Sunday, January 21, 2007

Orange experiment is a success

Our research indicated that orange vodka should infuse for 3-4 days; we left it for five days, as we had a fairly busy weekend. We were mildly concerned that the final product would be a bit too strongly flavored, but our concerns proved unfounded.

The experiment attained a yellow color as it infused:



The Mad Scienticians removed the orange slices and strained the vodka through a coffee filter to remove the pulp. This took a very long time, for some reason. We've used this method with several other experiments without any issues, but with this one, the filter allowed less and less vodka through as it became saturated.



We changed filters several times throughout the process, and wound up pinching the last one closed like a tea bag and squeezing it out.

Yeah, we know what the vodka looks like. Shut up.



We keep saying that we're going to stop testing our infusions in shot form, but yet, we keep doing it. We can't seem to resist any opportunity to post our mugs contorted into embarrassing post-shot expressions.



Wayland was not thrilled with the orange vodka as a shot, though he later decided it was due to a general feeling of malaise, rather than a reaction to the vodka.



I thought it tasted pretty good, even as a shot. It does have a degree of pithy bitterness, as some of our readers suggested may happen, but it is not overwhelming. Perhaps next time we'll invest in an orange zester.

For the cocktail test, we decided to incorporate the infusion into a modified kamikaze.

Orange Kamikaze

Over ice, pour:
2 oz. Mad Scientician™ orange vodka
2 oz. Triple Sec
Splash of lime juice



The orange vodka nicely complimented the citrus flavors of the Triple Sec and lime juice.





We found the orange vodka to be a great success. The orange kamikaze is possibly one of our best infusion drinks yet.

Brendan's score: 4.5 flasks out of 5
Wayland's score: 3.5 flasks out of 5
Overall score:

We also repeated the coffee vodka infusion this weekend, as we are nearly out of the first batch. Interesting that the experiment that got the most negative initial reaction has become our most popular.

4 comments:

Nicole said...

Invest in a zester - if you can get one, get a "microplane" zester. They have them at places like Bed Bath & Beyond. Very worth your while, and you can use it for various zests, as well as ginger and the like.

N.

Unknown said...

If you guys started out by putting the orange slices (or vanilla beans, etc) in a cheese cloth pouch you wouldn't have as many issues with needing to strain it before you test it.

Sarah said...

I've been using a double layer of cheesecloth to strain, and that works pretty well, with the added perk that if you wash it out well and ignore the staining, you can reuse it.

I'm gonna go taste my fruity vodkas tonight; my source (the ever-popular www.danish-schnapps-recipes.com) recommended very long infusing times, but you're giving me a hunch they might be done sooner!

Also, now I want to make a grapefruit vodka using those jars of de-everything-ed slices.

Unknown said...

I've infused with just about every fruit I can lay my hands on. In order to get rid of the bitterness of some fruit and to pull more flavor out of the fruit, you really need to add some simple syrup to the infusion. The amount of simple syrup will depend on the fruit. I currently have a mix of Saskatoon berries with a few orange and lemons slices in my infusers. Last year I did just Saskatoon berries and it was fabulous. I am anxious to try this current combination.