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Infused Whisky Trio

Infused Whisky Trio

Infused Whisky Trio

A trio of whisky cocktails, infused with fresh fruits and an unexpected addition from the grocery store aisle.
By Amanda Marsteller

Infused Whisky Trio

Infused Whisky Trio

Infused Whisky Trio

My idea to attempt infusing whisky began with two happenings: one, I was unexpectedly gifted with a 2-bottle set of Crown Royal Canadian whisky, and two, I read that someone somewhere on the Internet had tried infusing whisky with cocoa puffs cereal. With the two key components easily in hand, I knew I had some infusing to do. Not satisfied with solely a cereal-based approach, I thought I’d try my hand at the more approachable fruit-infused method, so I also tried kumquat-anise and blackberry-rhubarb combinations.

To begin, I discovered that all that’s really required is some patience and perhaps a few Mason jars for the whisky to sit around in, soaking up the flavors I forced upon it. It’s important to begin with a sterilized vehicle, so washing the Mason jar with hot water is a good start. Luckily, after doing some reading on the subject, I found that it’s generally thought that there’s no exact science to infusing booze so you can let your creative flag fly so to speak, without too much concern about messing it up. No need to use your top-shelf tipples in this process however, as that might be a waste if you choose some horrible combination of pickles and fruity pebbles as your infusers.

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The overall instruction is to wash and chop the fruit you’ll use and discard any bitter elements, then allow the covered infusions to sit for 3-7 days or so, shaking them up every once in a while to disperse the flavors. For the cocoa puffs-infused whisky, I just crushed about a cup of cereal in a plastic bag and poured it in, thinking that the flavor would be more forceful if the cereal was ground rather than whole. The length of time the whisky sits depends upon what kind of flavor you’re using, as strongly flavored items like citrus and spices can infuse in the course of 3-4 days, while less intense flavors like blackberries could take up to a week. The easiest way to determine when to stop infusing is to taste test over time. I tried my infusions after 4 days and decided that they could all use another good soak for maximum potency, even the kumquat-anise, which I expected to be raring to go by the 4th day.

After a week, I decided to let my infusers loose as they’d served their hard time admirably. The best way to rid the whisky of fruit sediment is to run it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter to make sure it’s smooth and clear. Each flavor turned out pleasantly, if the cocoa puffs perhaps a bit strong on the chocolate side. The kumquat-anise and blackberry-rhubarb versions had light, summery flavors that were still fairly mellow, with the rhubarb stalks having colored the whisky a vibrant scarlet. There was nothing else to do but put the infusions to the test in some simple cocktails and see how the flavors stood up. Hence began a very enjoyable week’s worth of experiments with my trio of whiskys, during which time I shook up the following cocktails: a blackberry-rhubarb mint julep, a kumquat-anise whiskey sour and a boozy cocoa puffs-infused egg cream. Cheers to the next round of infusions ahead!

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Blackberry-Rhubarb Mint Julep, Kumquat-Anise Whiskey Sour and Boozy Chocolate Egg Cream


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  • Author: Amanda Marsteller
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 1 1x

Description

A trio of whisky cocktails, infused with fresh fruits and an unexpected addition from the grocery store aisle.


Ingredients

Scale

For Blackberry-Rhubarb infusion:

  • 1 Mason jar
  • 1 cup mid-level whisky
  • 1/2 cup blackberries
  • 1/2 cup rhubarb, chopped

For Mint Julep:

  • A few sprigs of mint
  • 1 tablespoon agave
  • 2 ounces blackberry-rhubarb whisky
  • Crushed ice

For Kumquat-Anise infusion:

  • 1 Mason jar
  • 1 cup mid-level whisky
  • 12 star anise pods
  • 1/2 cup kumquats, sliced in half

For Whiskey Sour:

  • 1 tablespoon agave
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 ounces infused whisky
  • Ice cubes
  • Maraschino cherry for garnish

For Cocoa Puffs infusion:

  • 1 Mason jar
  • 1 cup mid-level whisky
  • 1 cup crushed Cocoa Puffs chocolate cereal

For Boozy Egg Cream:

  • An inch’s worth in bottom of glass of Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup
  • Another inch’s worth whole milk
  • 2 ounces infused whisky
  • Plain seltzer as needed
  • Pinch of cocoa powder

Instructions

For the Blackberry-Rhubarb infusion:

  1. Clean the mason jar with hot water before adding in the cup of whisky.
  2. Add in the blackberries.
  3. Rinse and chop rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces, add those to whisky as well.
  4. Close the Mason jar and shake it around for a minute to set the flavors in motion.
  5. Allow the whisky to infuse for up to a week, tasting it occasionally to determine the potency.
  6. When ready, run the whisky through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or coffee filter to remove all fruit pieces.

For Mint Julep:

  1. Add a sprig of mint leaves and the agave to a cocktail shaker.
  2. Muddle the mint to release the oils.
  3. Add in the infused whisky and fill the shaker with ice, shaking it up until it becomes frosted.
  4. Serve the cocktail with another sprig of mint.

For Kumquat-Anise infusion:

  1. Clean the mason jar with hot water before adding in the cup of whisky and the star anise.
  2. Rinse and slice the kumquats in half and add to the whisky.
  3. Close the Mason jar and shake it around for a minute to set the flavors in motion.
  4. Allow the whisky to infuse for up to a week, tasting it occasionally to determine the potency.
  5. When ready, run the whisky through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or coffee filter to remove all fruit and star anise pieces.

For Whiskey Sour:

  1. Combine the agave, lemon juice and whisky in a cocktail shaker.
  2. Fill it with ice and shake until it becomes frosted.
  3. Serve on the rocks with a cherry garnish.

For Cocoa Puffs infusion:

  1. Clean the Mason jar with hot water before adding in the whisky.
  2. Crush the Cocoa Puffs and add them to the whisky.
  3. Allow the whisky to infuse for up to a week, tasting it occasionally to determine the potency.
  4. When ready, run the whisky through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or coffee filter to remove all cereal sediment.

For Boozy Egg Cream:

  1. Stir the chocolate syrup, milk and whisky together in a tall 8 ounce glass with a fork.
  2. Continue stirring and add in the seltzer until the glass is full and famously frothy on top.
  3. Sprinkle a little cocoa powder on top.
  4. Call it a day.
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
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