Mudslide (shooter)

MUDSLIDE 

(SHOOTER)

Beautiful 3-layer-shooter

Evening everyone! It's time for a shooter! :D

Here's a good o' classic called the Mudslide. There is a longer version of this out there, but I decided to try out the shot-style Mudslide since I conveniently had the ingredients and time to do it.

Easy to make and ingredients readily available, the Mudslide is, in hindsight, a delightful shot!

• 1/3 Kahlúa (coffee liqueur)
• 1/3 Baileys (cream liqueur)
• 1/3 Vodka

Layer in given order with the help of a (bar)spoon. As you can see from the picture above, they layer quite beautifully on top of each other.

Taste-wise, I enjoyed it so much! Keep in mind that using a low-tier vodka WILL yield poorer results. Fine, I went all-in and went as far as using Russian Standard Platinum :D Also what I always suggest when doing shooters especially like this one (layered), keep the drink a bit in your mouth and swirl it around so you can taste more than just the last one from the glass, usually Kahlúa!

Well balanced, tasteful and yummy! I give it my approval!

Virtanen (Koskenkorva-energydrink)

VIRTANEN

The classic in the snow

Hey! Happy weekend everyone! Here's a Finnish classic from waaaaaay back, I introduce you to the Virtanen! Virtanen is the most common surname in Finland, it is said that every 250th Finn is a "Virtanen". The drink essentially is Koskenkorva mixed with energy drink (most famously with Battery).

• 4 cl Koskenkorva viina (or any local "neutral grain spirit")
• energy drink (Battery)

Fill a glass with ice, add your spirit and top it off with energy drink. Add a straw, gently stir and enjoy!

I did make second version using vodka (Finlandia in this case). The difference was noticeable as well but positively speaking, even with Koskenkorva you could clearly taste the spirit in it, though "faintly". Moreover, if one were to use vodka in this, my 2 cents is

1. Don't use the most expensive luxury vodka
2. Don't settle for the cheapest spirit either

And you'll do good :)

Tootsie Roll Shot

TOOTSIE ROLL SHOT

Happy 2018 everyone! We start off the year with a shot I made with a friend of mine! Well, we actually made three different versions of it (keep reading) because quite frankly, so many variations exists of this shooter!

Before we dwell upon this shot, I was busy working through Christmas and New Year's Eve, so yeah, that took its toll. Luckily my family escaped up north (my wife's family lives there) for the holiday season.

That being said, this shot is called the Tootsie Roll. A candy exists by the same name. Three different versions were made based on the recipes I found online. I tried to look up pretty consistent ones and here are the TOP3 versions:

• 1.5 cl kahlua OR creme de cacao (dark if you have it!)
• 1.5 cl orange juice
• 1.5 cl vodka

- Build in a shot glass and shoot!

OR

• 1.5 cl kahlua
• 1.5 cl creme de cacao (dark preferred)
• 1.5 cl hazelnut liqueur (frangelico)

Quick shake with ice and strain into a shot glass.

So what ended up happening was us (me & friend) making all three versions. Our ranking:

1. creme de cacao + oj + vodka
2. kahlua + oj + vodka
3. kahlua + cacao + hazelnut shaken

For me personally, the cacao version tasted kinda like cointreau, amazingly enough!

Suomi 100 - Sour

SUOMI 100 - SOUR

A toast to Finland's 100-year anniversary!

Happy independence day Finland! To celebrate this event, I picked up a recipe from the newest cocktail - magazine made specifically for this. The Suomi 100 - Sour. The recipe looked fun enough so of course I want to make it myself as well. For readers abroad, this cocktail can still be made there, since you don't need any super rare ingredients to pull this one off!

• 4 cl Finlandia vodka
• 4 cl blueberry juice/soup
• 3 cl fresh lemon juice
• 1 egg white
• 2 tsp caster sugar

Dry shake everything, add ice, shake again. Strain into an OF-glass and garnish. The original recipe called for blueberries, but this time of the year they're not available and using frozen ones is questionable due to their small size. So instead I used a lemon twist.

