Dill Vodka Bloody Mary

So we've discovered that dill vodka tastes wonderful - smooth, light and refreshing -  in a one-to-one vodka tonic. It also tastes really good in a Bloody Mary: sweetish under the V8 tang, but able to hold its own with enough hot sauce to keep heat on the lips and tongue after a swallow. I'll probably add a couple of drops less next time - enough to keep the heat but allow the vodka to shine through more. Based on this Algonquin Bloody Mary recipe, doubled and slightly tweaked:

• 4 oz. dill vodka (recipe here)
• 8 oz. low-sodium V8
• juice of one small lime
• 6 or so drops of SKU 1408 sauce (Xtreme)
• pepper to taste (a couple of turns of the grinder)

Mix the vodka, V8, lime juice and hot sauce in a shaker over ice. Strain into a glass and season with pepper to taste.

Infusion: Dill Vodka

Wanted something light and cool for summer cocktails, hence this. Basically: 750 ml (a bit more in this case, as I nearly filled the jar) of Svedka and a heaping packed cup of dill (about 1/2 of a generous bunch from the farmer's market). Spent a happy 10 minutes stripping the  fronds from the stems and enjoying both the delicate, feathery texture and the intoxicatingly springlike smell. Will check on it tonight and see if it's ready.

UPDATE (17 July): Strained it into another container after six days. Perfect in a one-to-one vodka tonic: dilly and refreshing. This will become one of my go-to summer drinks; I've already bought another bunch of dill.

On Repeat: Mockquavit

In preparation for more seedlings, we decided to thin out the wall of mint in our shared front garden (a full pictoral account of our minty day is here). What to do with a heaping bowlful of the stuff? Infuse alcohol, of course. I basically doubled this recipe (minus 3/4 cup of vodka or so) and am now looking forward to enjoying some of this nice, fresh, mellowness over ice in about three weeks.

Overlooked: Cucumber-Infused Vodka!

I blame our recently-concluded conference for my forgetting to post this recipe and pic. The above is about a heaping cup of peeled English cuke in 750-800ml of Svedka vodka. Though a few recipes advocated letting it sit for a mere four days, I waited a week and a half, and was rewarded with a cool, gentle, almost bite-less concoction. It's lovely over rocks or chilled by itself, but I'd like to think up some recipes for it. John's already put up another two jars, this time with more cucumber. We'll see how those turn out.

Happy spring, everyone!

Infusion: Rosemary Vodka

Having had a positive experience with rosemary simple syrup, I decided to try the recipe detailed in this Chowhound post: two sprigs for 750 ml. and anywhere from 48-72 hours. Those Mason jars I purchased from Peapod are certainly getting a workout!

It's great to have a friendly upstairs neighbor who shares the bounty from her healthy herb garden (if by chance you ever read this, thanks again, Kim!). Though the summer's surged back a bit from last week's chill, that woodsy tang on my fingers smells like fall (and roast lamb).

Infusion: Garlic Vodka

Allium über alles, and all that. I decided to double this recipe's proportions and use six lightly crushed, then sliced cloves of garlic for about 750 ml. vodka. They tested it after five days; I'll start checking this weekend in the hopes of having garlicky Bloody Marys for Sunday.

All these infusions are making me miss the Russian Vodka Room (which I was pleased to discover is still open) and its Attitude Adjustment Hours.

Infusion: Ginger Vodka

The conservative proportions of this CHOW recipe aside, two other websites advocated for 1/2 cup of ginger to 750 ml. of vodka. Since I had a surplus of the root in question, I opted for the latter proportions. We'll see how it turns out in a week or two (or three). There's also this roasted ginger variant that might be fun to try later.

And yes, I have been cooking (and bento-ing). It's just been more of my easy go-to (pasta with sardine-tomato sauce and sausages), though I declared today veggie day and treated myself to a custom Chop't salad that was good enough to eat sans dressing, with just some salt and pepper (tested, but didn't want their red wine vinaigrette to go to waste): spinach with crumbled hard-boiled egg, red onions, white mushrooms, smoked bacon, artichoke hearts and grilled asparagus.

Summer Drinking: Mockquavit

While in Portland, I had a delicate, fresh-tasting version of a Bloody Mary - Pazzo's Bloody Dane (PDF warning): a combination of cucumber-infused Aquavit, tomato juice water, lemon and fresh dill. Alas, the local store didn't have any Aquavit, but this About.com post on infusing vodka inspired me to create an infused approximation. And now, finally, my third-ever attempt at infusion is ready - not quite as subtle and clean as the cucumber-infused Aquavit, but summery nonetheless.

Next time, I may invest in a wide-mouthed jar - I would have liked to strain and mash some more flavored spirits out of everything.

Herewith, my version of the recipe:

• 1 750 ml. bottle of vodka (I used plain Svedka)
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1-2 heaping tbsp. ginger, julienned
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• peel from 1/2 lemon

Stuff everything in the vodka bottle. Close the lid and keep the bottle in a cool, dark place for at least 1-2 weeks.

Taste periodically. When the flavor's to your liking (I bottled it on July 20 and, after one too-early taste test, finally deemed it ready today), strain the vodka through double layers of cheesecloth into another container.

Keep in the freezer and serve chilled.

Summer Drinking: Mint "Limonata"

First made these a couple of weeks ago, but kept forgetting to add the recipe (from CHOW). Substituted San Pellegrino for the soda water. Raves all around - a good combination of effervescence, sweetness and tartness (next time, I may add a squeeze or two of lemon juice to increase this).

• Crushed ice (we didn't have any, alas)
  
• 2 oz limoncello
• 1 oz. vodka
  
• 2 oz. soda water (used San Pellegrino mineral water instead)
  
• 2-3 medium mint leaves, torn in half

Put ice in a shaker-type container. Add limoncello and vodka; shake to combine.

Add soda water/sparkling mineral water to shaker and stir to combine. Pour into a rocks glass and serve topped with the torn mint leaves.

Dreaming of Summer - Poste's Basil Lemontini

After I discovered this drink while having oysters with John at Poste, it promptly became a mainstay of our weekend "lawn" (i.e., the park across from our apartment building) layabouts. I first found the recipe here (PDF warning!), but am reproducing it below for ease of reference.

• 3 oz. vodka (the original recipe calls for Absolut Citron, but Svedka Citron works just as well)
• 3 oz. lemonade
• 1 oz. sparkling wine
• 3 basil leaves

Muddle two basil leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker (or in the glass itself, if you're being low-ren efficient).

Add vodka and lemonade.

Strain into a glass (or not, if you're already there).

Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a basil leaf.