New Infusions

In today's Chronicle, I have a short trendicle about the new infusions. It's no longer about infusing one ingredient in vodka. Now to impress bar patrons you either need to infuse the modifying ingredient like the vermouth, infuse an unusual spirit like cachaca, or add a whole salad's worth of ingredients to your infusion jar.

Infusions 2.0

Remember when a jar full of vodka with lemons floating in it was enough to make you ooh and aah? These days, bartenders have reclaimed their counter space for commercially flavored vodkas, but that doesn't mean that infused liquor has gone away. Homemade infusions, though often kept out of sight, are now more complex and subtle than the old ones.

-- At Etiquette, bartenders infuse bourbon with vanilla and spices in the Manhattan, cachaca with pineapple in the Brazilian Tease, and sun-dried tomatoes, three kinds of peppercorns and celery in the Garden Vodka, which is then poured into a dirty Garden of Etiquette Martini with a salt and pepper rim. 1108 Market St., San Francisco, (415) 869-8779.

-- The signature Americano cocktail at Americano restaurant calls for chai-infused sweet vermouth along with Campari, soda water and an orange slice. 8 Mission St., San Francisco. (415) 278-3777; www.americanorestaurant.com.

-- The Mission's Elixir uses rose hip-infused vodka, along with elderflower liqueur, Cointreau and lime juice in the delightfully dry Eldersour. 3200 16th St., San Francisco, (415) 552-1633; www.elixirsf.com.

-- Vegetarian temple Millennium recently infused bourbon with peach for use in an old-fashioned. They'll also be using cherries in that drink, as well as infusing them into a cherry brandy. And there's also a a chocolate mint-infused vodka that is mixed with a vegan version of Bailey's. 580 Geary St., San Francisco, (415) 345-3900; www.millenniumrestaurant.com.

-- Camper English

New drink alert

I was informed of a couple new drinks being offered at Bong Su now, though they don't appear to be on the website yet.

Mekong Martini made from Muddled Cilantro, Jalapeno, Vodka, Soda Water, Simple Syrup and Lime Juice.

Evan's Rose Martini with Muddled Cucumber, Black Peppercorn Infused Vodka, Fresh lemon juice and Almond Syrup and Garnished with a candied rose petal.

The first drink sounds interesting (except for the cilantro; I'm a hater) and in line with the spicy/cool cocktails on menus all around town these days. I've not had a spicy cocktail tempered with soda water yet so that's interesting- most people just temper them with lime or other juices.

The second drink sounds crazy in a good way. The almond and rose are unexpected, and I'll go for anything with cucumber or black pepper in it. I'm psyched to try this one.

Beet Vodka

In this month's Wine & Spirits Magazine, I mention Lucy Brennan's Hip Sips and we printed her recipe for beet-infused vodka and the Ruby cocktail that uses it.

Now Imbibe Magazine lists these recipes online. Try it! The recipe is here.

*update* someone just pointed out another bar that serves a beet cocktail:

The Beet-nyk Martini (West Restaurant & Bar in Vancouver)
Muddled Fresh Yellow Beets
Luksusowa potato voda
Giffard Manzana (French Apple Liqueur)
Lemon
Dill

Trendy ingredients

In the March issue of Out Magazine, I have a story on cucumbers in cocktails. I wrote a sidebar to that story that didn't make it into the print edition but is online here.

Five More Trendy Cocktail Ingredients
Vegetables in your cocktails? Flowers? Check out these cutting-edge cocktail components

Our April issue is cool as a cucumber with recipes for the veggie’s use in cocktails. Here we gather five other surprising cocktail components.

1. Elderflower. This trend is largely driven by commercially available elderflower simple syrup that adds a light floral note to vodka and gin drinks. Use elderflower syrup in place of unflavored simple syrup in your next gimlet.

2. Yuzu juice. Yuzu is a sour Asian citrus fruit that makes a heck of a tasty cocktail. Use it in place of lemon juice in a lemon drop.

3. Cayenne and other peppers. Bartenders are combining the hot peppers with cool fruits (like cukes) for an icy hot drink experience. Infuse black peppercorns in vodka for one day and make a spicy cooler using the vodka with lots of lemon or lime juice and soda water.

4. Pomegranate. With a pomegranate liqueur, vodka, tequila, and schnapps on the market it’s easy to add the rich syrupy flavor into your drinks. To equal parts vodka and PAMA pomegranate liqueur, add a splash of Grand Marnier and a lemon garnish for a wonderful pom-tini.

5. Ginger. Whether in juice, simple syrup, infused into booze, or muddled with other ingredients, ginger is turning up in a wide range of drinks. Simmer sliced ginger into simple syrup for half an hour and use it in your next mojito or caipirinha.

Hip Sips

The book Hip Sips, by Lucy Brennan of Portland, Oregon's Mint and 820, is finally released. I've talked about the delicious beet-infused vodka martini I had there.

I got a review copy of the book a while ago and made the beet-infused vodka. I think I let mine infuse about one day too long, but it was still pretty tasty. (Though not as tasty as it was at her bar.) You can actually find the recipe for the Ruby and the beet infusion in the April issue of Wine&Spirits Magazine, where I did a tiny write-up of the venue as well.

Other drinks in the book include and Avocado Daiquiri and a Rhubarb Cooler- really unusual creations. Many of the drinks are labor-intensive (unless you already have fig puree around the house) but really unique. It's a nice alternative to books endlessly repeating classic recipes (Hip Sips lists 20 classic cocktails out of over 60 recipes) with impressive ingredients.