Since it's wine festival season, and we've been spending a LOT of time with our wine & cocktail infusions, we thought this would be a good time to share some of our Do's and Don'ts when it comes to working with wine & cocktail infusions. Sweet Kee's offers 2 wine infusions kits (Red Wine and White Wine Sangrias), and 5 flavors of cocktail infusion kits, along with seasonal flavors and samplers. Find our full range of wine & cocktail infusion offerings here.
If you have never infused wine or liquor, let's just start by saying that it's a whole lot of fun! The range of ingredients, potential flavor combinations, and taste profiles, are endless, and they provide a unique opportunity to craft a beverage specifically to your liking.
While the process for using an infusion kit is usually quite straightforward (just add wine or alcohol, let it sit, and drink when ready!), there are some more nuanced dos and don'ts that we think are worth sharing.
DO:
- Choose a quality base that you already like. Your infusion will only be as good as the beverage you start with. For alcohol infusions, start with a wine or liquor that you already like, or that you would consider drinkable. For non-alcoholic infusions, start with a beverage that you would typically drink.
- Store properly. Store your infusion in an airtight, glass jar in a cool, dry (and if possible, dark) location away from heat & humidity which can impact flavors over time. Sweet Kee’s infusion kits are available in beautiful, glass hinge-lid jars, as well as in ingredient-only bags that can be ordered online for shipping. We advise customers purchasing our ingredient-only bags to infuse the ingredients in glass jars they have at home. You don't need a fancy glass jar - mason jars, clean pickle jars, or other lidded glass jars are perfectly fine so long as they will hold the amount of liquid you are infusing.
- Taste regularly. We recommended tasting your infusion daily - and by taste, we mean just that! No full gulps, as this can significantly reduce the infusion base and alter the infusion. Stop the infusion when it meets your desired taste profile. Since individual desired taste profiles vary, this point will be specific to you, so taste periodically, especially if it’s your first time infusing a particular infusion mix.
- Adjust as needed. Some Sweet Kee's infusion kits contain added sugar in the form of sugar cubes, while others such as our Spicy Pineapple Margarita contain heat elements like jalapeno. Know your taste preferences and adjust accordingly. If you are infusing with a wine or alcohol that is already sweet, such as a sweet or dessert wine – you may want to remove some or all of the added sugar. Likewise, if you prefer mild heat, you may want to remove ingredients such as jalapeno halfway through your infusion to control the degree of heat.
- Know your proof. Infusing with a spirit that is over 100 proof, will occur the infusion to occur faster. While you may think this is a great way to speed up your infusion, you may also need to taste more frequently (several times a day) to avoid your alcohol infusing too quickly or turning bitter.
- Strain. If you want a clear, refined liquid at the end of your infusion, use a fine mesh strainer, or cheesecloth to strain your liquid before drinking. For pouring a single serving, we like straining with paper, disposable tea bags.
DON'T:
- Rush the process: It's usually ok if you forgot about that wine or cocktail infusion that you were only supposed to infuse for 3-5 days, and it’s a week and a half later. The worse case scenario is the flavors will be strongly incorporated into your base. But rushing to consume an infusion after just a few hours will result in minimal flavor infusion. For maximum flavor, it’s best to adhere to timing guidelines (we advise a 2 day minimum for any infusion, 1 day minimum for non-alcoholic infusions).
- Infuse in plastic or metal containers. Glass containers are best for infusions as some metal and plastic containers can react with your infusion ingredients and impact the flavors inside. Chemicals in plastic containers can also potentially leach into your infusion.
- Ignore infusion kit instructions. Each infusion kit comes with instructions for infusing. We know - we're all eager to just get to the end result and start sipping! However, following the instructions is important - especially if you are new to infusions - so you don't miss critical steps or ignore key information that could impact your infusion. Following the instructions helps to ensure that the end result will be a product you will enjoy.
- Use very expensive spirits or wines. While using a quality base is important, it is not necessary to splurge on an expensive wine or liquor to infuse with. More expensive or premium options will not necessarily result in a superior infusion, while readily available and affordable options (such as bottles you can find at your local wine shop or liquor store) work great for infusions.
Check out our full suite of Sweet Kee's wine & cocktail infusions online at www.sweetkees.com.