Here's a fun infusion that I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out.
CRE8ion by Keegan McGregor
So I divided up my bottle of Cre8 Vodka and took two different, yet similar, approaches.
I had this idea of using all local ingredients, so that meant no citrus fruits or anything from outside the province/Canada, and whatever I could find in my backyard (literally).
I called this one “Spirit of Canada”
Man, oh man, the liqueur won. I was using it like I would Creme de Cassis or any other berry liqueur, but it had this earthy piney quality to it.
If I were to remake this, I’d maybe just swap out the sumac for zest of 1/2 a lemon, add some more pine needles, and maybe… just maybe add an apple to it to create more depth.
*This liqueur also goes extremely well with some sparkling apple cider if you can get yours hands on any at a local market.
Ingredients:
- 1 pint / 170g Fresh Blueberries
- 1 Tbsp Pine needles
- 1 tsp Sumac
Method:
So to start, I diluted my vodka to 60% because I was a little unsure of how two of the ingredients would react at a higher ABV.
I let that all infuse for 24 hours. I was unsure how to Sumac would infuse, so I was a little nervous about how it would turn out. For those who don’t know, Sumac is native to Canada, especially out east, and has an earthy and citrusy characteristic to it.
I was also nervous how the pine needles would react, and in the end… I’d actually use more pine needles.
So after the 24 hours I divided the infusion between two bottles. In one bottle, I kept it to be more of a 40% spirit, but added a tiny bit of sugar to help bring out the sweetness of the blueberry. In the other bottle, I added equal parts rich syrup (so 2 parts white sugar:1 part water) to make it into a liqueur.
The Cocktail:
For a cocktail, I did a take on a Pink Lady:
Ingredients:
- 1oz Cre8 Vodka
- 1/2oz Spirit of Canada Liqueur
- 1/4oz Apple Brandy/Calvados
- 3/4oz Lemon Juice
- 1/2oz Simple Syrup
- Egg White
What’s Next?
You can check out more CRE8ions in our Mixology Club!