How does the Suomi 100 - sour taste like? Smooth, very smooth and a very clear blueberry flavor boosted with alcohol. Not too sharp (the citrus-y notes) and well balanced. It doesn't have too much depth to it, so IMHO it's an overall ok drink to enjoy. On a side note, it is pretty as can be!

This said, I too want to raise a toast for Finland's 100th independence day! Cheers!

Chocolate Cake Shot

CHOCOLATE CAKE SHOT

Those with eagle eyes can see the sugar on the lemon :D

Oi! Shooter time! Gosh, I can't remember the last time I made a SHOOTER! :D But since it's the last of November (read: Movember; in Finnish), I decided to pull one off and not just one, but THREE versions of it! I introduce you to the Chocolate Cake Shot. Apparently some version include a different kind of vodka so I thought, screw it, let's try them all...at once! Moreover, scientists say that black magic is involved in this shot (how the ingredients make it taste like a chocolate cake), so I absolutely had to give it a try. Here we go:

• 2 cl Frangelico
• 2 cl vodka* (see notes)
• lemon
• cast sugar

So according to different recipes, either use *regular, vanilla or citrus - flavored vodka. No need for shakers, since it's supposed to be a party shot. Add the ingredients to a shot glass and rim the lemon wedge with sugar. Shoot and bite in the wedge! MAGIC!

I tried with all three different styles of vodka and IMHO the order of tastiness goes like this:

1. regular
2. vanilla
3. citrus

Also, some recipes call for rimmed shot glasses and what-nots, but I believe the above way is the easiest, especially when having this as a party version. The Chocolate Cake Shooter is. De-li-cious.

A.M.F drink

A.M.F DRINK

(ALPHA MIKE FOXTROT)

ALPHA! MIKE! FOXTROT! OR

ADIOS MOTHERFUCKER!

Here's a big-ass drink. I mean really. Belongs to the series with Irish Trash Can or Long Island Iced Teas, the A.M.F - drink is "oh one of THOSE!" - styled cocktails, which I would recommend making at home if at all. With a beautiful and tropical color, this drink is very very deceitful! Let's take a look:

• 1.5 cl vodka
• 1.5 cl rum (white)
• 1.5 cl tequila (100% de agave)
• 1.5 cl gin
• 1.5 cl blue curacao
• 6 cl sweet & sour mix (I just used 3 cl each fresh lemon juice and simple syrup mixed together)
• 6 cl (or to top) sprite/7-Up lemonade
• Orange/lemon/lime/cocktail cherry garnish

Super easy to make! With a big glass filled roughly half-way with ice, just pour in everything, give it a little stir and top it with lemonade. BOOM! Done! I did make two variations to it, using regular sprite and the now-only-available -30% less sugar sprite and I have to say, the latter tasted better. The first version was overly sweet, which isn't really surprising if you look at the list, three of them being sugary products (curacao, sugar syrup, lemonade). Otherwise, as my friend noted, it's the "alco-pop of spirits" :D Easy to down and gets you drunk fast. Which, in accordance to this cocktail's name is quite right.

Sierra! Echo! November! Delta!

November! Uniform! Delta! Echo! Sierra!

:D

Wildside

WILDSIDE

Close enough :)

Hey everyone! It's been quite a long time since my last update...well, I have a good (?) reason for that, explained later. But now let's do some cocktailing! The recipe is not mine but instead by a chap called Tero Räisänen working at Olympiakortteli (in Finnish). I asked him about this legendary drink and permission to re-create (also in video) and he said yes! So here we go!

On a sidenote, this cocktail was created by him back in 2012 and legend goes, where ever he works, he introduces the Wildside to his staff. For a good reason I say! Let's take a look.

• 4 cl (blood)grapefruit vodka
• 3 cl lemon juice
• 2 cl sugar syrup
• ½ kiwi, muddled + some for garnish
• crushed ice

Muddle half a kiwi in a high ball glass. Add the crushed ice, the rest of the ingredients and spoon shake everything. Basically with a (bar)spoon mix everything in the glass. Add more ice and garnish with a kiwi slice + add two straws.

