Peter - giving the infusion a go this year! Question: is finished infusion shelf stable at room temp? Or (given use of fresh apple) should it be stored in fridge?
I've been storing at room temp ever since I made this. Always give it a check (does it smell bad? are there funky solids?), but I've never had a problem storing this at room temp in a dark cabinet. Good luck! Hope you enjoy it --
I just made one each of the sour and old fashioned - wow!!
I actually made some homemade rosemary syrup this weekend, using fresh rosemary from our herb garden, and used that in the old fashioned. It was absolutely killer. (That rosemary syrup is also SHOCKINGLY good in a latte, btw.)
I made a batch of the infused brandy for the weekend. The “Thanksgiving” Sours were a HUGE hit! This will become one of my staples! Fit nicely in with other cocktails for the weekend - Old Fashioned, Oban Little Bay Godfather, Cuba Libre, Classic Daiquiri, Rusty Nail and way too many Single Malts to list here! Thanks for sharing!
Novice cocktail maker here. This newsletter is great. I made my infusion mix this morning. I had 375ml bottle of E&J VS on hand, and by chance some whole allspice and cinnamon sticks for my wife's Thanksgiving cider drink (she's pregnant, so I'm drinking for 1 these days). I used 1/2 gala apple, 1.5 cinnamon sticks, and 4 allspice berries. Mason jar. My plan is to open mid-day Thursday, although I'll be tempted to do so Wednesday night. Do you recommend making the rich simple syrup ahead of time...how cool does it need to be before adding?
Awesome! You should make the rich simple syrup at least two hours prior to serving the drinks. If you can find the time, make it the day before and store it in the fridge overnight.
Update: Late this morning I strained the infused brandy, which had a lovely smell and taste, and will be good even on its own. The rich simple syrup was blended and chilled over night. Fresh squeezed lemon juice. Mixed with crush iced and poured into a lame wine glass (I don't have the appropriate glassware as of yet...it's on order though!). I got maybe a teensy bit of foam -- I assume that generates from the lemon juice and syrup? -- and not as much of a red hue as in the picture, but definitely a nice autumnal brown-orange. Result: Prettay prettay good! Great classic thanksgiving flavors, with lemon to balance it out. If I got this at a cocktail bar, I would be pleased. The day is off to a good start!
Aww hell yes. I haven't dabbled with infusions since the time my (now) wife and I made a pepper infused vodka for a brunch party Bloody Mary spread. It would never have occurred to me to try an infusion with brandy.
I may give this sour a shot. I think the flavor profile would nicely cut through the richness of my dinner.
For my part, this weekend is the time I designate to prepare my aged egg nog (as well as drink a bit of the batch I saved from last year).
New subscriber here so catching up on old posts. Just finished infusing the brandy, and man, was that Thanksgiving Sour awesome! I like allspice, so did the last 4-6 hours of the infusion with ~15 extra allspice berries. Would love to know if you have tried this infused brandy with any other cocktail recipes, in addition to the Sour and Old Fashioned? Thanks for the great posts!
You should repost this or link to it ahead of Thanksgiving this year! I'll be making the Thanksgiving Sour this year at a friend's place, it was a huge hit last time I made it.
Finally found the allspice berries to make this! Made it using Remy Martin VSOP (no E&J in Belgium) and turned out fantastic. Would be interesting to experiment with more infusions, curious what else you've made!
Kinda late to the comments here but...I made this sour and my husband and I both love it! I'm really pleased that we have a new cocktail to our limited repertoire. However, it really is not coming out that lovely red color in your picture. It's more browny-yellow. Not sure why! I did realize that I used the E&J "Grand Blue" VSOP. Not sure if that makes a difference??
The best thing (so far) about this article is that you got me to reevaluate E&J brandy. I did some tastings in the 90's trying to find a good brandy price point. Ended up us Anzac Cognac VS as the basic brandy. E&J was not close at the time. Now (whether I've changed of Gallo has) the E&J vsop is simple with lots of caramel. We have not infused it, but it makes a great Sidecar. If it weren't for all the gadgets I've been buying, you'd probably have saved we the cost of the subscription.
It's surprisingly delicious, period, and especially good at the price point. I don't use it in everything - there's a place for good French brandy - but it's a fixture in my big batch drinks.
Peter - giving the infusion a go this year! Question: is finished infusion shelf stable at room temp? Or (given use of fresh apple) should it be stored in fridge?
