Alcohol Infusion Recipes

Homemade alcohols and alcohol infusions are a fantastic way of impressing your dinner guests, or showing off your newfound talent to family and friends this Christmas. 

We have collected retro recipes and simpler infusions, so you can choose the recipe that best suits your tastes, and your time frame. 

 Pictured: sloe gin served in a glass 

Homemade gin and vodka recipes 

These recipes will work with any clear spirit, but usually work best with gin or vodka. 

We have created a recipe with interchangeable infusions, based on your tastes. Simply follow the steps below, and add in your favourite fruit and flora. 

Takes: 30 minutes 
Makes: Approx. 1.5 litres

Ingredients: 

• 500g fruit
• 250g golden caster sugar
• 1 litre gin or vodka 

Method:

1. Rinse the fruit in water, chop and prick the skins if necessary.
2. Divide the fruit equally between two Le Parfait 1 litre Clip Top Jars, then add in the gin and sugar. You can increase or decrease the amount of sugar depending on the ripeness of your fruit, and your preference.
3. Shake the jars to mix the ingredients, then leave to stand for two to three weeks, shaking once a day to ensure the sugar dissolves. 
4. When you are ready to decant your gin, strain it through a sieve and a muslin cloth into a clean, dry bottle, then seal and label. We recommend the Nutley’s 1 litre fluted bottle. 
5. The gin is now ready to drink, but it will improve over time, so if you have the patience, make your gin this year to enjoy next Christmas! 

Here are our suggestions for your homemade alcohol infusions, but the possibilities are endless, so be creative! 

• A festive favourite, sloe gin is sure to keep you toasty warm in the chilly winter months. Be sure to prick the skins of your sloes before use, to get the maximum amount of flavour.
• Are you looking for a way to use up your bounty of rhubarb? Look no further. This simple infusion is a delicious way of using up your leftover rhubarb harvest, and can be an excellent gift for friends and family. You can even add ginger for a festive kick.  
• Mulberries grow in abundance, so if you have some leftover berries in your freezer that you don’t know what to do with, why not consider making a fruity or festive infusion? Mulberry gin is best served with tonic, lemonade or sparkling water, depending on your preference. 
• Damson is a really popular flavour this season, so a vodka infusion is a sure hit with friends and family this Christmas. This is best served as a Damson in Distress cocktail, just combine equal parts damson vodka and amaretto, with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. 
• Gooseberries are a rare, but popular addition to an alcoholic drink, so take the opportunity to wow your dinner guests with a slightly tarter gin. This gin is best served with tonic, a splash of prosecco, or sparkling water and a few sprigs of mint. 

Simpler infusions  

If you don’t have much time, why not try infusing your spirits with unique and exciting flavours to brighten up your cocktails and glasses of fizz? You can even use up your leftover harvest, putting the fruits of your labour to good use. Here are some suggestions for your spirit infusions: 

Takes: 10 minutes

• Lemon and basil
• Strawberry 
• Grapefruit and jalapeno 
• Orange
• Christmas gin: orange, cloves and cinnamon 

Method:

1. Chop, tear or crush your ingredients
2. Add ingredients to a large clip-top jar, and pour over your spirit of choice 
3. Close the lid and shake vigorously for 60 seconds 
4. Leave to stand for 2 weeks 
5. Pour the mixture into sterilised bottles, using a sieve lined with muslin. 

Non-alcoholic Simple Infusions

For the non-drinkers and the drivers, we have some delicious and easy cordial recipes, which will use up your remaining harvest and brighten up a soft drink. Alternatively, you can add cordials to glasses of fizz, gin and tonics, or to your table water, for that extra something. Follow our basic recipe, adding any of your favourite fruits or herbs:

Takes: 30 minutes
Makes: Approx. 900ml

Ingredients: 

500g fruit or herb of your choosing
300g caster sugar (you can add more, or less, depending on your desired sweetness)
300ml water

Method:

1. Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Do not boil.
2. Keep stirring to ensure the sugar has fully dissolved.
3. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, add in your fruit and cook over a medium heat until the fruit is falling apart. 
4. Pour the mixture into sterilised bottles, using a sieve lined with muslin. 

Here are our flavour suggestions, let us know if you try any! 

• Elderflower 
• Rhubarb
• Raspberry
• Blackcurrant
• Pear and ginger
• Lemon and fennel
• Raspberry and rosemary
• Lavender
• Apple and elderflower 

Vintage Apple Wine Recipe

Make sure to don your gingham pinnie for this retro recipe. Making your own wine can be a long, but hugely gratifying process, especially when you serve your homemade apple wine at a dinner party or gathering. 

Takes: 1 week
Makes: Approx. 4.5 litres

Ingredients:

• 4lb apples 
• 8 pints boiling water 

• 3lb sugar 
• ½ oz yeast 
• juice of 2 lemons 

Method: 

1. Cut the apples into pieces - do not peel or core. Pour over the water, pressing well to extract the apple juice. Leave for 4 days to infuse. 
2. Strain off the juice and measure. 
3. Add in the sugar, yeast and lemon juice, and leave to ferment (bubble) in a warm place (18-23 degrees Celsius).
4. When the bubbling ceases, stir well. Leave for a further 3 days for the sediment to settle. 
5. Strain through flannel or very thick muslin into a cask, filling the cask completely. If wine is not clear, it may be that the muslin you used was not thick enough, and a thicker muslin will make an immediate difference. If your wine is still cloudy after fermentation and straining, then you may have to use isinglass or egg white. 
6. Cork, and leave your wine to stand for 6 months. 
7. Pour into bottles, cork and store in a cool, dark place to mature for another few months at least. 

Find Nutley's full collection of clip top jars and bottles here. 

We’d love to hear your recipes and favourite flavours in the comments below!