There you go! One fresh drink with a superb kiwi-taste to it! Moreover, I used my own blood grapefruit infused vodka and here's how to make that:

1 large blood grapefruit, washed and peeled

1 tbsp plain sugar

1 standard sized bottle (0.7L) of vodka

Let everything infuse for ~24h, stirring occasionally. Strain into a sterile bottle.

So those who live in Finland (or plan to make a trip), visit Tampere and Olympiakortteli for Tero's Wildside. Totally worth it!

Screwdriver p.2

SCREWDRIVER

The IBA version

Evening!

I present you with probably one of the most entry-level classics of all time, the Screwdriver. A fancy name for a "vodka-orange juice" or "vodka-OJ", there's a lot more to it than what you would think! First, ratios. Don't make an "Orange juice - vodka". The drink is not supposed to be a mug with a dash of vodka and filled with OJ. Secondly, use quality orange juice! I can not stress this fact enough! IF you use a cheap OJ, your Screwdriver will turn out shit. I mean, the OJ makes two-thirds of the drink, so why not use the best money can buy?

So, how to make a proper Screwdriver as per IBA:

• 5 cl vodka (don't bother using the most expensive but don't settle for the cheapest)
• 10 cl quality orange juice
• orange slice/wedge/twist to garnish

Build in a small tumbler filled with ice, garnish and serve. Now, as I don't require people to measure their orange juice exactly to be 10cl, a healthy ratio 1:2 (vodka/OJ) or even 1:1 is good. Moreover, if you insist on making this a bigger ("longer) drink, at least invest in quality orange juice :)

Actually, now that I think of it, I made this one before!! Wait...it's true! Check

this

one out.

See? In 2012 I made this using 1:3 ratios. I've gotten a lot wiser since that but still, even four years back I insisted on quality juice :D

Well played, me, well played.

Irish Trash Can

IRISH TRASH CAN

A trash can. Its content tastes pretty good :D

Hey everyone! Today's special is called the Irish Trash Can. This drink was actually a request by a reader and I decided to pull it off. In two weeks time I'll make this as a video with a good friend of mine but for the picture I wanted to make it myself.

So...the Irish Trash Can. A big bunch of everything.

• 1.5 cl gin
• 1.5 cl vodka
• 1.5 cl light rum
• 1.5 cl peach schnapps
• 1.5 cl triple sec
• 1.5 cl blue curacao
• 1 can of red bull

Add all ingredients (except for the red bull) in a big glass filled with ice, stir gently, crack open the energy drink and add it into the glass (see picture).

Some call for using a straw and drink it as fast as possible...okay that will get you wasted fast. I had the patience to assess the drink (:D) and sip it slowly. This drink tastes candy-ish! The peach flavor comes forth nicely and the "can" is otherwise very "balanced". It's a sweet drink (literally). If you have the ingredients and the glasses for it, this'll make a "fun" house party drink!

Espresso Martini

ESPRESSO MARTINI

Energy boost in a glass

Hello again everyone. Let me introduce you to something quite modern but still wonderful, the Espresso Martini.

It'll sweep your socks right off your feet, even if you don't have any! I was lucky enough to get some espresso from work...and the rest is history!

• 5 cl vodka
• 2.5 cl Kahlúa
• 2.5 cl espresso
• (.5 cl sugar syrup, to taste)

Shake the ingredients with ice, strain and serve.

Highly coffee-flavored, both in the nose and flavor, this cocktail is potent. As vodka is pretty much "tasteless", it only enhances the profile of both Kahlùa and espresso, making the Espresso Martini one helluva coffee cocktail! Smooth in taste, I'm glad I made this!

French Martini

FRENCH MARTINI

Oui!

Bonjour! A modern classic, the French Martini.

I remember the first time I had this cocktail. In 2014, Watchbar near the Bremen railway station had a small add on their tables (as I had a few drinks with my wife) and dauym, I decided to order this. IT was awesome!

Fast forward to early...2016...? My best friend got a bottle of Chambord. Wait...there's a little receipt book with the packaging? And it has the French Martini on it? IT was awesome!

Fast forward to 2016 summer. I finally get my shit together and buy some pineapple juice. I make the French Martini. IT was awesome!

