good strong berry.
  • Pluot, no skin 2:1-1/4 cup. Not as good as pretty, but pleasant fruit taste.
  • Almonds 1/2 cup ground:1cup. No love for this – and I love almonds. I’m not sure why. I’ll have to try again with almonds from another source. It’s not bad as an adder in small qtys, but still a little odd.
  • Watermelon 2 cups chopped:2 cups, 9 days. Not as good as I hoped.
  • Peach organic 1:1 cup, 88 hours. Ok but not great. – need more peaches.
  • Peach 1:1 cup, 48hrs. Not successful – seems like I need a lot more peaches/time to get that flavor strong enough to care.
  • Mango, organic Mexican ripe 1:2 cups, 3 days. I don’t know whether this is just a flavor to avoid, or if there’s something I could have done to make it a better infusion. Not good.

In Dropper Bottles

  • Habanero Pepper 2 diced : 4oz, 4 days. Adds a nice heat.
  • Clove 1/4 cup cloves : 1 cup, 3 days. Great with apples and others. Also left half of this soaking, going on 4 months now.
  • Black pepper ground 1 TSP : 1/2 cup, a few days. Crush but don’t grind. Grinding makes it impossible to filter well, then the pepper stays in your mouth too long.
  • Lavender 1/8 cup : 1/2 cup, 7 days. A few drops add a nice flavor that winds up on the lips.
  • Fennel seed 1/3 cup : 1/2 cup, 3 days.
  • Hawthorne Berries, Leaves, and Flowers  4oz, 24 hours.
  • Rose Hips 1/3 cup : 4oz, 24 hours. This smooths out a lot of other infusions with just a few drops/glass.
  • Red Hot Pepper (long & skinny) 1 : 4oz, 4 days. Adds a nice heat.
  • Lemon zest 1 lemon : 1/2 cup, 5 days.
  • Vanilla 2 sticks : 1 cup, 1 week. Use carefully, this can overpower with just a few drops.

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