OVAL Vodka's Homemade Infusion Contest

You might have seen my mention about OVAL vodka’s infusion contest in an earlier post and wondered what the heck I was talking about. I got some ‘splainin’ to do.

Earlier this summer, OVAL vodka asked several cocktail bloggers to accept the challenge of creating a unique infusion using a bottle of OVAL and whatever other ingredients they like. The prize? Two nights stay in New Orleans, during Tales of the Cocktail. Many bloggers jumped at the chance to experiment and create and have some of their expensive hobby paid for!

Participants were asked to submit an 8 oz. sample of their infusion, the infusion recipe, and a cocktail recipe that called for their infusion. We got a number of great entries (you’ll see several featured below) and a judging panel (Gabriel Szaszko of Cocktailnerd, Rick Stutz of Kaiser Penguin, and mixologist Chantal Tseng of the Tabard Inn, met at the Mixo House in New Orleans to taste all the submissions and rate them on the following criteria:

infusion aroma

infusion taste

infusion creativity

cocktail taste

cocktail balance

cocktail creativity

One entry stood out among the rest and the judges’ scores showed agreement that Marshall Fawley’s Thai Infusion was the clear winner. Marshall, a DC blogger at Scofflaw’s Den, clearly put a lot of hard work into the process of creating this complex infusion & will now reap the reward! Check out his entry:

Marshall Fawley’s Thai Infusion:

16 oz. OVAL vodka

1 9-inch stalk of Lemongrass, cut into small rounds

Peel of 2 limes

2 quarter-sized rounds of fresh ginger

1 2-inch cinnamon stick

4 cloves

Place everything in a sealed container and infuse for one week, shaking the container once a day. After one week, strain through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheese cloth.

And his fantastic cocktail….(seriously I love this one!)

Andaman Sun: (picture by Marshall Fawley above)

1 ½ oz. Thai-Infused OVAL vodka

1 ½ oz. Coconut water

1 oz. Piloncillo Syrup* (1 ½: 1 strength)

½ oz. fresh lime juice

¼ oz. Coconut milk

Shake all with ice and double strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

*Substitutions for Piloncillo syrup- 1 oz. of Dark Brown Sugar Syrup (1 ½ : 1) or ¾ oz. simple syrup & ¼ oz. molasses.

Congratulations Marshall! You created the perfect cocktail for a creative infusion!

I want to thank everyone who participated in the contest, as well as Chris Stanley, who lent a great hand and made all the cocktails for the tasting. Check out a few featured infusion recipes below. I’ll also post featured cocktail recipes later this week.

Cilantro, Peppercorn & Honey Infusion Recipe by Matt Robold of Rumdood:

Steep a handful of cilantro leaves in a 750ml bottle of OVAL vodka for 24 hours.

Strain out the cilantro and then add ¼ cup of peppercorns (uncracked) to the vodka, along with ½ cup of honey and shake vigorously. Steep for 48 hours and then strain through cheesecloth and/or a coffee filter.

Jalapeño Infusion Recipe by SeanMike Whipkey of Scofflaw’s Den:

Slice up three jalapenos, removing the ribs and seeds. Place in a jar with twelve ounces of OVAL vodka. Let sit for twenty four hours, then strain out the slices of jalapeño.

Rosemary Infusion Recipe by Stevi Deter of Two at the Most:

Take leaves from 1 oz. fresh rosemary, add to 8 oz. OVAL vodka, and allow to infuse for one day. Double strain

to remove leaves.

Chip Infusion Recipe by Blair Reynolds of Trader Tiki: (This one’s extremely complex but great tasting-it was ranked #2 by our judging panel—check out the great cocktail recipe that accompanies it on my next post)

750ml OVAL Vodka

2 large brown coconuts

6 oz. Orange Blossom Honey

1 large Plantain

½ vanilla bean

Pinch demerara sugar

Pinch cinnamon

Drill holes in both coconuts, replace coconut water with OVAL vodka. Let sit for three days. Strain OVAL out of coconuts and into a glass container. Open and slice the coconut, being sure to remove the woody inner skin. Briefly chop the coconut and Plantain in a food processor until at a rough chop. Start a pan at medium temperature, and once at temp, add coconut and plantain. Throw sugar and cinnamon over the cocnut and plantain mix while toasting. Toast until coconut is golden brown. Let the coconut and plantains sit until cool (so as not to boil off the alcohol) then add toasted coconut & plantains and ½ a vanilla bean to the OVAl vodka. Let sit for three days.

Strain the vodka into a separate glass container. Add 6 oz. orange blossom honey and shake heartily. Strain through a Brita filter.

Lavender Infusion Recipe by Cheri Loughlin of The Intoxicologist:

1 ½ cup OVAL Vodka

2 teaspoons lavender flowers

Place 2 level teaspoons of lavender flowers and 1 ½ cup of OVAL vodka in a glass container with a lid that will seal. Allow to sit out of direct sun at room temperature for 20 hours. Strain lavender flowers from liquid and return to glass container.

Calendula & Rose Hip Infusion Recipe by Ted Munat of Le Mixeur:

750ml OVAL vodka

1 cup dried calendula

4 tbsp dried rose hips

Combine in a jar and let sit for 24 hours. Strain out calendula and rose hips.

OVAL Vodka sponsors Thursday Drink Night!

