Cocktail Recipes for the Recession

From The New Yorker

Links

A few other ideas:

Bacon Infused Bourbon
http://www.theagitator.com/2008/08/16/how-to-baconify-your-bourbon/

Skittles Infused Vodka
http://mixthatdrink.com/skittles-vodka-tutorial/

Sedimentation in Wine or Cider

While wine or cider is fermenting, it is not unusual for some solids to settle to the bottom of the  fermentation container.  This stuff is mostly small bits of fruit and dead yeast.  This is normal and nothing to worry about.  

Here is what a five-gallon carboy of hard apple cider in my basement looked like after two months.

Siphoning the wine or cider from one container into another is an easy way to remove the sediment at the bottom.

Coffee Infused Vodka

2 cups whole coffee beans

1 liter vodka

Infuse for one to several weeks.

I talked to the head roaster at Peace Coffee to get his opinion on what sort of beans would be best to infuse in vodka. He recommended using espresso beans. He said this would best bring out the caramel and smoky flavors in the coffee.

The flavor does not disappoint. After a week the infusion smells fantastic. A nice, full flavor. Very much like drinking shots of cold-pressed coffee.

I haven't found just the right cocktail for this one yet. Came up with something I called a Pasty Pole, which is awfully nice, but I hope to come up with a signature cocktail to show this off.

Caramel Vodka

1 batch homemade caramel

1 liter vodka

This recipe uses homemade caramel. I have heard of other recipes that use caramel sauce or caramel cubes. I prefer the bite of the caramel without any dairy added.

After you remove the caramel from the stove, DON'T add the cream you would add if you were making caramel sauce. And keep in mind that the caramel is going to be VERY hot when it comes off the stove. I pour a liter of vodka into two quart jars and have these set aside ready for the caramel. You can put the vodka in some other heavy container but I wouldn't try to pour the caramel straight into the vodka bottle.

I pour half the caramel into each of my two jars of vodka. The caramel forms a hard lump on the bottom of each jar, but this dissolves fairly quickly.

This vodka is ready to drink as soon as the caramel is dissolved.

Homemade Caramel

Start with two cups of sugar and half a cup of water in a pan. Put over medium heat and stir until sugar s dissolved. Once it starts boiling, do NOT stir but just sort of swirl around in the pan. After 10 - 15 minutes the mixture will start to brown. Remove from heat when you get a nice nutty color.

The browning happen all at once, and so do keep your eye on things. And this stuff is incredibly hot when it's done, so be careful. When the caramel cools it will be hard. If you are making caramel sauce, stir in heavy cream right away.

Pasty Pole

1 part coffee infused vodka
1 part cinnamon infused vodka
1 part caramel infused vodka
2 parts milk

Use organic whole milk if you can.