Booze Clues: Infusions (Prep)

We are back on schedule in May, with our next meeting being on the 3rd (first Tuesday). However, May is going to be a bit different as we will be sampling infused liquors, and that requires some prep. So we are making an early pre-post for all of you playing along a home. Below are the 4 infusions we will be sampling. As some of these take 1 week, we are posting about 1.5 weeks in advance (to give you time to acquire the ingredients and materials needed while allowing ample time to let the infusions come together). We chose to prep these all together, pouring the strained 1 day infusions back into their bottles and leaving them be.

Pecan Bourbon (1 week)
750ml Buffalo Trace bourbon
2 cups pecan halves
salt
pepper
cayenne

Soak pecans in cold water for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Drain the pecans well, then spread them on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and being careful not to burn the pecans. Let cool to room temperature. In a container, combine the pecans with bourbon and stir well. Let stand at room temperature for 1 week, stirring daily. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve.

Chamomile Rye Whiskey (2 hours)
750 ml Overholt rye whiskey
¼ cup of loose chamomile tea (or 8 tea bags)

Combine chamomile tea and rye whiskey in a container; stir well. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour and 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve.

Jalapeño Tequila (30 minutes)
750 ml Milagro blanco tequila
4 jalapeño chiles

In a container, combine the ribs and seeds from 4 jalapeño chiles and the chopped flesh of ½ jalapeño with blanco tequila and stir well. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes, tasting frequently so you can stop the infusion when the heat level is to your liking. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve.

Vanilla Pineapple Tequila (1 week)
750 ml Milagro blanco tequila
1 pineapple, large
1 vanilla bean
1⁄4 cup brown sugar

Cut pineapple into large chunks and split the vanilla bean down the center. Combine pineapple, vanilla, brown sugar, and blaco tequila in a container and mix well. Let stand at room temperature for 1 week, stirring daily. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve.



Join us again on Tuesday, May 3rd for the official Booze Clues post, where you will get the cocktail recipes we will be trying from these infused liquors. Play along at home, or just come by to browse and do things on your own time.

We are debating including Booze Clues as a live-stream show, letting you all watch our in-house lecturer Wakowski as he helps us compare and contrast the liquors, provides some history and background info on the liquors and cocktails, and teaches us how to make each cocktail. We will keep you posted on when that will begin! In the meantime we love to see your comments and tweets about each month's adventure,