How to Make Infused Vodka

My first introduction to homemade flavor infused vodka was at a local restaurant several months ago. Hubby and I stopped in simply to buy a gift card. We discovered it was happy hour and there were free spicy chicken wings to be had (who can pass those up?) and so we stayed for a drink and a snack. We were sitting at the bar munching away and wondering what this big beautiful glass jar of fruit and liquid was that was sitting in front of us. “We make our own pineapple infused vodka”, the bartender told us. “Do you want a free sample?” Free spicy wings and free vodka? Well, we sure came at the right time! The pineapple vodka turned out to be pretty tasty stuff.

pineapple infused vodka recipe

Ever since then I’ve wanted to try infusing my own vodka. This week I finally gave it a try. The basic principal is to put fruit in a glass jar, cover it with the vodka, and then let it set for a few days. You can use a variety of fruits including blueberries, melons, or apples. Here’s the mixture I used:

Pineapple Infused Vodka Recipe

Ingredients:
1 Pineapple
750 Ml Bottle of Vodka
Glass jar with a lid

Cut the fruit into smaller chunks and put in a glass jar. Pour the vodka over the fruit so that the fruit is covered. Put the lid on the jar and let the mixture set for a few days.  I let mine set for one week.

Once you are done letting your mixture steep, pour the vodka into another container.  (You may need to strain it for some fruits).  I saved the bottle the vodka came in and poured it back into that.  You can save the fruit for a garnish, however, we bit into one of our pineapple pieces at the end of the process and it was really potent!

My pineapple yielded about three cups of chopped fruit. The 750 ML bottle of vodka was equal to about three cups. The glass jar I used was really much bigger than I needed and I’m guessing you could probably simply use a quart canning jar for these same amount of ingredients.

So now what do you do with it?
As much fun as it was to make my own infused vodka, I must admit that I’m not much of a vodka drinker and so I didn’t have a favorite cocktail recipe all ready to go. But Hubby and I still had fun trying out the following three ideas we came up with:

First Try: One shot of Pineapple Vodka over ice with nothing else added.
This was a bit too strong. Maybe it was the cheapo Five O’clock brand that I used. We decided we better mix it with something else.

Second Try: Pineapple Vodka Martini made with 2 shots of Pineapple Vodka and 1 shot of Extra Dry Vermouth.
This was my favorite.  I liked the combo of the vermouth with the pineapple flavor.  Hubby decided he had to be like James Bond and have his martini shaken, not stirred.  One slight problem, however, in that we don’t own a martini shaker.  We did the frugal thing and improvised with our Rubbermaid drink bottle.

Third Try: 7-up with a little Pineapple Vodka splashed in.
I thought this was going to be my favorite as it was the option with the least amount of alcohol in it.  It wasn’t bad but I liked the martini better.

Good thing we had no OJ or there would have been a Fourth Try:
Well at this point I had consumed three drinks and had a little buzz going, and that was when it dawned on me that I bet pineapple vodka would taste really good with orange juice, and Oooh, I could call it a “Sunset Blush” and I could put a little umbrella in it. Hubby put the vodka away and told me to go to bed.

OK, but I still think that sounds like a pretty good drink idea.

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4 Comments

  1. We used to do this with raspberries. Loved the part about the pineapple buzz — let us know how it goes with OJ!
    Barb O

  2. I didn't know there was extra sweet pineapple. I usually just grab any old pineapple in the produce department 🙂 There's always more we can learn form each other isn't there? Thanks for the tip!

  3. I have heard of Cherry Vodka but not pineapple that sound really tasty. Did you use an extra sweet pineapple? Those are the only one I will buy fresh. Because they are as the name states extra sweet and flavorful.

    This is a nice idea as a Christmas gift for an adult on your list! One that is hard to shop for.