A Day at the Spa
I got to experience something pretty incredible last Monday. I got to go to a liquor and bitters tasting. I know, you’re probably wondering what makes Monday any different from all the other liquor events I go to. Well, not only did I get to sample a brand new liquor, I got to taste a new bitters and create my own.
The liquor is Infuse Spirits and it’s unlike anything else out there. Created by Seth Benhaim in 2013, Infuse are vodkas that are infused “with only natural, real ingredients”. To prove it, each and every bottle has what they’re infused with right there inside. You want lemon, you have lemon peels, grapefruit, grapefruit peels, the spiced apple has a few rings of dried apple and a piece of cinnamon. There are numerous flavors and each and every one has the ingredients for its infusion inside, meaning there’s absolutely no doubt how the liquor was flavored.
But vodka isn’t the only thing Infuse makes. They also have a bourbon and rye called Broken Barrel. Benhaim picked the name because he uses staves (the slats from previously used barrels) to flavor the brown liquors. They take six-month-old Kentucky-distilled bourbon and move it to steel tanks where they add staves from French oak barrels, ex-bourbon barrels, and sherry cask barrels. Since all bourbons have their own specific mash bill, Benhaim has his own “oak bill” for both Infuse’s bourbon and rye. He uses 40 percent oak staves, 40 percent Ex-bourbon cask staves and 20 percent sherry cask staves. That mixture creates a bourbon and a rye, that are smooth, sweet and have a subtle hint of spice. Although the bourbon definitely makes a great cocktail, my favorite is the rye. I’ll enjoy it straight, over ice or in a wonderfully rich Manhattan.
While I can’t wait to create a cocktail with Infuse’s rye and bourbon, since we’re smack dab in the middle of summer, I wanted to make something a little lighter. So, this time around I used the Lemon Vodka. On its own, the vodka is slightly sweeter thanks to the lemon and would be delicious over ice or with a splash seltzer. But I wanted to make a cocktail because a vodka this good deserves a cocktail all its own.
The idea struck me while I was making tzatziki. You’re probably wondering how I got a cocktail from a yogurt sauce often used in gyros. Well, in order to make tzatziki you need grated cucumbers. As I grated those cuks and squeezed out all the liquid, I was left with a beautiful green cucumber juice. Since I don’t believe in waste, I turned the juice into a simple syrup, and realized lemons go great with cucumbers. I mean, how many times have you walked into a spa and seen a pitcher of water filled with lemons and cucumbers? And is there a better way to relax than with a day at the spa? Unfortunately I can’t go to the spa every day. But I can have this cocktail. And now, so can you.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Infuse Lemon vodka
- 3/4 ounce cucumber simple syrup
- 1/2 ounce lemon juice
- 4-5 ounces club soda
Instructions
- Place the vodka, syrup and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until chilled.
- Stain into a rocks glass with one or two ice cubes. Add soda, garnish with a slice of lemon and cucumber and serve.
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I bought the Infuse for recipe testing. As always, any opinion expressed is my own and is not influenced in any way by the manufacturer/PR firm as I only review products that I have personally tested and endorse.