I’m taking off tomorrow, in the wee hours of the morn’ for Atlanta, where Beleza lounge will be hosting a live Thursday Drink Night event, sponsored by OVAL vodka. Jon Flowers, hilarious writer of Drink Planner, will be joining me, as mixologist Adam Fox shakes (or stirs) up your fantastic new idea for an OVAL vodka cocktail. All you have to do is join us in the Mixoloseum chat room at 7pm EST tomorrow night with your brilliant idea. We’ll even have a webcam set up at Beleza so you can see us “ooo” and “ahhh” over (or spit out and criticize) your cocktail. Just kidding—we’ll play nice!

I like the way Rick Stutz of Kaiser Penguin sets up this challenge. Check it out and make sure to stop in and say hi tomorrow:

Vodka alone accounts for over 20% of spirits sales in the U.S. yet gets not play with the cocktail snobs. Think you're so cool only working with ingredients that taste like tree bark and gasoline? How about mixology where you are in charge of all the flavors? No chance to rest your ass with a delicious Gin. No aged whiskey to do your work for you. Want complex flavor? It's up to you captain. Join us and Oval Vodka for this week's TDN.

Thursday Drink Night Wrap

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had the good fortune of visiting our nation’s capital last week—not to partake in the Inaugural festivities (I was two days too late) but to partake in some Absinthe—namely Mata Hari. That’s because this past week’s Thursday Drink Night event was sponsored by Absinthe Mata Hari, and I joined a few bloggers participating live from the Tabard Inn in D.C.

Much to the disgust of Steve, I had never actually been to Washington before. Well, I shouldn’t exactly say that—once, on a family road trip to North Carolina, my father stopped in D.C. at two in the morning and woke us all up to show us the monuments. This was not a particularly good memory, as it involved being awoken at two a.m. and was soon followed by being pulled over by D.C. police for looking sketchy at two a.m. Nevertheless, I guess it would be better to say I’ve never stayed in D.C.

Thankfully, my first stay in D.C. was a great one, as I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Tabard Inn—what a cool place. I have a hard time explaining it to people, but it’s just so funky. It’s a really old building with antique furniture and wood-burning fireplaces, beside which you’d expect to find an old man smoking a pipe (were smoking not prohibited). The whole layout of the Inn is like a crazy labyrinth, with brightly painted walls, dark corners, and loud artwork. I guess that’s not coming out right because it doesn’t really sound that appealing, but trust me, it’s awesome!

That is, except for one thing—the clown. Yikes. If you have an issue with clowns, avoid room number 55 or this is what you’ll see staring back at you all night. Notice the orb in the upper left-hand portion of the photo. Creeeeeeeeeeeeeepy. Needless to say I did not sleep very well at the Tabard, but it was worth it just to taste the hanger steak with gorgonzola mash and their Pisco Presidential Punch—yum!

For Thursday Drink Night itself, I joined SeanMike and Marshall down at the bar, where the fabulous Chantal was working her mixology magic. I owe a huge thanks to Chantal, who let us totally hog her bar the whole night, made more than a couple crazy cocktails, and even helped me snake an extension cord around the barware and over the posi machine when my laptop died. Kudos!

Later, Rick and Nathan joined us, while Owen, our videographer, documented the whole thing with a flip camera (which I am now totally obsessed with, by the way). I should have the final video this week and will definitely post it as soon as possible so you can see us all in action!

Now let’s get down to it because this post is getting long…the drinks. There were so many it’s hard to keep them all straight, but I know I enjoyed how raspberry and Mata Hari played well together in Gabriel’s Zelle’s Betrayal (pictured) and I think my favorite of the night was Rick’s Dead Spy (recipes for both below). For the full list and a transcript of the evening’s activities, keep an eye on the Mixoloseum blog for an official wrap-up. Cheers!

Zelle’s Betrayal by Gabriel Szaszko of Cocktailnerd:

1 ½ oz. Rye
½ oz. Absinthe Mata Hari
½ oz. Orange Juice
¼ oz. Sweet Vermouth
¼ oz. Raspberry Syrup
¼ oz. Simple Syrup
3-4 Mint Leaves

Dead Spy by Rick Stutz of Kaiser Penguin:

Swizzle:
1 oz. Lemon Hart 151
1 oz. Appleton Extra
¼ oz. Absinthe Mata Hari
¾ oz. Lime Juice
¼ oz. Cinnamon Syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Thirsty Thursday!!!

Join us for Thursday Drink Night (TDN) this week, sponsored by Absinthe Mata Hari. TDN is a weekly event that takes place in The Mixoloseum chat room. Each Thursday, spirits writers & enthusiasts gather to focus on a single product or category. This Thursday’s focus is, of course, Absinthe Mata Hari, and the participants will be suggesting uses for the product in new cocktails, trying the drinks live, and perfecting their recipes.

If you haven’t taken part in a TDN yet, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. The event is open to the public. Just grab yourself a bottle of Mata Hari and meet us here (create a username/password and you’re in!) with some ideas for Absinthe cocktails in mind.

The fun starts at 7 pm EST. Come early if you can because Gerry Fischer, Mata Hari’s master distiller from Vienna, Austria will be joining us to discuss the product and answer any questions.

I’ll be joining in from the Tabard Inn in Washington, D.C., with SeanMike Whipkey and Marshall Fawley of Scofflaw’s Den, Rick Stutz of Kaiser Penguin, and perhaps a few others. We’ll be filming our participation at the Tabard and I’ll be sure to post the video here afterward.

See you Thursday! Cheers!