Infusions, Day 14

I have finally bottled all 6 infusions that I started with. The lime infused Havana Club had to be thrown out in the end, as it actually tasted worse after being bottled. Photos of the finished products will go up later

The first infusion that got checked was the pineapple Malibu. I was amazed at how well this has turned out. There is a clear taste of pineapple, with an obvious, but not substantial, flavour of coconut still there. There is a slight yellow colour to it, but not urine yellow. I tried this with a friend the day after I bottled it and we both agreed it had worked to a tee. I also decided to save the fruit from this one, on the grounds that it could be good for a frozen pina colada or some other sort of pineapple based drink.

Next one that was tried was the plum vodka. This one has taken a substantial amount of the colour of the plum with it, providing a deep purple colour to it. There is a subtle scent of plum to it and the vodka has absorbed the taste substantially, with very little vodka kick to it. I'm not sure what I can use it for, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. The infused plums have been kept, as I'm sure there could be really delicious later on.

Thirdly, the cherry vodka. This has also given a good dark colour, and has a distinct cherry nose to it. Interestingly, there is a slight bitterness on the back of the tongue on this one and I'm not sure where it comes from. I've decided to keep the cherries for this as well, but no more frozen infused fruit will be available until later on.

Next came the apricot vodka. I'm not entirely happy with this. While the flavour has been absorbed into the vodka, there is not as much to it as I would have liked. The smell of the apricot is clearly there, as is the colour, but I'm not quite happy with it. I may re-jar it for a further infusion or perhaps add some sugar to it.

The white flesh nectarine vodka was next. This is one that I am also considering putting back into a jar for some further infusion. This may need a little bit of sugar to enhance the flavour although doing that runs the risk of tipping the result the other way.

Finally, the apple and rhubarb Bundaberg rum has been bottled. This one definitely needs to go back into the jar, because while there is not much Bundy flavour left, I can't tell what the new flavour is. I'm thinking about introducing dried apple and some stewed rhubarb when I re-jar it.

All is not lost though, as I have commenced 5 new infusions. Specific details of each one will be revealed in due course, but I can say that I have started

• pineapple and vanilla infused Jose Cuervo (gold)
• honey, lemon and ginger Bacardi
• lime and palm sugar Skyy
• mengel date Jack Daniels
• coconut Bundaberg Rum

More information as it comes to hand, but next time, a review on the bottled St Arnou Pilsner