Pumpkin spiced infused vodka

It's time for our second seasonal vodka infusion as our 6 year old has organized her three pounds of Halloween candy by color, and our carved pumpkins have been devoured by veracious neighborhood squirrels. We were able to save a few of our backyard sugar pie pumpkins from the furry menaces, and thought why not make a pumpkin spice vodka after a visit to our local liquor store and being overwhelmed with the number of pumpkin beers in the cases.

Pumpkins are actually winter squash and native to North America with 35 varieties grown across the country. The term pumpkin is Greek for "large melon". In reality, this melon, squash or pumpkin is fairly subtle in flavor which accounts for why the the seasonal beer, pie or latte is dominated by pumpkin "spice". Pumpkin spice shares many of the same ingredients used to spice rum; vanilla, cinnamon, clove and allspice, so I was naturally a fan. We used all of these original spices to flavor our pumpkin vodka. As we were trying to sweeten the vodka a bit, we also roasted the pumpkin with brown sugar before adding the spice and vodka. We are looking forward to bringing a little Thanksgiving cheer to our friends' kitchen who graciously invited us to New Mexico for Turkey Day.

Fixings: preheat oven 400 degrees

• 2 c sugar pie pumpkin cleaned and diced into 2 inch cubes
• 1/4 c Brown sugar
• 4 Cloves (cracked with a mallet)
• 3 Cinnamon sticks
• 11/2 Nutmeg (cracked with a mallet)
• 3 All Spice (cracked with a mallet)
• 2 vanilla beans (split and scraped) include whole bean in infusion
• 1 ¾ c Vodka

Directions:

• 1. Wash canning jars and lids in hot, soapy water or run through the dishwasher.
• 2. Place pumpkin pieces in roasting pan, and sprinkle with brown sugar. Roast pumpkin in preheated oven 20 minuets, or until tender. Allow pumpkin pieces to cool completely.
• 3. Place All infusing ingredients in canning jar.
• 4. Fill with vodka cover with lid and shake a few times.
• 7. Store in a cool, dark place and shake 3-5 times a day.​ After the 2-3 weeks of infusing, line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. Strain pumpkin vodka mixture into the bowl, removing the cheesecloth to squeeze out excess liquid. Discard pumpkin and spices. Line the mesh strainer with another piece of cheesecloth and strain vodka through it to remove any remaining sediment.
• Funnel mixture into an airtight bottle. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

See the Colluding Comrade blog for drink recipe.

​Please drink responsibly.