Homemade vanilla bourbon is better than any store-bought infusion we’ve found. It’s not a chemical candy flavor you find in most liquor stores. Mountain Man loves vanilla bourbon. It’s a great “just because” gift to surprise him with. Not to mention Father’s Day is coming up as well! If you let this sit a couple weeks it’ll be that much better.
Alcohol is great at extracting flavors. It doesn’t take much time to get an awesome flavor. And infusing alcohols longer isn’t always going to make it taste better. So taste test regularly. Just make sure you don’t end up drinking it all before it’s done!
Having little bits of vanilla (or whatever you choose) to infuse your alcohol with won’t be preserved forever even though it’s in alcohol. It’s best to seal the alcohol in an air tight container. I infuse vanilla bourbon in a mason jar and then vacuum seal it. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, you can put it in one of these flip top bottles too.
Split your vanilla beans and place them in a mason jar. Pour in the bourbon, seal it, and shake. (Mountain Man loves Bulleit Bourbon.)
Rule of Thumb: use 1 1/2-2 whole vanilla beans per quart of bourbon.
Store in a cool dark place and shake once a day or so until desired flavor is reached. Letting it infuse for at least 2 weeks will give it the best flavor.
This makes an amazing Mint Julep.
Have you ever infused alcohol? What was your favorite combo?
