Peach-Infused Vodka

During my first round of experimentation with infused liquor, I created a berry-mint vodka (see previous post), a bloody-mary vodka (which I have yet to write about) and the subject of this post; a simple, peach infusion.

Peach is one of my favorite fruits, but also tends to be one of the fruits that I buy the least. When peaches are in season, I tend to buy and consume a bunch, and then overbuy, and they rot in the bowl, or forget to purchase them entirely. Then – as a result of the idea of them rotting on the counter, or of forgetting the fruit altogether – I won’t get a craving for peaches until they’re once again out of season.

Fortunately for infusions, the ingredients don’t necessarily have to be in season for their flavors to infuse into the soaking liquid.

I’m not really sure why I prefaced this post with a seemingly random seasonal warning about fruits, especially since the rotund beauties selected for this recipe were seasonal and ripe when I plucked them from the tray at the farm-stand.

For this simple recipe, I used the following:

• 1 clean pint Ball jar with lid
• 2 1/2 fresh peaches
• 1 1/4 cups vodka

I washed and quartered the peaches, and removed the pits.

I placed the slices in the jar, and filled the jar with vodka to just below the rim.

The peach slices – which are very porous – absorbed a good deal of the liquid, so I topped the jar off with some additional vodka after a few days.

When I was ready to strain the liquid, I used a simple coffee filter, and upended the jar over a large measuring cup until the majority of the liquid had drained.

The vodka was infused with some nice, sweet peach flavor, although it was not nearly strong enough to mask the bite of the alcohol inherent in the (admittedly) cheap vodka that I used. Were I to repeat this recipe – which I just might – I would opt for a slightly more expensive brand of spirit.