Vodka: favorite past time

Ok, so you all know I love cooking, inventing, and creating all sorts of things, but honestly, my hobby of infusing vodkas is my absolute favorite.  I love how making tiny adjustments can make a huge difference in flavor…and yet, no matter what you do, it’s kinda hard to screw something up.  I do believe that the only vodka that I’ve made that was undrinkable was the Rose Hip Vodka…it tasted like perfume!  Pah-Tooooo-EEE. YUCK!

It stands to reason, therefore, that today is the beginning of one of my favorite weeks of the year: vodka filtering (and sampling) – and lord almighty, I was NOT disappointed.

This is my third year of honing my skill, but I’m still learning.  We had a rather small harvest of fruits this year, so I have been crossing my fingers that the few concoctions I have had steeping will turn out!  I’ve got the quince filtering overnight, and if it tastes as good as it smells, it’s going to be DIVINE!  I haven’t tried the Green Walnut that has been sitting since June, and I’m not sure I want to…it smells a bit like tar or maybe it’s ipecac (at least what I imagine ipecac to smell like!).  We’ll see. We’ll see.

Now I just need to find a the right moment to sample them all.  It seems like a waste to have a tasting alone!  I have a variety of bottles set for maturing (they’ll be the best NEXT year, if I can manage to hold off that long!), but the Pumpkin and Hazelnut from 2008 should have matured to perfection.  As far as what I’ve filtered so far, I think the Spiced-Blackberry and the Spiced Blueberry will be spectacular sippers.  Now to find someone to come over and help me decide!!!!

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