So I’m sure we’ve all been in our local liquor store and seen the shelves filled with flavored liquors. Maybe you’ve even been guilty of buying a bottle of cotton candy vodka, I won’t hold that against you. Be warned though, most of those flavored liquors have loads of added sugar in them and are artificially flavored.
Rum, vodka and bourbon are not exactly health foods but there’s no reason to eat or drink anything with added sugar or with artificial flavors. Indulging in a cocktail once or twice a week is something even a health minded individual can enjoy.
These adulterated sprits will leave you with not only a bad hangover but also a horrific sugar hangover. There is a better way to achieve fun flavored liquors in a more natural way without loads of added sugar.
You don’t even have to buy high end liquor. It’s surprising the great flavor you can get from infusing some mid-priced, easily obtained spirits.
The choices of flavors and combinations is as long as your imagination. I’ve included two fairly simple recipes for a peach mint infused bourbon and a homemade spiced rum. Both recipes contain ingredients that are easy to get and may already be in your spice rack.
When making your own homemade spiced rum, you have the ability to adjust the ingredients specifically to the flavors you like. Don’t want any hint of cinnamon, remove the cinnamon from the recipe. Want to really hit the cardamom notes, drop a couple extra cardamom pods into the recipe. Want to add a different spice, just drop it in. After making the recipe a few times you will be able to dial in the exact flavors you want.
Peach Mint Infused Bourbon
6-7 large peaches washed and cleaned
1-2 bunches of mint
3 750ml bottles of bourbon
Chop up peaches into small pieces. Pull mint leaves from the stems. Add peaches, mint leaves and bourbon to large food safe container. Let sit for a minimum of 72 hours, stirring or shaking daily. When done infusing, strain through a fine mesh strainer then cheesecloth. Discard the peach mint pulp and decant bourbon back into the original bottles.
Homemade Spiced Rum
1 750ml bottle of Gold Rum
3 allspice berries
3 cloves
1 cardamom pod
1/2 star anise segment
1/4 cinnamon stick
1/3 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 segment of a vanilla bean
2 strips 1 inch long each of orange peel (remove any white pith)
1/4 inch long piece of fresh ginger
2 black peppercorns
Combine all ingredients into a large food safe container. Let it sit for two weeks, stirring daily. When done infusing, strain through a fine mesh strainer then strain through cheesecloth a second time. Discard the leftover spices and pour the rum back into the bottle.
Enjoy these recipes and be sure to check out my book Everyday Exotic Cocktails, Florida Edition on Amazon. It’s your guide to making fresh, exotic and easy cocktails. The book has 50 great recipes and a section of recipes to make all the syrups and infusions for all the cocktails in the book.