• 2 cl Chambord
• 4 cl vodka
• 6 cl pineapple juice

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish and serve. (traditionally with blackberries or raspberries, I had neither so I dropped a few blueberries into the drink :D)

Even with its more "lady"-like atmosphere to it, this is genuinely a very nice cocktail. No wonder it's considered a modern classic. You can taste the exotic bouquet of the chambord and combined with the pineapple juice they make an excellent pair! In some recipes the ratios may (and will) vary. I consider this a solid one, nonetheless. 

Kurant Delight

KURANT DELIGHT

Evening everyone! This cocktail was inspired by a fellow comrade acquaintance, who approached me with a challenge! He insisted that I would use two of the ingredients, because those "fire him the most". 

1. Red currants 
2. Absolut Kurant

I gladly accepted his request since what do you know, I happened to have a red currant bush in my back yard! Absolut Kurant (a currant flavored vodka) I didn't, but I got a sample bottle of it for my disposal. Let's get to work, shall we?

One issue arose, though. What makes a great currant - based cocktail? After one failed draft I came up with a recipe that worked out quite nicely!

• 1 dl red currants
• 40 ml Absolut Kurant
• 20 ml cherry liqueur
• 20 ml cognac, VSOP
• a sprig of red currants as garnish

Muddle the currants in your shaker, add the rest and shake hard with ice. Double (!) strain into your chilled coupe and garnish. Serve.

Moscow Mule

MOSCOW MULE

No cupper mug, but still has the kick!

Hello everyone and welcome back! Today I came to realize that in the past years I still had not made the Moscow Mule. Given, it's a well known drink and when done properly, tastes a-mazing during the summer time.

As you already see, I did not use the traditional Moscow Mule cup (I don't have one), so any good sized tumbler will do. What you'll need is:

• ½ of a lime + 1 lime wheel
• 5 cl vodka
• ginger beer, not ale. BEER.

The reason I have to stress the importance of using ginger BEER is that it is a completely different product than the ale one. Ginger ale, in all its fairness is just carbonated water with ginger flavoring, but ginger beer uses real ginger, has that spicy kick and just overall tastes about...I don't know, a thousand times better.

So what you want to do is the following: Squeeze the juice of the ½ lime into your tumbler, you can drop the shell in the glass as well. Add 5 cl of vodka and fill the glass with cracked ice (not blocks nor totally crushed). Add your ginger beer and garnish with a lime wheel. Serve.

Extremely refreshing during the summer periods, if you ever get a hold on to some ginger beer, try this cocktail!

Mother's Day Special / Green Goblet / Orange Fury

MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL

Mother's Day Special for...you know...

The weekend is here and I am perfectly late for this Mother's Day Special! Then again, this cocktail needn't to be for any specific occasion as long as we're celebrating!

Last Sunday was our national Mother's Day and I wanted to make a drink for my wife. In addition to the cake I baked (and card I made), I wanted to make a cocktail that is both luxurious and sweet enough (she prefers sweeter drinks over sour/bitter ones). Well sparkling wine is thus an easy component. For the others I decided to go red and hence:

• 2.5 cl wild strawberry liqueur
• 2.5 cl creme de cassis
• 1 small-ish strawberry muddled
• (dash lime juice)
• sparkling wine
• orange zest for garnish

What I did was put the four first ingredients in a small cup and let them "soak" for ~ day. Truth to be told, this I could've left out and I doubt it would've made such a huge difference. Stir them quickly with ice and strain into a champagne flute. With the sparkling wine be careful since it reacts with sugary components thus foaming a lot. Finally garnish with a orange zest and give to your loved ones.

GREEN GOBLET

Just experi...I knew what I was doing, trust me!

So I had almost half a pint of freshly squeezed orange juice at my disposal. I really wanted to make a few cocktails using said stuff so I went to my liquor cabinet and randomly with extreme precision and knowledge picked a few extra bottles to whip up this Green Goblet (name courtesy by my co-worker! :D)

• 6 cl freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 cl absolut pears
• 2 cl melon liqueur
• 1 cl maliby
• 2 maraschino cherries for garnish

Shake all except the cherries with ice, double strain and drop the cherries last. The Green Goblet works as a good dessert drink. It is soft, has a distinctive melon-pear bite to it with coconut flavors following to the end.

