"infusions" news and stories

I've got a bias against infusions. I admit it, and I feel so much better for having gotten that off my chest. Why the bias? I'm not sure. Maybe it has something to do with altering the integrity of a spirit. Maybe because everyone with a mason jar has got some science experiment going on behind the bar. Maybe I'd just rather taste the fresh flavors of the fruit/herb/vegetable rather than the vodka-soaked version.

Oh, I know. Most of them don't work. Up until about a month ago, I would have said none of them work. Then, I got to taste Tequila Por Mi Amante.

I have to thank and give credit to Paul Clarke for this one. Paul has introduced me to quite a few cocktails and cocktail ingredients, and I'm a better bartender for having read his site. He is, in my opinion, the best blogger on cocktails on the whole internet and one of the best writers on this topic in the world. Bookmark his site. Go ahead, I'll wait. . . .

Voted the Best New Wine and Spirit Product of 2006 by Beverage Industry Magazine, 267 Infusions, made by Boz Spirits, are bottles of vodka, rum, and tequila containing various fruit and spices. Each type is made in small batches with the very best and ripest fruit for a full flavored, but not too sweet spirit.

The bottles are hand blown glass with an attractive shape to them. Each bottle has a built in strainer to keep the fruit in the bottle and out of your drink. The big question is how do they get those big pieces of fruit through the small neck of the bottle?

I have seen them around at my local liquor and wine shops and have been waiting to try them when I feature infused spirits some time in the new year. They sound so good I may have to try them sooner than that. So far they make Cranberry Vodka, Lemon Vodka, Olive & Pearl Onion Vodka, Orange Vodka, Mango Rum, Pineapple Rum, Chili Pepper Tequila, and Orange Tequila. Each spirit infusion can be drunk straight or used in mixed drinks and cocktails.