Start Infusing Your Holiday Beverage Gifts Now

[JeriBinNC]

What a great topic! My partner and I were just creating a "Liqueurs to Make" cookbook the other night.

Here's one that we made last year and simply adore: Spiced Rum

Maybe someone else can do a better job of finding recipes to make with it. We just drink it as hot buttered rum or with juice, but I bet it would be fabulous in RitaL's Creamy Eggnog Punch with Spiced Rum.

Jeri

[echo echo]

JeriBinNC wrote:
What a great topic! My partner and I were just creating a "Liqueurs to Make" cookbook the other night.

Here's one that we made last year and simply adore: Spiced Rum

Maybe someone else can do a better job of finding recipes to make with it. We just drink it as hot buttered rum or with juice, but I bet it would be fabulous in RitaL's Creamy Eggnog Punch with Spiced Rum.

Jeri

Here are lists of:

--> cocktails and other beverages that use spiced rum
--> other foods that use spiced rum

[NcMysteryShopper]

Oh, and this months Spotlight is RUM!!! Check that out as well!

[Jessica K]

Speaking of rum, it is our FAVORITE!

you can do so much with it:
Cook with it
bake with it
drink it, and so on

here are some gift basket ideas. my hubby is like a rum connoisseur. he only likes the best! so far to him the best rums are:
Ron Pampero Anniversario Rum
Cruzan Single Barrel Rum
Pyrat Planters XO Rum
Sea Wynde Rum
10 Cane Rum

Be sure to stuff one of these into a true rum addicts basket!!

Or make your own yummy rum concotion!
"Rum Cream Liqueur"
"Hot Rum Mocha"
"Buttered Rum-Spiced Cider"
"Hot Toddy (Spiced Red Wine & Rum)"

for gifts you can include:
"Delicious Rum Cake"
"Coconut-Rum Balls"
"Lemony Rum Balls"
"Chocolate Rum Delights"
"Almost Tortuga Rum Cake"
"Pumpkin Raisin Rum Bundt Cake With Butter Rum Glaze"
"Caribbean Sweet Potato Rum Cake With Butter Rum Frosting"


and just yummy recipes to include:
"Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding With Rum Sauce"
"Diane's Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese/ Rum Icing"
"Double Vanilla Poundcake with Rum-vanilla Glaze"
"Ginger-Rum Marinade"
"Buttered Rum Apple Crisp"

Of course there are sooo many more choices, these are just a few to get you started!!

[Food4Pedro]

Beautiful Thread!!!

[Anna's Mom]

Does anyone know how long infused liqueurs last? (and I don't mean before you drink them )

[NoraMarie]

Anna's Mom wrote:
Does anyone know how long infused liqueurs last? (and I don't mean before you drink them )

Not too long here when friends drop in.

[NcMysteryShopper]

It really depends on your corking. Be sure you have a TIGHT seal. Oxygen is the enemy.

General rule of thumb: if the bottle is never opened, expect three years out of it. If it's opened once, or seldomly, expect a year or so. If it's opened lots, you will probably finish it off before it matters. Everytime you open the bottle fresh oxygen will hit the liqueur, so it may last a couple months with repeated openings, so you may as well drink it while you can.

Commercial liqueurs last considerably longer becuase they include commercial preservatives and antioxidants.

Cream liqueurs and egg liqueurs are a different animal. Despite alcohol's great disinfectant properties, every liqueur book cautions people against trying to keep cream or egg liqueurs for more than a few weeks to a month, and then only in the refrigerator.

Again, commercial liqueurs last considerably longer. Eierlikor and Bailey's Irish Cream both have much longer shelf life than four weeks, but they know what they're doing and are again using commercial ingredients.

[Anna's Mom]

Okay, one more silly question .....can I just recycle an old glass liquor bottle or do I need to purchase special bottles, corks, etc. I would like to try one of the recipes but I don't want to poison someone .

[NcMysteryShopper]

Sure...you can even use the bottle your vodka (or other base) comes in

Which one are you thinking about making??? Do tell

[Anna's Mom]

The Limoncello. I was thinking about making it and the recipe I was looking at required 80 days (I think). I thought I wouldn't be able to do it for Christmas gifts but this one is only 3 weeks. Most of our family and friends are vodka drinkers.

[NcMysteryShopper]

Anna's Mom wrote:
The Limoncello. I was thinking about making it and the recipe I was looking at required 80 days (I think). I thought I wouldn't be able to do it for Christmas gifts but this one is only 3 weeks. Most of our family and friends are vodka drinkers.

Excellent! They would love the limoncello! It is a great liqueur!

[Jessica K]

With how popular martini's are now here is another liqour that would be sooo great to give! instead of buying that expensive godiva liqour now you can make your own and give as presents, too!
Chocolate Liqueur
Chocolate Liquor
Chocolate & Whiskey Liqueur
Chocolate Liqueur
Chocolate Liqueur
some gifts to include could be:
Chocolate Double Nut Caramel Ladyfinger Torte (No Bake)
Chocolate Praline Mousse
Chocolate Truffles
Creme De Cocoa Torte
Godiva Tiramisu
Godiva Chocolate Layer Cake
some recipes to include:
Baileys Raspberry Kiss
German Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Covered African Cherry Martini
Chocolate Rasberry Martini
Ultimate Chocolate Martini
Sweet Chocolate Raspberry Martini
Chocolate Colada
The Chocolate Diva's Martini
Chocolate Cherry Martini
Chocolate Eggnog
Hot Chocolate Nog
Cocoa-Tini
Godiva Chocolate Creme Brulee

[Food4Pedro]

Beautiful Thread!

[Mrs Goodall]

I love this thread NC~!!!!!! You always have the best ideas...they usually involve liquor and I can appreciate that! I think I'm going to make some of these for the holidays...

Question...for a recipe that calls for vodka as a base, do I need to use premium vodka, or will middle of the road or rotgut work since they are being infused...