Contrary to what you might believe, Absolut and Stolichnaya did not invent flavored vodka; it’s been around forever, and you can make your own.
Recipe information
Yield
makes one 750ml-bottle
Ingredients
1 tablespoon aniseeds, 2 tablespoons caraway seeds, 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, zest of 1 lemon or orange, or 30 peppercorns, lightly crushed or ground
One 750-ml bottle good-quality vodka
Preparation
Step 1
Put one of the flavoring ingredients in the vodka. Let sit, tasting every 12 hours, until the mixture achieves the intensity you like. This may take as little as 12 or as many as 72 hours.
Step 2
Strain and store, preferably in the freezer.
The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.
MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
