Flavoured alcohol is a great gift but needs to be planned as it needs a few weeks maturing. I have a wonderful herb garden that gave me mint, lemon verbena, rosemary and lots of other wonderful herbs. For this flavoured vodka, I have used Lemon Verbena but the principle works with any other herb or spices as well. Last year, I made Christmas Vodka with cinnamon sticks, cloves and orange peel and the aroma from that combination was just amazing.
Lemon Verbena is very ‘citrussy’ and works well with white chocolate and in lemonades. I wanted to try it with the vodka and I think it worked out pretty well. This vodka-herb combination is perfect for cocktails and long drinks.Poured into beautiful bottles, labelled with a homemade tag – it makes a wonderful gift, maybe add some cocktail equipment with it and you make a cocktail lover very happy.
Lemon Verbena Vodka
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| Lemon Verbena Vodka |
- 1 cup lemon verbena leaves (or more)
- 1 bottle of vodka
- 400g sugar
Take a Kilner Jar (or any jar that can be closed airtight), put the washed and dried lemon verbena leaves into the jar and pour the vodka over it. Add the sugar and stir well. Close the lid and leave to stand overnight.
The next day, either shake the jar or stir for the sugar to swirl around (you won’t get the sugar to dissolve straight away). Continue for a week or until the sugar has dissolved. Leave to stand in a dark, cool place for a month.
Strain into clean and sterilised bottles, add a new verbena leaf per bottle and add a tag or label.
Serve with sparkling wine, orange juice or lemonade.
