Lavender/Vanilla Vodka … the application of

Ok, last night fun was had by all.  My friend Corey came over and made us dinner, Wolf made the drinks…I flitted around making sure everything was going well. After a wonderful meal, we adjourned upstairs to initiate Corey into the world of Pulp Fiction. Yep, he’d never seen it, so we decided it was time for him to get some cultural literacy. I don’t know how he liked it, maybe because so many movies have been made since then that emulate the style, it wasn’t as spectacular for him as it was for us when we first saw it back in the dark ages.

I decided that it was finally time to test out my lavender/vanilla vodka that I had made a few months ago. Deciding what to make was a bit of a challenge.  Because the vodka isn’t sweet, I wanted to try something that added a bit of sweetness to it, but not too much. I settled on a Cosmopolitan and replaced the regular vodka with my own creation.

My first reaction was too much lavender. The vanilla did a nice job of smoothing out the edges of the vodka. I think my next one will use half lavender/half plain vodka to reduce the overwhelming lavender flavor/odor. Thought after the first drink, I felt that the lavender mellowed a bit and wasn’t so over the top. But sometimes less is more, so I will probably dilute my batch of vodka with more plain vodka.

Here is the recipe we used:

Cosmopolitan

Ingredients:

2-1/2  oz Cranberry juice

2 oz Lavender/Vanilla Vodka

1 oz Triple Sec

1/2 oz Rose’s Lime Juice

Lime Twist

Preparation:

Fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice, add all ingredients except for the lime twist. Shake vigorously. Strain and pour into chilled martini glasses. Garnish with the lime twist.

Special Instructions:

Keep the martini glasses in the freezer with the vodka for the best presentation. Cutting the lime twist over the glasses will help coat them in lime oil, for a great aroma.

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Lavender/Vanilla Vodka continued….

Lavender/Vanilla Vodka without lavender flowers

Vodka without lavender flowers after 1 1/2 days of steeping. Vanilla bean is still there.

Last night we tried the vodka to see how well it was doing. The Wolf and I both agreed that the lavender flavor was definitely far enough long that it would be prudent to strain out the lavender flowers.  There would be no benefit in leaving the flowers in any longer. I did feel though that the vanilla flavor could still be enhanced with some more time, so back in went the vanilla bean.

On a side note, being incredibly lazy last night, I strained out the lavender and left the strainer with flowers in the sink.  When I got up this morning I realized that the flowers that had started to dry still had an amazing smell to them, just a hint of vanilla and it’s like the vodka preserved them.  I am definitely going to keep the flowers for a while in a sealed jar so that during the long winter (which I really just get this feeling it’s going to be) I can pop open the jar when I’m studying and remember the summer of 2011 that will seem so far away in February.

Now we are back to the waiting game of the continued infusion of the vodka, but time has a way of moving along, so I’m not too worried about the wait.

I’m starting to think that this drink will be a very nice vodka tonic, gimlet or a nice lemonade enhancer. Looking forward to giving it a try.

Until next time. Ta ta.

Posted in Cooking, Dining | Leave a comment