As some of you will have noticed, at the back end of last year my blogging went a little quiet, but this didn't mean I'd lost my mind and given up on my beloved infusions.....it just meant they were being made, drunk and enjoyed, but not written about.
So here we are, and I am playing "catch up", so you may be thinking;
"wow, with all these blog posts, she is really spoiling us"
***said in a French accent in the style of the Ferrero Rocher advert...obviously!***
And I am, so enjoy it, there's A LOT more to come!
This Apple-licious concoction was far beyond my expectations.
To be honest, whilst infusing, it looks rather manky, so I kept my expectations low, however, when I tasted halfway through to decide how much sugar syrup to add, I realised it was already 'juuuuuuussst right!'
For This Infusion, You'll Need...
1 Litre Gin (I used Greenall's)4 Large Apples (I used a mixture of Cox and Braeburn)
1 Cinnamon Stick
And...
Funnel
Fine Mesh Sieve and Filter Papers
2x 1litre Bottles (You can reuse the one the Gin came in!)
3 Weeks of Infusing Time
Let's Get Infusing!
First of all, give your apples a good scrub to ensure the skin is nice and clean. I suppose you could always peel the apples, but I kept the skin on hoping this might give it more flavour.
Next, quarter the apples, and slice in to thin strips, small enough to fit through the neck of your bottles.
Split the gin between your two infusing bottles, and equally share out the apple slices between each bottle.
Leave the bottles in a cool place, out of direct sunlight, for around two weeks to infuse!
As time goes by, the apples will turn the gin a murky caramel colour. At this point, I thought I may have wasted a bottle of gin, but fear not, this was all part of the process, so don't panic!
After two weeks, pour the gin out in to a jug or another bottle, and use a sieve to remove the apples.
I attempted an apple chutney with the leftover apples, but my skills are definitely not in jam making, so I won't be posting that recipe!
If you are not using the apples in another dish, be sure to squeeze out any gin or flavour that is still held in the flesh.
The infused gin will fit back in to the one bottle. Now it's time to add the cinnamon stick, and leave it infusing again for another week. You might want to play around with spices such as nutmeg and star anise, but I wanted to keep things simple this time as I didn't want to ruin the batch especially as these were Christmas gifts for my family!
After the week is over, grab your filter papers and funnel to strain again and bottle up ready for drinking. This made a great gift for Christmas as it's a lovely wintery flavour, just pick up some pretty bottles, glass pens, and ribbons to dress it all up.
Ready for some Drinkspiration?
Here's how we enjoyed the Spiced Apple Gin...
Spiced Apple (English) Mojito
As a keen rum drinker, I know the best mojitos can only contain rum, however, I have learnt that using gin in place of rum makes it an English Mojito, so here goes...
60ml Spiced Apple Gin
Half a Lime
6-8 Mint Leaves
1tsp Sugar
Appletiser
Made the normal Mojito way, but as the gin is sweetened by the apples, there's no need to go overboard with the sugar......does that make this drink diet friendly? I'd like to at least try and argue that it could be one of your five a day.....just!
Begin by muddling (that's bartender talk for squishing and squashing) the limes and sugar, tear up the mint leaves and muddle these in too. Half fill the glass with crushed ice and use a spoon to stir and lift everything, mixing thoroughly. Add the gin, more crushed ice, and stir again, and finally top with Appletiser.
We enjoyed this refreshing fruity drink so much, we kept making them until we had finished our bottle of Spiced Apple Gin!
Alternatively, just have it over ice, or glam things up with my Toffee Apple Pie-Tini!
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