How to Infuse Vodka the Right Way

Juliana McIntosh aka @joinjules photo credit Lucianna McIntosh

Vodka in Russian means dear little water. Like water, vodka’s essential, colorless, odorless, quiet on the palate, and takes on the flavor of whatever you add to it. “Fruits, herbs, spices, vegetables. You can do anything,” says TikTok cocktail phenom Julianna McIntosh aka @joinjules. Vodka + flavoring = infused vodka. Should be simple, right? Yes and no. She and bartender Christiaan Röllich, Bar Chef author and bar director at Phoenix’s Fat Ox share some hacks for best results.

For starters, “Look at the final product — a cocktail,” says Rollich. McIntosh, who uses her cherry-vanilla bean vodka for Dirty Shirleys agrees. “Know what you’re making it for.”

Ingredients & Tools

Bar Chef by Christiaan Röllich, bar director at Phoenix’s Fat Ox

Vodka
Fruit, herbs, spices or other ingredients you’ll use to flavor
Jars with lids
Fine-mesh strainer
Coffee filters or cheesecloth
Labels
Pen
Bottles

Infused vodka has very few ingredients — vodka and one, maybe two sources of flavor. The entry-level gear you’ll need is simple, easy to find, and budget-friendly. “I love using 16-ounce mason jars. You can buy a whole pack on Amazon,” says McIntosh, who recommends starting out small. “It’s a great way to understand what you like in your flavor,” and lets you get a sense of the process. Labeling is important too, especially if you're making several versions. You may even want to put the recipe on the label to remember exactly what's in the jar. Finally after infusing you may want to transfer the ingredients to a labeled bottle.

Choose the Right Vodka

Originally grain-based, vodka is now being made from a variety of sources — potatoes, grapes, beets, and more. Brands can vary in price from under $10 to $40 and above. Save the Crystal Head for another day. This isn’t where a super-premium brand or a funky skull bottle matters. Vodka’s neutral flavor’s what you’re going for. Tito’s is McIntosh’s go-to, but even Costco’s budget brand Kirkland infuses well.

“Use an inexpensive vodka,” agrees Röllich. “Then make it taste good.” For the win, “Use the best ingredients and the freshest produce you have.”

Seasonal and Local Counts in Cocktails Too

Pretty Simple Cocktails by Julianna McIntosh

Seems basic, but it’s not a given. While researching what she liked in a cocktail for her new book Pretty Simple Cocktails, McIntosh discovered “there weren’t a lot of recipes using fresh, seasonal ingredients.”

That’s where making small-batch distilling has the edge over commercial brands. Using fresh produce results in pure flavor, but for large scale production, it isn’t cost effective. Instead, most brands rely on "natural flavoring," which despite its reassuring name is really artificial flavoring with better marketing. “Rather than infusing vodka with lemon, you see people using citric acid and stuff,” says Röllich. “It does work but’s not quite the same. The mouthfeel doesn’t have the same fullness.”

“Almost a synthetic taste,” agrees McIntosh, who’d much rather make her own. “I love the seasons, and they’re fleeting. I bottle up my seasons. During the holidays, I use holiday spices — vodka with cinnamon, clove, some fresh apple slices.” Vodka with cherry, strawberry, and watermelon are among her summer favorites.

“Summer’s such an exciting time. There’s so many different flavors.” Röllich, former bar manager at Suzanne Goin’s award-winning Los Angeles restaurants, misses having access to just-picked pineapple, passionfruit, and guava. “We are so spoiled in LA.” Now based in Phoenix, sourcing organic farm to table ingredients for his bar at Fat Ox is possible, “but a lot more difficult.” On the other hand, he says, brightening, he’s discovered other ingredients. “Prickly pears — they grow everywhere here," he shares and the mild flavor of cactus fruit makes for a nice infused vodka.

How Long Does Infusion Take?

The infusion process “goes a lot quicker than you think it does,” he says. “Taste as you go. Two days for a lemon vodka does the trick. You don’t want the bitterness, just the brightness of the lemon.”

McIntosh agrees. “Don’t let it go too long.” She still regrets a holiday pear and vanilla bean-infused vodka she tucked away out of sight and forgot about. “It was in the back of the bar cabinet for eight months. Not good.”

Two days for spices or herbs is about right, but McIntosh can go up to five days for a fruit-infused vodka. “I taste as I go, give it a gentle shake every other day, then check and taste.”

How to filter

When your vodka tells you it’s ready, it’s time to strain.“I do a double strain with a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter. If you’re dealing with fruits and vegetables, that removes it,” McIntosh says. “I haven’t had any problems with cloudiness.”

“The finer the strainer, the clearer the liquid,” says Röllich. “You can lend it a hand by using a centrifuge, but that makes it a bigger undertaking.” Another trick is to add a little agar powder, a plant based gelatin, at the finish to refine. “It makes it really thick so all the impurities stick to it and you can clarify. But why do all that? Hey, I’m using all fresh ingredients in the vodka. It’s going to look different.”