ORANGE FURY

Another wild exp-, cocktail made with determination

Here we have the second one, called Orange Fury (again, name courtesy by my co-worker!) Let's face it, two green drinks would be such a shame. Using the miniature bottle(s) I found, this is more suitable as an aperitif:

• 6 cl freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 cl absolut ruby red (grapefruit vodka)
• 2 cl maraschino liqueur
• bitters for garnish + orange zest (flamed)

Shake the three first ingredients with ice, strain into a coupe, drop a few dashes of bitters on top of the drink and garnish with a flamed orange zest. Serve.

This cocktail is quite different than its green counterpart, Similarly soft but much more bitter, it has more "oompf" to it. The essential oils from the orange peel work wonderfully in this drink. Also, I liked the bitters floating on top giving this Fury its kick.

 

A promise made is a promise kept

A promise made is a promise kept

A 365 days' work between the covers

This year's last season greeting to you all! It is the last day of 2014 and I have something big to discuss.

As this year has come to a wonderful end, you might remember me talk about my New Year's Resolution for the year 2014. A quick recap to those who can't be bothered with the link;

"In the year 2014 I will/have taste/d every alcohol product (most importantly the whiskies) we sell at our bar."

"The commandments with twists and turns"

A great way to combine work and pleasure:

1. Work: I want to learn how different whiskies taste like so I know what I am selling our customers
2. Pleasure. I want to learn to taste different whiskies to become better at it. 

Now 365 days to sample what, ~100 products in total? (I counted them, 133 is the correct amount) What looked like an easy job actually ended up being one of the closest thing to be unfinished!

Okay, let's break this "task" down. What did really happen during this year?

1. The whiskies

This included each and every whisky our bar holds. Naturally, in the course of one full year, some whiskies were drunk before I got to them and subsequently some new products were available for me to assess. As long as I had each currently available sampled at the end of this year, I considered it a success. Every time I sample a product, write down the date as well.

Example page. Name, "type" and date when tasted.

2. The liquors

This meant the rest. From the mild ABVs (e.g. port/sherry) to the hard stuff (gins, rums, vodkas and other).

3. No (tap) beers, wines or mixer liqueurs!

I deliberately wanted to limit this section not to be included in the resolution. The reason is quite simple. Sampling low ABV mixer liqueurs doesn't make much sense (no-one ever orders them separately) and with the bottled products we had so many seasonal changes (cidre weeks, summer beers, winter ales and so forth). The same goes for the wines. Although we have a more or less "steady" list, our wines changed throughout the year quite a few times.

4. What if a product was drunk before I got to it?!

Well that sucked! For instance, I was really sad that the Nikka 10yo was drunk before I was able to taste it. Okay, I got to taste its older 20yo brother but still, evaluating them together would have been so much better. Later on I will let you know about the ones "missing in action" and "new incomers".

5. Which one did you like the best? Which one was not good?

Each product, be it a whisky or a liquor, I rated with a 1-5 star system. When evaluating an article, I tried to write down a few notes regarding said product and finally putting a "rating" to it. Coarsely, the rating as follows and keep in mind, this is according to my opinion. What I say only reflects my personal preferences:

* : Did not taste good at all!
** : Meh. Lacked potential and taste.
*** : Palatable. Missed that little "oompf" to receive another star.
**** : Very good! Wouldn't mind having another one!
***** : Exceptional in taste, texture and finish. A diamond.

Strictly speaking, only the greatest whiskies got in my personal Hall of Fame. They needn't be a five-star whisky to achieve this but if they managed to knock my socks right off my feet, they made it to the list. In addition, the ones (whiskies) I liked the least had the "honor" of becoming products in my Hall of Shame. As for the rest liquors, I did rate them as well but did not include them in the HoF, for obvious reasons.

Finally, every time I had a sample at our bar, I kept the receipt. I wanted to know how much I spent over the year to accomplish this task.

