Friday, February 1, 2013
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Pineapple Vodka Infusion
You know that you really like to get it crackin if you have ever attempted to make your own liquor. There are microbrew kits that you can use to make your own beer. There are wine making classes that allow you to store what you've made in their facilities. You can even conceivably buy your own still to make hard liquor at home! But since distilling your own hard liquor is very much illegal in America(unless you live in the hills of West Virginia I imagine) I am going to make my first attempt at infusing fruit into some vodka. I can't make it, but I can make it better!
This, of course, will not be my first attempt at making my own adult beverage. Way back when, I thought that making wine was easy. It just has to ferment right? Well, I did make a very potent batch of vinegar so I guess I should be proud of myself in that regard. This time around, I hope to make things a bit easier on myself. I'll go with a pineapple vodka. It is a pretty affordable project. Pineapples are pretty cheap and a decent vodka for infusing is fairly easy to come by.
So I went with a pretty affordable vodka because I'm a pauper and I don't want to waste "good" vodka on an experiment. I got a pineapple from the grocery store up the street, cut it up, and dropped everything into a jar. I added one whole pineapple to a f-i-f FIF! of vodka. Then I let it sit for 24 hours, making sure to periodically shake it up and whisper sweet nothings about what I was going to do with it when it's ready.(so romantical)
I found that one of the good things about infusing vodka yourself is that you get two treats - pineapple infused vodka and vodka infused pineapples. Squirt a dab of Whipped Lightning(to be discussed in a later post) on top of the pineapples, and you'll be quoting Tupac songs and telling your personal business to complete strangers in no time! The only drawback was that the flavor of the pineapple seemed to be overpowered by the vodka. This may have been the brand that I used, so maybe a "premium" brand will work out better. Now that I know how easy it is, I will be doing it again.
As for the vodka, the pineapple flavor really came through. I think that a better balance of flavors was achieved with the vodka than with the fruit. Obviously the pineapples soaked up some of the alcohol content, so it is all-around more palatable for the lightweight of the family.(if your family has any lightweights)
Overall, I think that my experiment went fairly well. I am guessing that just about any fruit will work, so go ahead and try it with whatever your favorite happens to be. The evil scientist in me has been awakened, and I will be definitely be trying more new things.
This, of course, will not be my first attempt at making my own adult beverage. Way back when, I thought that making wine was easy. It just has to ferment right? Well, I did make a very potent batch of vinegar so I guess I should be proud of myself in that regard. This time around, I hope to make things a bit easier on myself. I'll go with a pineapple vodka. It is a pretty affordable project. Pineapples are pretty cheap and a decent vodka for infusing is fairly easy to come by.
So I went with a pretty affordable vodka because I'm a pauper and I don't want to waste "good" vodka on an experiment. I got a pineapple from the grocery store up the street, cut it up, and dropped everything into a jar. I added one whole pineapple to a f-i-f FIF! of vodka. Then I let it sit for 24 hours, making sure to periodically shake it up and whisper sweet nothings about what I was going to do with it when it's ready.(so romantical)
I found that one of the good things about infusing vodka yourself is that you get two treats - pineapple infused vodka and vodka infused pineapples. Squirt a dab of Whipped Lightning(to be discussed in a later post) on top of the pineapples, and you'll be quoting Tupac songs and telling your personal business to complete strangers in no time! The only drawback was that the flavor of the pineapple seemed to be overpowered by the vodka. This may have been the brand that I used, so maybe a "premium" brand will work out better. Now that I know how easy it is, I will be doing it again.
As for the vodka, the pineapple flavor really came through. I think that a better balance of flavors was achieved with the vodka than with the fruit. Obviously the pineapples soaked up some of the alcohol content, so it is all-around more palatable for the lightweight of the family.(if your family has any lightweights)
Overall, I think that my experiment went fairly well. I am guessing that just about any fruit will work, so go ahead and try it with whatever your favorite happens to be. The evil scientist in me has been awakened, and I will be definitely be trying more new things.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
The Gettin It Crackin Matrix
Some people drink to celebrate. Some people drink to forget. Some people drink because of peer pressure. Some people drink in secret. I think that these four things create a matrix of sorts of which a proper, balanced view of gettin it crackin falls dead in the center.
It is good to celebrate a victory, any victory, no matter how small. Got a promotion at work? Changed your own sparked plugs for the first time? Stumbled to the bathroom at 4 AM without stubbing your toe for the first time in a year? IT'S A CELEBRATION! It becomes a bit immodest, though, when you celebrate everything all the time. Celebrate some large victories and some small ones too. That applies no matter how you celebrate. If you do the cabbage patch every time something good happens it gets old. Eventually you're known as the corny guy in the office who does it wrong every 5 minutes(we all know what the wrong way to cabbage patch looks like).
Many things go wrong in the course of a day. Murphy's Law, right? Drinking to forget the bad things that happen in the course of a day is a slippery slope. It becomes more and more of a crutch because stressors tend to increase as we get older. Compound this with the fact that many families have a history of alcoholism(there's on in every family, no?), I generally try to avoid alcohol when I am stressed because I don't want to head in that direction.
Alcohol is not for everybody. Some people have no tolerance. Some people don't like the taste. It isn't a necessity, so there is no reason to succumb to peer pressure to drink. It doesn't make you cooler. Although the episode of King of Queens when Doug was getting Carrie drunk to make her nicer just popped into my head. Anyhoot, develop some social skills without alcohol.
