After writing about the Bloody Mary contest and my mixology chops, I realized I kind of left you all hanging.  I know you’ve been biting your nails, sitting on the edge of your seats, waiting to see how delicious all of those beautiful liquor infusion concoctions came out.  So I will finally give you the run down.

About a month ago, I bought some mason jars, bought some booze, and bought some crazy things to infuse that booze with.  And it looked fantastic.  It was a shame I had to put those jars away to do their magic.  But I had to wait.  And it helped that I went out of town for almost two weeks.

So at long last, here are the results.

Pumpkin Spice Rum

Yay!!

The absolute favorite.  Looks amazing, tastes even better.  Mixed with a little bit of Domain Chandon Ginger Liqueur and a splash of Bailey’s Irish Cream?  May I introduce you to the “Pumpkin Pie Martini”.  I wouldn’t give up Pumpkin Pie for the world.  Unless it was in alcohol form.  And this martini, my friends, is unbelievable.  YUM.

Blackberry Mint Rum

Nay…

Um, not quite as good as I wanted it to be.  I had high hopes for the blackberry liquors.  Turned out they just infused their color, not really the taste.  Oh, and the mint may have been in there too long.  It started tasting mostly like toothpaste.  Actually dumped this one completely out.  That’s ok.  Trail and Error, folks.

Pecan Bourbon

Eh?

Not the hit-it-out-of-the-park results I wanted.  The final infusion has a tiny bit of that bitterness from the nut’s skin, I think.  Not really nuttiness.  So I’m doing a do-over here.  The other night I toasted up some new pecans and crushed them a bit before adding the bourbon.  Hopefully the toasting will help get those oils out, or at least give the bourbon a different flavor.  Back to waiting…

Blackberry Bourbon

Eh?

See Blackberry Mint Rum.  The bourbon has great color, but doesn’t taste much like blackberries.  Maybe I’ll try to use MORE blackberries next time?  Or maybe I’ll try this again when Blackberries are REALLY in season.  I’m convinced this will be delicious, so I will keep trying until it is.  And until then, I’m still going to use this “failed” attempt in a Manhattan or Old Fashioned or something to give it some awesome color.  No Bourbon wasted here.

Coffee Vodka

Yay?

Ever tried VanGogh Double Espresso Vodka?  I love it.  It was kind of the inspiration for this vodka.  But I don’t think it tastes at all like coffee.  Mine was extremely successful, but when I started mixing it up, trying to come up with some drinks, I remembered I just don’t like coffee.  I ended up making a delicious “Latte-tini” that tasted just like the coffee drinks I like do – nothing like coffee at all.  Gotta get a coffee drinker to help me with this one…  Any volunteers?

Peppercorn Vodka

Yay!!

Hot, hot, hot!!  This is the perfect Bloody Mary vodka.  Nice and spicy.  This is actually the vodka that prompted Steve to enter me in the Bloody Mary contest.  Yep, it’s that good.

ANNOUNCEMENTS!!

Next up?  I just whipped up a jar of homemade Grapefruit Bitters.  Also, stay tuned for the Pecan Bourbon updates and maybe even a few more holiday themed infusions!  Sugar Plum anyone?

Also!!  Because of our success in the Bloody Mary contest and the deliciousness of some of this first round of infusions, Suzi and I will be featuring a new infused liquor every Monday night at the bar at R+D.  Let’s call it “Mixology Mondays”.  Come on down tonight to get into the Thanksgiving spirit and try a Pumpkin Pie Martini or Pumpkin Spice Coffee!