Infused Bourbon

[beetlebug]

I love this infused bourbon at Gargoyles (Somerville, MA). It is infused with apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and something else. How do I infuse bourbon at home? Any suggestions of what to infuse it with?

Thanks.

[Chrispy75]

I found this from Food and Wine. Was the other ingredient maybe cinnamon or vanilla?

MAKES 3 CUPS

HOUSE-INFUSED BOURBON
Bartenders have been infusing vodka for years; now they’re joyfully infusing bourbon with everything from black cherries to bacon. Chris Beveridge from 12 Baltimore in Kansas City, Missouri, favors apples, cinnamon and vanilla.
ingredients

* 1 750-ml bottle Woodford Reserve bourbon
* 3 medium Granny Smith apples—cored and quartered
* 4 cinammon sticks
* 2 whole vanilla beans

directions

1. In a jar, combine one 750-milliliter bottle of Woodford Reserve bourbon with 3 cored and quartered medium Granny Smith apples, 4 cinnamon sticks and 2 whole vanilla beans. Refrigerate for 2 to 5 days, shaking the jar and tasting the infusion daily. Strain through a fine sieve into another jar. Serve the infused bourbon on the rocks, or shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

[beetlebug]

Great, thanks.

[garcon]

I do a pound of dried bing cherries in three bottles of knob creek. Sit for two weeks and strain well. Gives an awful lot of flavor, sweetness, and body to the bourbon. The key to infusing anything is alchohol. The higher the proof, the better the flavor extraction. Don't be afraid to let it sit for quite a while in a cool dark place. Also, when done infusing, make sure to remove all biologial matter from the booze and refrigerate. I usually use a pasta strainer, then a chinois, then cheesecloth. Have fun.

[christopherelford]

Try organic coffee filters. They are cheap and remove everything without needing multiple tools. Pour slowly and switch filters if necessary.

[ScubaSteve]

Drink in Boston does an amazing Bacon Infused Bourbon.
i don't know how they do it, but it is yummy.

[craigasaurus]

They make it w/ a process called "fat washing." there's a thread about that topic:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/589978, but the basic idea is to infuse the spirit with rendered fat, then chill it until the fat coagulates, and then you skim/strain it out.

[ScubaSteve]

ahhh, very nice.

i'll leave it up to them.

[jerryc123]

I've done fresh peaches in Bourbon before and the results were really good.
I used a fine mesh sieve, and coffee filters to strain.

Using it, I've made a pretty damn good bourbon old-fashioned, with vanilla brown sugar and Angostura bitters.

Peach-Infused Bourbon makes an excellent Manhattan, too.
1 3/4 oz peach-infused bourbon
3/4 oz sweet vermouth (I use Vya)
2 dashes Fee's Brothers Peach Bitters