Don't be a secret drunk either.There's no better and quicker way to hit rock bottom than to have a problem that nobody knows about.
Make sure to stay in the center of The Gettin it Crackin Matrix. Be a combination of these things. Celebrate and move on, but don't forget. Don't succumb to peer pressure, but don't be ashamed of enjoying a good long island. That way, every time you and your friends get it crackin, it will always be a joyful occasion.
It is good to celebrate a victory, any victory, no matter how small. Got a promotion at work? Changed your own sparked plugs for the first time? Stumbled to the bathroom at 4 AM without stubbing your toe for the first time in a year? IT'S A CELEBRATION! It becomes a bit immodest, though, when you celebrate everything all the time. Celebrate some large victories and some small ones too. That applies no matter how you celebrate. If you do the cabbage patch every time something good happens it gets old. Eventually you're known as the corny guy in the office who does it wrong every 5 minutes(we all know what the wrong way to cabbage patch looks like).
Many things go wrong in the course of a day. Murphy's Law, right? Drinking to forget the bad things that happen in the course of a day is a slippery slope. It becomes more and more of a crutch because stressors tend to increase as we get older. Compound this with the fact that many families have a history of alcoholism(there's on in every family, no?), I generally try to avoid alcohol when I am stressed because I don't want to head in that direction.
Alcohol is not for everybody. Some people have no tolerance. Some people don't like the taste. It isn't a necessity, so there is no reason to succumb to peer pressure to drink. It doesn't make you cooler. Although the episode of King of Queens when Doug was getting Carrie drunk to make her nicer just popped into my head. Anyhoot, develop some social skills without alcohol.
Don't be a secret drunk either.There's no better and quicker way to hit rock bottom than to have a problem that nobody knows about.
Make sure to stay in the center of The Gettin it Crackin Matrix. Be a combination of these things. Celebrate and move on, but don't forget. Don't succumb to peer pressure, but don't be ashamed of enjoying a good long island. That way, every time you and your friends get it crackin, it will always be a joyful occasion.
Friday, June 3, 2011
The Human Need To Get It Crackin
It seems as though the human need for some form of alcoholic beverage is as strong as the need for survival itself. No matter what the staple civilization has been, someone figured out how to turn what they had into liquor.
No circumstance is too difficult to prevent the creation of alcoholic beverages. No grapes? That's ok, we have these potatoes. Let's make vodka. No potatoes? That's ok, we'll make vodka out of wheat. I'm in prison? That's ok, I'll make some hooch in the toilet. All we have left is water? If only somebody at this wedding feast could miraculously turn it into wine.
Each civilization has found something that it can produce a lot of. They use a portion of it to make some form of bread, and they make the rest into wine. Even honey, which is supposedly the only food that doesn't spoil, has been fermented into mead. Life finds a way. Having a drink is part of life. Therefore people will always find a way to get it crackin!
No circumstance is too difficult to prevent the creation of alcoholic beverages. No grapes? That's ok, we have these potatoes. Let's make vodka. No potatoes? That's ok, we'll make vodka out of wheat. I'm in prison? That's ok, I'll make some hooch in the toilet. All we have left is water? If only somebody at this wedding feast could miraculously turn it into wine.
Each civilization has found something that it can produce a lot of. They use a portion of it to make some form of bread, and they make the rest into wine. Even honey, which is supposedly the only food that doesn't spoil, has been fermented into mead. Life finds a way. Having a drink is part of life. Therefore people will always find a way to get it crackin!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Let's Get It Crackin!
Is there a greater phrase in the English language? When you hear somebody say this, you know that 1) it's finally Friday and 2) deliciousness shall ensue. Unless you "get it crackin" all week, in which case it's just a heads up that it's safe to take your flask out. How many people do you know who start their best stories off with "well you know, we had been sippin on xyz all night?" Or how many people have a favorite type of drink that they can't wait to go out and get at the end of the week? Or maybe they go and get one on Wednesday because the week has treated them horribly.
I'm no connoisseur. I can't tell you much about tannins and notes and bouquets and finishes. I know the most important aspect of a good drink though - TASTY! That's what I plan to talk about. I like to try new things. I like to experiments with mixing, being the amateur bartender that I am. I also like to try new places. In all, I fancy myself to be an amateur critic. Maybe I'm just an all-around amateur. Either way, I am intrigued by all things liquor. Whether it be a new brand, a lounge, a resort, or even the history of our favorite beverages, I'm there. Did you know that soldiers in The Revolutionary War were paid in rum? In fact, every civilization in history can be identified partially by what alcoholic beverage they produced. What we drink is a part of who we are. Gettin it crackin is part of what makes us human.
I'm no connoisseur. I can't tell you much about tannins and notes and bouquets and finishes. I know the most important aspect of a good drink though - TASTY! That's what I plan to talk about. I like to try new things. I like to experiments with mixing, being the amateur bartender that I am. I also like to try new places. In all, I fancy myself to be an amateur critic. Maybe I'm just an all-around amateur. Either way, I am intrigued by all things liquor. Whether it be a new brand, a lounge, a resort, or even the history of our favorite beverages, I'm there. Did you know that soldiers in The Revolutionary War were paid in rum? In fact, every civilization in history can be identified partially by what alcoholic beverage they produced. What we drink is a part of who we are. Gettin it crackin is part of what makes us human.
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