This week's experiment: vanilla

We apologize for not updating much in the last week. I have been sick with a cold and haven't had much energy for writing. We have, however, sampled some of our previous infusions in cocktail form, and will be posting on that subject soon.

In the meantime, we started our latest experiment: vanilla vodka. The Stoli and Smirnoff versions of this vodka have been popular with our crowd in the past, mixing well with colas, root beer, and orange soda. We also intend to create a few other vodkas in the near future which should compliment this one well.

We do have one caveat to this experiment, however. We purchased two vanilla beans for about $13; this will last us for two infusions. Combined with the price of the Vladimir vodka that we quintuple-distill and use as the base, this infusion is our most expensive yet, and only marginally cheaper than buying a bottle of Smirnoff Vanilla or the like. (It is possible that we could find the beans cheaper; we bought them in a jar in our grocery store's spice aisle. We considered trying the whole foods market instead, but opted for the shorter drive this time.)

We began this infusion by slicing one vanilla bean lengthwise.



The bean is slightly oily, and has a very pleasant aroma. I spent most of the evening sniffing my fingers after this.

The distilled vodka is then poured over the two halves of the bean.



Here's how it looked immediately after the beginning of the experiment. Since then, the bottom level of the vodka has attained a yellowish tinge.



Research indicates that this infusion will be complete in three to four days.

Labeling our creations

We got the color printer working just in time for the punch warnings for New Year's Eve, and have now printed labels for our infused vodkas. We now present to you, the Mad Scientician™ Brand line of vodkas:



As you can see, the paper labels are not very versatile; we put the caramel vodka in the freezer for the party, and when we removed it, the bottle frosted and ran the colors. The labels will be fine in the freezer if we keep them there permanently, but we don't have the space to do this with all of our vodkas. Therefore, most will unfortunately remain unchilled.

Here's a clear image of the labels. We had a bit of fun creating it (recursive vodka bottles!). Those aren't real drinks we're holding, unfortunately; just water, "neon" food coloring, and a bit of Chemical X.



If you'd like, you can also see the cinnamon, apple, and coffee versions of the labels.

We've also switched our house vodka from Smirnoff Blue Label to the non-infused, home-filtered Vladimir which serves as the base of our infusions. We labeled the first bottle tongue-in-cheekly as "Vodka-infused vodka," but will be using this label from now on:

Results of cinnamon, apple, and coffee experiments

Thanks to all who participated in Name That Vodka! Congratulations to yDNA, Irys, and Arthur (who replied on our LiveJournal feed) for correctly guessing which infusion was which. To review, here are the bottled vodkas:



The infusions are flavored as follows:

A. Caramel
B. Cinnamon
C. Coffee
D. Apple

Yes, the coffee vodka attained that dark of a color from just a single day of infusion! After all, coffee beans are pretty much designed to infuse with liquid of some sort. Here's how it looked before it was bottled:



It was quite interesting to see how some beans floated on the surface, while others became saturated with vodka and sank. Earlier in the day, a few even floated halfway between the top and bottom. The pre-bottled apple and cinnamon infusions looked about the same as they did last week, so we are not going to post photos of them at this time.

We bottled the coffee vodka by straining it through (what else?) a coffee filter, while the apple vodka was strained through cheesecloth. We didn't bother straining the cinnamon; we merely picked out the cinnamon sticks.

Now, since you are certainly eager to know how the experiments worked out, let's move on. The cinnamon, apple, and coffee vodkas were sampled at our New Year's Eve party, and we were able to draft some of our guests to assist us in evaluating the results.

First, we sampled the cinnamon vodka. Matt and Jason joined the mad scienticians in a shot:



The cinnamon vodka was approved by all. The vodka attained a strong cinnamon flavor, resulting in a somewhat spicy shot. We believe that this vodka will work very well in cocktails, as well as in shots combined with Jagermeister to form kicked-up Golden Hunters. Since we had punch this night, however, such drinks were not attempted.

The results of the apple and coffee vodkas, on the other hand, were somewhat mixed. Please consider, however, that these samples were taken after several cups of punch, as well as a few batches of homemade onion rings and chicken wings. We have since determined that these are less than ideal circumstances for testing our experiments.

The same four of us sampled the apple vodka. In the background, Jason's wife Denise looks on in bemusement as she drinks something non-alcoholic.



Wayland and Matt gave their approval to this vodka. Jason and I begged to differ.



Oh, the things I do in the name of science!

I gave myself about ten minutes before attempting the coffee vodka. Jason bowed out of this test, but Matt persevered.



I cannot remember Matt's opinion of this infusion. Honestly, there were other things on my mind. As you can see from the following photo, Wayland favored this infusion as well; I, on the other hand, can be seen in the corner getting a glass of water. Immediately afterwards, I ran to the restroom to empty my stomach.



Though Wayland gave his approval to all of the experiments, he acknowledged the harshness of the coffee vodka. Personally, I cannot recommend either the apple or coffee vodkas as a shooting drink under any circumstances. However, given the inherent instability of my stomach as a result of the night's festivities, I am willing to try them again in other settings.

Through the course of this week, we will continue to test these infusions under more realistic circumstances: as cocktail ingredients.