MISSING IN ACTION(never got to sample these)

• Benriach 12yo non-chill filtered
• Benriach 16yo
• Nikka 10yo
• Highland Park Loki 15yo
• Laphroaig 10yo cask strength
• Laphroaig 18yo
• Ardbeg non-chill filtered
• Minttu (black mint)
• Koskenkorva Nordic Berries
• Koskenkorva Blueberry
• Koskenkorva Lingonberry
• Ardbeg Auriverdes

NEW PRODUCTS(available to sample)

• Nikka 20yo
• Ardbeg Corryveckan
• Plantation XO Rum
• Nikka from the Barrel
• Macallan Ruby

THE FINAL WHISKY
MISSION COMPLETED :D

Laphroaig Quarter Cask

So up to this day, I had finished everything else except for three whiskies! The Laphroaig series; Triple Wood, Cairdeas 2011 and Quarter Cask. After my work I sample the two former and as I got home I popped open the QC. Thus my New Year's Resolution was completed! And not a day too early :D

So what ended up being totally awesomesauce in flavor and which did not quite make it to the top (or even past the start line)?

The Hall of Fame and Shame, respectively

Eventually, according to my taste and preferences, some whiskies proved their right to become awesome, great and fabulous. "Sadly", for two whiskies this was not the case but quite the opposite. Glenlivet 18yo, Macallan 12yo sherry oak and Nikka 20yo were exceptional in taste and I had no problem adding this trio to the list! On the other hand, Bowmore 10yo (Devil's cask) and Johnny Walker Red Label were something quite horrid. Okay, for Red Label's defence, it is not a single malt but a blend. But even mixed with cola it didn't taste good! For ratings' sake I had to give it a "parenthesis" one star.

So what did this all cost me? Of course I didn't pay for the stuff I could drink at home. I counted the sums in the receipts and ended up in a sum of 343.8€! I actually had to recount twice because I got a bigger sum before! :D So this cost me less than 1€/day!

I have to admit that this New Year's Resolution was worth every cent. Not only did I experience a wide range of flavors but also (hopefully! :D) became more proficient in spirits of different styles. Now, could I explain you thoroughly about a whisky I tasted in February? Probably not. Sampling half a measure of whisky does not make me a pro, no sir! This is not just one year's job. It's a life-long process that follows one to their grave. It's a passion. If nothing else, at least I had quite a few different whiskies and other liquors to drink!


Sláinte!

Punch in the face

PUNCH IN THE FACE

Three punch ideas for a par-tayh

Good evening everyone. With my wife one (1!) day due from "labor" (these are interesting times, my dear readers), a good friend of mine gave me a challenge!

Last Saturday I bumped into him at my work. He had a friend who was organizing a big party and needed a good punch for it. So my friend challenged me to come up with a few ideas and preferably have a tasting at my place. Since I'm rather short on time (our first born should pop any given day now), I managed to make the tasting happen today.

I was given one restriction; the punch can't be overly sweet.

So as I rode my bike on Sat. (technically Sun.) night home, I came up with three ideas, of which I actualized two. I didn't know the "theme" for the party, so I made a range of different styles of punches which would work and if needed, could be tweaked easily.

For a punch, a few reminders. The most important part; garbage in, garbage out. Using crap products gives you a said result; crap. That said, it is vital to recognize we're building a punch here. So there's no reason to buy champagne when you can use sparkling wine. Well there's one obvious reason. You don't spend so much money with the latter. BUT say one uses juices for their punch. Getting the cheapest carton of concentrated stuff can and will make a big difference.

In addition, always work in parts. It is way easier making a big bowl of punch when you can easily e.g. ten-fold your amount of liquid poured in and still have the same consistency with each batch.

Lastly, freeze a carton of juice instead of a big chunk of ice for each batch. This way as the block melts it gives more flavor than just regular ice/water.

So let's get down to business. The three ideas I had were:

Grasovka-pear and the citron-peach, respectively.

