Coffee Infused Vodka

There are a great many site out there which go into detail on flavor infused vodkas, but some of their recipes fall flat and some of them are just too vague. Here is a tried, true and Tasty method of creating Coffee Infused Vodka. See the end of the article for some common drinks which can be suitably caffeinated, and made that much better by the coupling of coffee and alcohol. At any point in this tutorial feel free to consult the picture for more a better idea of how things work.

Ingredients

• Vodka
  • Go middle of the road on this one, not cheap but not top shelf either.
  • More vodka for a larger container, not sure i had to say this but it never hurts.
• Dark Roasted Coffee Beans
• 1 Tsp Sugar
• Clear, clean glass jar
• Funnel
• 2 spoons
• 1 Cone filter

Dark Roasted beans tend to have a stronger flavor profile and translate well into an infusion, as more of the coffee taste transfers, and a deeper color is attained. The sugar is a catalyst for the infusion helping the oils and flavors of the coffee beans to mix with the vodka.

Bean Preparation

When preparing this infusion I was worried that grounds might lead to an overabundance of oil, while whole beans might take too long to infuse. So Icompromised. I placed whole dark roasted coffee beans into one tablespoon and placed a teaspoon over top. Applying pressure gentle, and wary of beans shooting out the sides, I compressed until I heard the beans crack. You need to do this about 10 – 15 beans at a time or they will end up absolutely everywhere.

Jar Preparation

After you have a small handful of bean place them into the glass container with a teaspoon of sugar. The jar I used held approximately .5 liters of vodka, so your mileage may vary. Fill the jar as far up as you can without overflowing the container, leave as little air in the container as possible. The beans will float to the top of the container as you pour the vodka in. This is normal, even to see small air bubbles collect on the sides of the beans.

At this point the sealed jar may look like dish water. Fasten the lid very tightly and shake vigorously for roughly 30 seconds. Place the concoction into a safe, dark, cool location. Your freezer may seem ideal but you could have some trouble getting the lid off later on. Vodka will not freeze in a normal home freezer.

Waiting is the Hardest Part

Most sources differ on the amount of time to let the ingredients infuse, I would say to go no sooner than 5 days for the best effect. I admit that I commonly open the jar before then just to smell the brew, a wonderful aroma. Now the trick that I use to speed the process along so that the infusion is ready after five days is that everyday I take the jar out of the freezer, or cupboard and shake the mixture vigorously. The few times I have not done this the color and flavor take much longer to develop.

Filter

Now that your brew is ready for the final step this is the easiest way I have found to filter the particles out of the infusion with as little lost liquid as possible. Place a funnel into a secondary container and a cone filter into the funnel. For the purpose of this illustration I used a product called the Ready Set Joe. Slowly pour the unfiltered Vodka Coffee into the funnel, minding the beans as they tend to splash the liquid when the jump. After the liquid has been poured you can rinse out and clean the old container to either start anew or to redeposit the new infusion back into. I placed a couple whole coffee beans into the final mix for a garnish.

Conclusion

If everything has gone to plan up until this point you should be left with a clear aromatic taste sensation. If you find that your brew is not as strong nor as darkly colored as the one illustrated in the picture then you can always add more cracked beans to the filtered solution and wait another couple of days to refilter or you could simply wait longer to pull the beans out. Typically the beans will sink to the bottom of the jar as they become laden with liquid, this is a sign that things are going the right way. This vodka alone is a very smooth and tasty drink but read on to see more ideas for how to use it.

As always respect the local drinking age in your area before attempting this. Do not try to use you parents good vodka on this experiment, the results could scar you.

Drinks to Exploit

Here are two Vodka Based drinks and their associated recipes which I believe to have been greatly improved by the addition of caffeinated vodka. I have messed with the recipes a bit to enhance their flavour.

Late night Russian Cocktail

• 3/4 oz White Creme de Cacao
• 3/4 oz Gin
• 3/4 oz Vodka (Caffeinated)
• Ice

My Own Recipe below

Muggers Delight (Hot Coco with a kick)

• 1 oz Vodka Caffeinated
• 1 oz Chocolate Liqueur
• 3 oz Milk or Light Cream (Heated or steamed is better)
• Sprinkle of Cinnamon & Cloves