The infusion experiments continue! I continue to work with rum, because I think vodka is basically bullshit. I know it’s the easiest of things to infuse, and that is perhaps exactly why you won’t see me trying to infuse anything into it. I’ve got big dreams! Big flavor combination dreams.
Anyway, I made some vanilla-ginger sugar syrup a while back to use in the Endless Possibilities cocktail, and found the flavor combination to be full of promise. So, after I made the important purchase of vanilla beans in bulk (because holy crap in a tiny glass bottle, those things are expensive if you buy them at the grocery store. I bought mine through BulkFoods.com and saved a lot of money) it was time to infuse again.
Ingredients:
1 750ml bottle of light rum
2 vanilla beans, split down the middle and fanned out
1/2 cup of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped into medium sized pieces
Put all of these into a large jar or bottle (I used my beer growlers yet again) and leave in a cool place for 3-5 days. When it’s done, you’ll want to filter the solids out with a cheesecloth, or—since I have never in my life owned cheesecloth—a coffee filter or two.
The rum takes on a lovely dark amber color. The taste is very vanilla up front, with a bite on the back end like a good ginger beer. Cocktails using this mix are still in the testing phase and will appear here soon, but until then, this would make a nice rum and coke!
Leave a Comment