The punch that packs a wallop

This post isn't infusion-related, but we feel it is very much of interest to our readers. In the meantime, if you haven't played Name That Vodka yet, there is still time; we will be posting the answers, as well as the results of the experiments, Tuesday evening.

Last night, for New Year's Eve, we threw a party the likes of which could only be achieved by mad scienticians. We tested our latest experiments at this party, but the spotlight was on another concoction entirely: punch. Specifically, a modified version of the punch developed by our friend Arthur, the Vodka God. We have been sworn to secrecy as to the ingredients or methods used, but we can reveal that it was at once highly potent, highly caffeinated, and highly tasty.

But that wasn't enough. To complete the experience, we added a final ingredient: Chemical X. In the following photo, you can see the mixed punch, as I prepare the Chemical X to add to the solution.



As you can see, safety was our utmost concern, due to the dangerous nature of this punch.

With the introduction of the Chemical X, the punch reacted instantly by billowing smoke over the punch bowl. Here, Wayland observes this reaction with the glee of a giddy schoolgirl.



As the smoke reaches the top of the bowl and begins to spill over, the mad scienticians present their creation.



The punch is served.... very, very carefully....



And, of course, the first drink is always to Cronan.



We wanted to take every precaution that when our guests arrived, they would fully understand the peril involved in drinking this punch. To this end, the serving area was well lighted, safety equipment was at the ready, and cautionary signage was posted. First and foremost, a hazardous materials warning was prepared in accordance with NFPA 704.



Other signs were posted to warn of the myriad other dangers.







And finally, we requested an official statement from Acting U.S. Surgeon General R.Adm. Kenneth Moritsugu.



The punch was well received by our guests, and our precautions ensured minimal casualties. This experiment, at least, was an undeniable success.

It's time for a game of "Name That Vodka!"

All of our ongoing experiments are complete! However, rather than post the results, we've decided to keep our readers in suspense for a while and play a little game. In the following photo, you will see four unlabeled vodka infusions. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to identify which is which.



One of these is coffee vodka, one is apple, one is caramel, and one is cinnamon. In the comments, tell us which you think is which. One of these is a gimme if you've been paying attention.

We will post the results of the experiments soon, along with a few other goodies we've got up our sleeves. Good luck!

An attempt at coffee-infused vodka

A mad scientician never knows when a beaker will explode or a Tesla coil will overload, so he must always be fully alert. As such, caffeine is a mad scientician's best friend. Since we began this undertaking, Wayland and I have wanted to create a coffee-infused vodka, but unlike our previous experiments, our research has failed to find much in the way of guidelines. Therefore, this will be our first off-the-cuff experiment.

The only information we could find is that this infusion should happen quickly -- within a day or two. The amount and type of beans, however, we are guessing at. Particularly, we have no idea if this should be done with roasted or unroasted coffee beans. Ultimately, we decided to use roasted beans, since we already have an impressive supply on hand.

We buy whole bean coffee from Starbucks, and grind and brew them at home. (Despite this, I have never successfully managed to order a coffee at Starbucks; their menu is in some strange foreign language that wasn't taught at Mad Scientician's Academy.) We currently have several varieties available, and decided to perform this experiment using Kenya. Why? Because Kenya's got lions. Believe it!

Brendan began the experiment by pouring some coffee beans into the jar.



We didn't want to overdo it, since coffee has such a strong flavor, especially a bold coffee like Kenya (medium blends are for wussies). We put in just enough to cover the bottom of the jar. It's possible that even this is too much; we will find out soon enough.



Wayland completes the initial stages by pouring the filtered vodka into the jar.



The coffee beans float on the surface of the vodka as they impart their flavor.



Several questions remain unanswered. We hope that the experiment will reveal these answers, though we also welcome input from our readers.

1. Will the roasted beans do, or will we have to track down unroasted ones somewhere?
2. Will the beans impart their caffeinated qualities, or merely their flavor?
3. Did we use too many beans? Too few?
4. Where the heck do you buy airtight Mason jars anyway?

Caramel vodka complete

We intended to test the caramel vodka a couple of days ago, but have been fairly busy; fortunately, it cannot over-infuse, since the point is to completely dissolve the caramel cubes in the vodka. We sampled it tonight, and we're both quite satisfied with the results. Here's how the experiment looked after giving it one good shake:



Brendan bottles the creation. In honor of our first success, we picked up a couple of lab coats today, so we can truly present ourselves as mad scienticians.



We noticed a few clumps as it was pouring, so we shook it a little more once it was bottled. We expect some of the caramel to settle, so we may need to shake it each time it's used.

Here is the bottled infusion:



It was Wayland's turn to try it first. He enthusiastically praised it as "pretty good."



Brendan took the second sample. He noted that it was much like drinking a candy bar before the vodka kicked in.



All in all, the infusion took on a very noticeable, but not overwhelming caramel taste. We wouldn't recommend shooting this vodka if you don't normally like shooting vodka, but it will be great for cocktails. We are hoping for the same success with the apple vodka; we expect them to go rather well together.

We also created a preliminary label design today. Our color printer, however, which has sat untouched for a year, refused to cooperate with us. Once that issue is resolved, we will present our labeled product.