Tricks, Tips and Next-Level Infusing

Congratulations! You’ve created an artisanal, small-batch hand-crafted product.

Now label it. “Write it all down,” says Rôllich. “Very important,” says McIntosh who learned the hard way. Starting out, “I had all these concoctions I didn’t label.”

Document what you added, the proportion of flavoring to vodka, and how long you let it sit and infuse. Don’t mix things together without writing down the details. The good news, says McIntosh, is the process is so simple “you can’t make too much of an error.”

To store, McIntosh uses empty vodka bottles for her infusions. “It’s a sustainable way so you don’t feel like you’re wasting empties.”

Once you’ve mastered the vodka infusing basics, get creative. Play around more with flavors. “It’s so fun,” says McIntosh. “It makes drinking more personal, more fun and flavorful. I’ve seen people use bell peppers, beets, jalapeño. My favorite thing is multiple flavors, like strawberry basil.” She does a double distillation, first infusing the vodka with strawberry. When she achieves optimal strawberry flavor, about five days, “then I introduce that second flavor.”

Röllich too loves to experiment with flavor. “You can take it as far as you want to. What’s the difference between a lemon vodka or gin? In the second distillation, they add all their herbs and spices to it. I can do it. I can make my own gin.” Not every flavor creation will be a keeper. “The mistakes most people make is in infusing peppers,” he says. “Peppers add a lot of heat. You don’t want something that’ll burn your gut.” He remembers a Father’s Day idea he dreamed up, infusing whiskey with tobacco leaves. Cigars and whiskey — brilliant, right? Um, not successful. “Every time I took a sip, my stomach went brrrrrrrrr.”

Undeterred he adds, “You have an idea that’s really cool? Why not try it? If it doesn’t work, try something else. Don’t take yourself too seriously,” adding, “Cocktails are fun.”

Infused Vodka Recipes

Infusing vodka is a great starting point for understanding how to flavor things. Once you got this down, you can move on to make your own gin, and than make your own orange liqueur, and then make your own aperitivo, bitters, vermouth and so on. They are all liquor with flavoring, there are different ABV's or spirits used, but it all comes down to the same thing. Or you can do wine with flavoring.

But we are talking about vodka today.

Lemon Vodka

Recipe courtesy of Christiaan Röllich

1 liter clear vodka

2 lemons, zest and flesh

1/4 teaspoon sugar

With a zester zest the lemons and put in vodka

With a knife, cut away all the pith from the fruit. (Basically cleaning the fruit of all its pith.) Cut the fruit in smaller wedges and add it to the vodka and zest.

Add the sugar and stir. Let it sit overnight in the fridge, strain it through a cheesecloth and it's ready for use.

Green Tea Vodka

Recipe courtesy of Christiaan Röllich

1 cup vodka

1 Tablespoon loose green tea

Combine vodka and tea, let it sit for 3 to 6 hours. The longer it sits the more tannins come out. After you achieve your desired flavor, strain through a cheesecloth and it's ready for use.

Homemade Citrus-cello

Recipe reprinted by permission from Pretty Simple Cocktails

Makes about 3 cups (24 oz.)

Homemade limoncello may sound like it involves some serious craftsmanship, but it’s mostly just a waiting game as you let the essence of the citrus peels infuse in the alcohol over the course of a few weeks.

About 2 pounds organic large lemons or Meyer lemons (about 10), blood oranges, and/or navel oranges, or citrus of choice
1 (750 ml) bottle Everclear or vodka (try Grey Goose)
½ cup Plain Simple Syrup (below), plus more to taste

Wash the citrus well to help remove any waxy residue and pat them completely dry. Using a Y-peeler, peel off the zest in strips, avoiding the bitter white pith. (If a significant amount of pith remains on the strips, lay the strip pith-side up and carefully trim it away using a paring knife.) Juice 1 of the lemons. (Save the rest of the peeled lemons in the fridge to juice for another use; see Note.)

Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and Everclear to a 32-ounce jar or bottle, cover, and shake. Place in a dark, cool area and gently shake at least once a week for 4 weeks to redistribute the zest.

To serve, strain the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined fine-mesh sieve and into a large bowl; discard the lemon zest. Add the simple syrup, taste, and add more until you’ve reached your desired sweetness. Use a funnel to transfer the citrus-cello into a bottle or large jar.

Cover tightly and let the finished citrus-cello sit at room temperature for 7 days to allow the flavors to mellow. At this point, move the sealed jar or bottle to the freezer and store for up to 1 year.

Plain Simple Syrup

Makes about 1 ½ cups (12 ounces)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup filtered water

A 1:1 sugar-to-water ratio gives you a syrup that’s fluid enough to incorporate quickly into cocktails with just a few quick stirs or shakes, and one that also has a level of sweetness that’s easy to control and tweak as needed. Some drinks call for a “rich syrup,” in which the sugar is doubled for a syrup that’s even thicker and sweeter than the standard plain syrup here.