355. Hooch

The ginger vodka came out pretty damn good.  I don't think it is identical to the Yazi by any means, but it's aromatic and wonderful.  And it was well needed at the end of my day yesterday.

In the end, I added a whole vanilla bean (but I realize I might have gotten more intense vanilla flavor if I had sliced the bean -- didn't think of it 'til now), three whole cloves, an unmeasured amount of dried orange peel, and some ground nutmeg.  Mmmmm, festive and quite delicious.  (I started out with 3 cups of vodka and a 4-inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped.  I let it infuse for 3 or 4 days.  I strained it through a coffee filter, then froze it for a while and drank it ice cold.)  Nice! 

I did not add any sugar, and it seemed ok to me without it, though just a touch of sugar would be nice, too. The way Margene served it, on a high-quality vanilla ice cream with fresh blackberries, was soooo.good, and I think this homemade version would do me proud as a facsimile of the real thing.

In all, until I can get the real thing, I am quite happy with it.  And I had fun photographing it in the snow, too. 

Here's another photo that was kind of fun, except the liquor is not that yellow.  Reminds me too much of yellow snow.  I do love the blue snow, though.