Add Intriguing Flavors to Your Favorite Vodka
Homemade liquor infusions are a ton of fun to experiment with, and vodka is the ideal base for any flavor. From sweet fruits and delicate herbs to bold spices and unique flavorings like bacon, there are many great infused vodkas that you can create at home.
You're not going to be left hanging with a new flavored vodka, either. Each of these has a delicious cocktail recipe to pour your new creation into and spark ideas for all the wonderful drinks you can make.
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Strawberry Vodka
Capture the essence of sweet strawberries in a delicious vodka. This infusion should take a little over a week and it's perfect for a variety of cocktails like the sparkling strawberry rosé recipe, pairing the vodka with pear, basil, and sparkling wine.
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Watermelon Vodka
Perfect for summer, watermelon vodka is too much fun. Use it to accent cocktails like the summertime fruit punch lemonade. If you want something a little more dynamic for your barbecue, try a drunken watermelon.
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Pear Vodka
While you can mix up a peartini with store-bought pear vodka, this infusion is easy to do at home. You can use any variety of pears and the finished flavor works really well with other autumn and early winter flavors.
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Lemon Vodka
Lemon vodkas are not very common. When you have a cocktail that calls for it, it may be easier to make it yourself. A recipe like the lavender lemon drop martini is a perfect use for it. You will need to plan ahead because the infusion may take three weeks.
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Apple-Pear-Cinnamon Vodka
This is a fantastic infusion for autumn and can be used in many of your favorite vodka cocktails. It was created for the autumn spiced tonic recipe though you’ll quickly find other uses for it as well.
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Spiced Pumpkin Vodka
When those autumn cravings for all things pumpkin set it, consider making your own pumpkin vodka. It's a great use for the meat after carving the year's jack-o-lanterns.
With your finished vodka, be sure to mix up the spiced pumpkin martini or used it to spike and flavor your next latte.
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Tomato Vodka
A unique ingredient, tomato vodka is rather interesting. While one popular vodka brand once made it, it is no longer available. However, it did inspire a DIY version, and you can use that to taste the tempting tomojito. The drink pairs the vodka with cherry tomatoes, basil syrup, and soda.
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Cucumber Vodka
Cucumber vodka is another flavor you might want to take on yourself because it can be hard to find. It’s one of the easiest infusions due to the nature of this garden staple and can be ready in just a few days. With your finished infusion, you can enjoy fun drinks like the celery cup no. 1.
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Kumquat Vodka
Not only do you get kumquat-flavored vodka with this infusion, you also get drunken kumquats to eat! This is a fun one to ease the transition from winter to spring and kumquat pairs perfectly with berries. A drink like the strawberry vodka lemonade would be a perfect way to enjoy it.
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Bacon Vodka
Bacon vodka is a thing and it can make some fun cocktails. It's not a true infusion, but more of a bacon fat-washed vodka instead. It is a little more involved and the bacon me angry cocktail proves that your efforts were not wasted.
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Ginger Vodka
If you have not experienced ginger vodka, do yourself a favor and try this infusion. It's incredible and most vodka brands have given up on the flavor. One of your only choices for making a great drink like the ginger sour is to DIY the vodka.
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Lavender-Rosemary Vodka
The combination of lavender and rosemary is one of the best you’ll find and it makes very lovely cocktails. Use this infusion recipe to add a floral touch to any vodka martini or to liven up a vodka tonic.
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Chamomile Vodka
Another fun herb-infused vodka simply uses chamomile blossoms. This chamomile vodka would make a lovely vodka collins for spring and summer garden parties and it’s ready in less than a day.
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Tea Vodka
Tea is a natural candidate for a vodka infusion. It steeps just as well in cold liquor as it does in hot water. For a green tea vodka, you’ll need to let it steep for about 10 hours. You can also make a black tea vodka. Either would be an excellent substitute for the vodka and iced tea in the tea tini, making the drink easier to shake up.
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Garlic-Habanero Vodka
Be careful with this infusion of garlic and a habanero pepper! It is very easy to burn it with the pepper and it can become undrinkable before you know it. You should only need a few hours to get the perfect flavor and it makes a fantastic bloody Mary.
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Horseradish Vodka
The spiciness of this horseradish vodka can be an intense as you want it to be, depending on how long you let it infuse. Another bloody Mary-worthy vodka, it would make a good substitute for tequila in the tomato version of the sangrita shot as well.
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Candy Corn Vodka
Not sure what to do with all that leftover candy corn from Halloween? Create your own sweet vodka, then mix up the children of the corn cocktail. This infusion only takes a couple of hours and the cocktail mixes it with cinnamon syrup and seltzer for a tall, refreshing drink.
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Black Vodka
Rather than an infusion of flavor, changing the color is the goal with this recipe. Black vodka is a hot commodity around Halloween. It is easy to make with either food coloring or an infusion of black rice and it’s useful for simple black drinks like the black widow.
