Hounds In The Kitchen » liquor

Rhubarb Infused Vodka

Rachel — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:40:00 +0000

It’s rhubarb season in central Ohio! I like rhubarb in jam, strawberry rhubarb pie, and my grandmother’s rhubarb crunch. But my favorite way to enjoy this slightly sweet, floral, first “fruit” of spring is in a vodka infusion.

You might think I’m a lush but hear me out. Rhubarb is tongue-searingly sour and requires a lot of sugar or another strong flavor to temper the tart. Until I infused vodka with rhubarb, I had never truly appreciated the subtlty of the rhubarb flavor.

Making an infusion, with rhubarb or any other fruit, is dead simple. Chop or mascerate fruit in a clean glass container. Fill with vodka to cover all the fruit. Age in a dark place, tasting regularly, until the infusion matches your desired flavor. Strain out the fruit and enjoy the infusion as a mixer or on its own with fizzy water, a delightfully low-cal, high-zest drink.

In the case of rhubarb, I like to leave the infusion for up to two weeks. The clear vodka will turn a dusty red color and keep its piquancy for up to a year. The picture above shows the last of our 2011 rhubarb infusion, in one of my favorite jars made in Columbus Ohio, surrounded by the fresh rhubarb from the Greener Grocer that will make this year’s batch.

I am reserving some rhubarb to make into a shrub, a sweetened vinegar infusion. I suspect that the shrub method will show off the many characteristics of rhubarb much like the vodka infusion I hold so dear.

Do you like rhubarb? How do you prepare it?

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Rhubarb Infused Vodka is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Bourbon Country Kentucky

Rachel Tayse — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:45:00 +0000

At the end of March, we will travel to Kentucky Bourbon Country. The bluegrass region of Kentucky is home to dozens of small bourbon producers. It also happens to be a scenic area perfect for biking.

We hope to visit three or four distilleries and stay in a bed and breakfast. Do any of you lovely readers have recommendations?

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Bourbon Country Kentucky is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Summer Dreams

Rachel Tayse — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 00:58:00 +0000

In a little over 5 months, it will be summer again. I’m not one to usually yearn for June, but today I was. Why? Could be spending the afternoon watching the Ohio State Women’s hockey game at the ice rink… or because tonight the temperature is supposed to drop to nearly 0 deg. F… or the frozen Ohio summer strawberries I found in the freezer.

At any rate, when I went to make myself a drink tonight, I wanted to taste summer. So here it is: Summer Dreams

6 strawberries
1 ounce vodka
1/2 ounce orange flavored liquor
1/2 ounce blackberry syrup (homemade if possible)

Muddle strawberries in cocktail shaker. (Better alternative would be to juice and strain the berries.) Add liquors and syrup. Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass.

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Summer Dreams is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

RIP Yellow

Rachel Tayse — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 02:30:00 +0000

For her second birthday in September, our daughter was given an aquarium containing two danio fish, whom she quickly named Yellow and Red. This morning while I was cooking breakfast, she poured her milk in the tank. “It looks cloudy,” she said. I took the fish out, but sadly Yellow did not survive. (He has not been looking healthy for the last week anyways.)

What does this have to do with alcohol?

Well, after Alex came home and we gave Yellow a proper flushing in the toilet, we honored his life with a drink. Here is the recipe for our creation: Yellow Danio, an adaptation of a Delilah.

1 ounce gin
1 ounce citrus ginger flavored vodka
1 ounce orange flavored brandy
1 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup

Shake with ice in cocktail shaker and pour into chilled martini glasses. Garnish with a lemon slice.

The Yellow Danio is pictured at left, in front of the clean tank and Red.

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RIP Yellow is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

The Current Bar

Rachel Tayse — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:58:00 +0000

One of our rules is that what is in our liquor cabinet at the beginning of the year is fair game for drinking, even if it is foreign. Here is everything we start with, with links provided for the unusual or highly recommended:

Tools:
The Little Black Book of Cocktails by Virginia Reynolds
Cocktail shaker
Selection of shot glasses
Plastic flask
Small pocket flask
SIGG stainless steel flask/bottle
Wooden muddler
Wooden reamer
Beer bottle opener (wall mount, hand held, and Homer Simpson voiced)
Wine bottle openers (lots because we can’t take them through airport security and are constantly buying them on trips away from home…but our opinion of the TSA is another topic…)

Liquor:
White Rum (foreign generic)
Bombay Gin (England)
Bulleit Bourbon (Kentucky USA)
Sauza Tequila (Mexico)
Vermouth (France)
Tuaca Liquor (Italy)
McClelland’s Single Malt Scotch (Scotland)
Paul Masson Brandy (Kentucky USA, home flavored with orange peel to resemble Grand Mariner)
Laphroaig Single Malt Scotch (Scotland)
Blue Curacao (Ohio USA)
Skyy Vodka (California USA)
Feist Madeira (Portugal)
Rain Vodka (Illinois USA, home flavored with ginger, orange and lemon)
Angostura Bitters (Trinidad)
Pinnacle Vodka (France)
G.E. Massenez Framboise Sauvage Wild Raspberry Brandy (France)
Kahlua (Mexico)

Wine:
Hoshi Sake (California)
Ozeki Sake (California)
Gnarly Head 2006 Old Vine Zin (California)
Razor’s Edge 2005 Shiraz (Australia)
Merum 2005 Monastrell (Spain)
Mo’s Strawberry Wine (home brewed by a friend of foreign and domestic fruits)
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (New Zeland) Mixed at Camelot cellars by Alex’s parents
Sula Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc (India)

Beer:
Lindeman’s Rasberry Frambroise (Belgium)
Chimay Cinq Cents (France)
La Fin Du Monde (Canada)
Michelob Ultra Amber (USA) my mama’s favorite

Mixers:
Homemade Grenadine (California?? Pomegranates)
Homemade Sours Mix (Florida sugar and lemons)
Creme De Menthe (USA)
Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Juice (Florida)

Wow…that’s a lot of alcohol!

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The Current Bar is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Scotch

Rachel Tayse — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 04:41:00 +0000

I like scotch. Scotch, scotch, scotch. Down it goes. Down into my belly. No more scotch in 2008. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Scotch is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen. If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

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Scotch is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

The Beginning

Rachel Tayse — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 04:17:00 +0000

On our way home from a Xmas lunch today, Alex and I were discussing the globalization of trade, especially food trade. We already make efforts to eat locally by participating in a Columbus area Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and shopping our local co-op grocery store. We buy durable goods from ethical businesses and limit our purchases to things we ‘need’ as much as we can. What’s left to do to limit our resource footprint?

I just read the book Plenty, an account of two writers who challenge themselves to eat only food grown and produced within 100 miles of their home. I know we can’t do that because it would require too much time and the few healthy foods our toddler will eat (bananas and cranberries) come from far far away.

“What if we pledge to only drink US made alcohol in 2008?” I suggested. We each have a drink or two most every day, so this change wouldn’t be insignificant. We started talking varietals: “We would have California, New York, and Ohio wines.” “Does anyone make gin in the US?” “Can we make our own gin?” “There’s always PBR.” Finally, Alex said, “I like this idea.”

We talked about a few ‘rules’ for the challenge:
1) What’s in our liquor cabinet on January 1 can be used anytime throughout the year, domestic or not.
2) If traveling (Alex travels in foreign countries frequently) drink products produced in the host country.
3) Do without alcohol if we are in a situation without a domestic option.

We have a few days of 2007 left. I’ll surely drink a few margaritas – we can’t think of a US tequila substitute yet. When the year turns we’ll start updating this blog with our domestic finds, recipes, and adventures.

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The Beginning is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!