• Grasovka (bison grass vodka)
• Xanté
• Cloudy apple juice (premium)
• Sparkling wine

• Citron vodka (in this case Absolut)
• Peach liqueur
• Orange juice (premium/"squeezed")
• Sparkling wine
• (twist, explained later)

And the last (which was not made since I didn't have the material)

• Bacardi Razz/Forest fruit vodka/Nordic berries vodka
• Cassis/raspberry/relevant liqueur
• Forest fruit juice
• Sparkling rose wine

With the first, I thought of a "wintery apple pie/pear punch" with cinnamon sticks/apple slices as a decoration. The consensus was this would work as a drink but was too heavy for a punch. The second one I made (two versions actually) was a solid candidate. The fact I squeezed the juice for the glass made it (surprise, surprise) very fresh and easily enjoyed! I made another version where I substituted the peach liqueur with apricot brandy and a Fanta and the difference was huge, in favor for the first version.

The last idea was something "forest fruity", merely to give options for a different kind of punch.

Whatever they decide to go with in the end, I really felt that this was a fun assignment to have as we also discussed total punch amounts + pretty much covered everything related to the party, punch and garnishes in general.

Mango Pineapple Vodka (infused vodka)

MANGO PINEAPPLE VODKA

Howdy ho you cocktail loving creatures of the night! As part of my infused vodka series I am hereby proceeding with my second bottling! Forget everything I mentioned about the "Plum Pudding Vodka" behind the link! Instead, I did a rather fruity mix! A Mango Pineapple Vodka! Before we proceed to the basics, here's a rather "style-ish" picture of my earlier Spiced Pear Vodka infusion I strained into my Loki bottle:

Oh yea check out that scrub!

So to make some Mango Pineapple Vodka you will naturally need:

A good sized, ripe-ish pineapple...

A mango, rinsed, brushed and towel-dried...

A vanilla pod! (I fu**ing looooooove vanilla!)

And finally a standard bottle of vodka (700ml). Again, don't spend your money on "top-tier" vodkas that have been filtered over a million times through who-knows-what but also don't make the mistake of buying the cheapest booze-like vodka out there. That said, my choice (Smirnoff) is a good and reliable choice for infusions.

So now that we have our ingredients ready, let's get to work! OH and don't forget your mason jar!

Cut your mango into chunks!

Split open the vanilla pod lengthwise and stick it right in there!

Add your chunks of pineapple!

Pour in the vodka! Avot!

Close the jar and let it rest for about ~2 weeks in a dry, dark place (pun intended). Give it a shake/stir every day or so and taste it after a few days. When you start to like the concoction, go ahead and strain/bottle it!

I shall bottle this into my "Thor" bottle as said, in a couple of weeks time. :)

Spiced Pear Vodka (infused vodka)

SPICED PEAR VODKA

Ahh, the serenity! Today a lovely package came from abroad bringing me all kinds of goodies!

The bottles of vodka are 75% for infused use, as mentioned in my earlier post regarding those vodka infusions. Jim Beam Black (I now have the white one, black one and signature craft) for another tasting, some mixing cognac (Hennessy VS), tequila (Silver Patrón), The Duke Organic Gin from Munich, El Dorado 15yo, Highland Park 12yo and with the few extra euros in my PayPal account one "Oktoberfest" beer. Alas the packaging of the rum came up torn and the gift package supposed to come with the Hennessy didn't come at all. I mentioned these in my review. Not that I really care (because these two are not intended for gifts), but I expect getting whole products and not torn apart/missing packaging when ordering stuff online.

Anyhow, so after the work meeting in the morning, I met up with my friend and had lunch. He had errands to run after that and I went to the store and fetched a few selected items for today's project I didn't have waiting for me at home already. I got home anxiously waiting for the box above. Yay!

I looked up the recipe for the Spiced Pear Vodka. So what I needed was...

Cloves, cinnamon sticks and some star anise...

A few pears and a vanilla pod.

...and of course some vodka. A whole 700ml bottle of it (editor's note: and a little bit of extra).

As seen in the little pictures, first wash the pears and cut them into slices. Add the cloves (5) and cinnamon stick (1). Instead of just putting the vanilla pod in, I scraped the vanilla essence out of it and put it in there as well. Lasty put the ½ star anise in as the editor of the original recipe mentioned the strong flavor it had.

Add the vodka and avot! I shall strain and bottle this beauty in the Thor bottle I have in about 4-5 days. I shall report more when the job is "officially" done. By the way a big thanks to one of my good friends who provided me with a big o' mason jar!