Christmas Spirits

Last year when I was making the Christmas packages, Merryn and I made chilli vodka.  To be utterly honest I think we overdid the chilli ever so slightly.  Simon and Charlie still have some left over which people were forced to drink as a penalty at a recent party.  

We made it by mincing up loads of chillies, dumping them into a bottle of vodka, taping the lid back on and popping it in the dishwasher for a couple of cycles.  And it was bloody hot.  The problem was we decided to 'artistically' garnish these with  some large red chillies dropped into the bottle.  We labelled it as chilli vodka, we told people it was chilli vodka, it wasn't technically our fault that people assumed that the chilli they could see was the only chilli in the vodka. 

Anyway, this year I thought I'd try something a little more palatable.  Something that potentially people wouldn't throw away as soon as they got home.  I've nicked this recipe for Christmas Vodka from my friend Abi.  She in turn stole it from Taste I think, where it was originally called Plum Pudding Vodka.



Christmas vodka
1 bottle (about 700ml) vodka
250g dark brown sugar
100g mixed peel
250g sultana
150g raisins*
grated rind and juice of 1 orange
1 tsp almond essence
6 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 vanilla beans, split, seeds scraped
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp mixed spice




* I've always wondered what the difference is between raisins and sultanas.  Surely they're both just dried grapes? Apparently just different types of grapes.


Anyway, I got some strange looks wandering round Sainsburys clutching the largest bottle of own brand vodka that I could find.  I wanted to tell people that it was for making flavoured vodka, but I figured that would just look worse.

Endlessly classy.


Anyway, this is totally straightforward.  Stick all of the ingredients into a large bowl, cover them and leave for a week in the fridge, stirring occasionally.  Unfortunately I've been away from home lots since I put this together, so I didn't stir at all.  I also used vanilla paste rather than vanilla beans. 

After the resultant mixture has sat in the fridge for a week, strain it through a sieve and rebottle. You need to press down hard to force all of the liquid out of the mixed fruit.  I've bought small decorative bottles, but you can stick it back in the original bottle if you're just making it to serve at home.

The citrus oils and almond essence do leave some scum in the vodka once it's strained, but this is just an aesthetic irritant rather than being something to worry about.

It smells and tastes delicious, but the brown colour is somewhat worrying.  I've got some more ready to go in the fridge.