pumpkin infused vodka, with bonus cocktail!

I have two infused vodka recipes — Jalapeño vodka and this one… pumpkin infused vodka.

Around these parts, that is to say New England, one can find pumpkin in virtually everything from pasta to cream cheese to beer… it’s ubiquitous. It’s so popular as a beer flavoring agent that by mid-October it’s hard to find a sole 6-pack of pumpkin ale.

The first time I tried this recipe I was blown away by how effective the Vodka took to the pumpkin. (Or vise-versa.) With the addition of Madagascar vanilla bean, cloves and cinnamon stick the end result ends up being very reminiscent of a very smooth aged bourbon.

Let’s get started!

You will need:

• a nice pumpkin – specifically 2-3 cups of cubed pumpkin
• 2T whole cloves
• 2-3 sticks of cinnamon
• 1 madagascar vanilla bean, sliced length-wise
• 1 liter of vodka

Clean out the pumpkin, I save the seeds to make roasted pumpkin seeds–great for salads.

I cut a block out of the back so I could salvage enough of the punkin for a Jack-O-Lantern. Man, I love Halloween.

My Jack-O-Lantern!

Vanilla, Cinnamon and Cloves waiting for their vodka bath. Mmmm vodka bath.

Pumpkin cubed. I think I am going to try and figure out something cool to do with the vodka soaked pumpkin that’s leftover from the infusing process. Maybe a pumpkin vodka sauce?

In a large pitcher I combine the pumpkin, vodka and cloves, cinnamon and vanilla.

And then it’s time to play the waiting game. I usually let this set for 5-6 days.

In the meantime… roasted pumpkin seeds with rosemary, coarse pepper and sea salt.

So pretty! This is the end result. I strained the pitcher of ingredients through cheesecloth a few times until the sediment is (mostly) removed. As you can see it’s a beautiful amber color. Now what to do with this delicious pumpkin vodka?

This is fantastic. In a salad plate combine a bit of bourbon and a bit of vanilla extract. In another plate add ground cinnamon and sugar. Soak the rim of a small aperatif cocktail glass and then place in the cinnamon/sugar.

Let the rim dry with the crusty sweet goodness.

Pour in 1 1/2 oz of Kaluha and then float 1 1/2 oz of the pumpkin vodka… voila!

Let me know what you think! I love to hear from visitors to my blog… more Halloween fun to come!