I've been storing at room temp ever since I made this. Always give it a check (does it smell bad? are there funky solids?), but I've never had a problem storing this at room temp in a dark cabinet. Good luck! Hope you enjoy it --
I just made one each of the sour and old fashioned - wow!!
I actually made some homemade rosemary syrup this weekend, using fresh rosemary from our herb garden, and used that in the old fashioned. It was absolutely killer. (That rosemary syrup is also SHOCKINGLY good in a latte, btw.)
That sounds...really good.
I made a batch of the infused brandy for the weekend. The “Thanksgiving” Sours were a HUGE hit! This will become one of my staples! Fit nicely in with other cocktails for the weekend - Old Fashioned, Oban Little Bay Godfather, Cuba Libre, Classic Daiquiri, Rusty Nail and way too many Single Malts to list here! Thanks for sharing!
We made 1 round of the Sour and one of the Old Fashioned. Sour was a big hit all around, well balanced and flavorful.
Novice cocktail maker here. This newsletter is great. I made my infusion mix this morning. I had 375ml bottle of E&J VS on hand, and by chance some whole allspice and cinnamon sticks for my wife's Thanksgiving cider drink (she's pregnant, so I'm drinking for 1 these days). I used 1/2 gala apple, 1.5 cinnamon sticks, and 4 allspice berries. Mason jar. My plan is to open mid-day Thursday, although I'll be tempted to do so Wednesday night. Do you recommend making the rich simple syrup ahead of time...how cool does it need to be before adding?
Awesome! You should make the rich simple syrup at least two hours prior to serving the drinks. If you can find the time, make it the day before and store it in the fridge overnight.
Update: Late this morning I strained the infused brandy, which had a lovely smell and taste, and will be good even on its own. The rich simple syrup was blended and chilled over night. Fresh squeezed lemon juice. Mixed with crush iced and poured into a lame wine glass (I don't have the appropriate glassware as of yet...it's on order though!). I got maybe a teensy bit of foam -- I assume that generates from the lemon juice and syrup? -- and not as much of a red hue as in the picture, but definitely a nice autumnal brown-orange. Result: Prettay prettay good! Great classic thanksgiving flavors, with lemon to balance it out. If I got this at a cocktail bar, I would be pleased. The day is off to a good start!
Aww hell yes. I haven't dabbled with infusions since the time my (now) wife and I made a pepper infused vodka for a brunch party Bloody Mary spread. It would never have occurred to me to try an infusion with brandy.
I may give this sour a shot. I think the flavor profile would nicely cut through the richness of my dinner.
For my part, this weekend is the time I designate to prepare my aged egg nog (as well as drink a bit of the batch I saved from last year).
Cheers!
New subscriber here so catching up on old posts. Just finished infusing the brandy, and man, was that Thanksgiving Sour awesome! I like allspice, so did the last 4-6 hours of the infusion with ~15 extra allspice berries. Would love to know if you have tried this infused brandy with any other cocktail recipes, in addition to the Sour and Old Fashioned? Thanks for the great posts!
You should repost this or link to it ahead of Thanksgiving this year! I'll be making the Thanksgiving Sour this year at a friend's place, it was a huge hit last time I made it.
Just tried out the sour with an egg white. Oh my. Very tasty! Will be making this for the fam this Thanksgiving! (pending baby due next week)!
I’ve never tried this with an egg white…but now I’m tempted…
Finally found the allspice berries to make this! Made it using Remy Martin VSOP (no E&J in Belgium) and turned out fantastic. Would be interesting to experiment with more infusions, curious what else you've made!
Kinda late to the comments here but...I made this sour and my husband and I both love it! I'm really pleased that we have a new cocktail to our limited repertoire. However, it really is not coming out that lovely red color in your picture. It's more browny-yellow. Not sure why! I did realize that I used the E&J "Grand Blue" VSOP. Not sure if that makes a difference??
The best thing (so far) about this article is that you got me to reevaluate E&J brandy. I did some tastings in the 90's trying to find a good brandy price point. Ended up us Anzac Cognac VS as the basic brandy. E&J was not close at the time. Now (whether I've changed of Gallo has) the E&J vsop is simple with lots of caramel. We have not infused it, but it makes a great Sidecar. If it weren't for all the gadgets I've been buying, you'd probably have saved we the cost of the subscription.
It's surprisingly delicious, period, and especially good at the price point. I don't use it in everything - there's a place for good French brandy - but it's a fixture in my big batch drinks.