I got a wild hair about a month ago and decided that this year’s holiday gift would be homemade infusions.  I decided to make jalapeño vodka, lavender gin, and (wait for it) apple pie bourbon.

The bourbon was very easy to make.  I began with Jack Daniels, a middle-of-the-road liquor without any wild flavors in it.  I began with a recipe for small batch infusions and ended with the proportions below.

APPLE PIE BOURBON
1.75L bourbon
3-4 Golden Delicious apples, cut into 1-inch cubes
5 sticks of cinnamon (roughly 3-inch sticks)
roughly 1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup simple syrup

Place apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg in an airtight container.  Pour bourbon over ingredients, ensuring the ingredients are covered by the bourbon.  Seal the container and let sit at room temperature for three days.  Shake or stir periodically to agitate the ingredients.

After three days, take a sip to test your infusion (it’ll be a bit bitter).  Add more ingredients if necessary, and seal for another day.  Test one more time after four days (total).  Some infusions may take up to five days.

When you’ve achieved the desired flavor, strain the solid ingredients out of the bourbon using a colander.   To remove the small sediment, strain the mixture using a cheesecloth.  Add the simple syrup and stir for at least thirty seconds.

Bottle your mixture in an airtight container.  I ordered swing-top bottles from specialtybottle.com and painted them using chalkboard paint.  For gifts, I added a tag with recipes to use the bourbon.  Your apple pie bourbon can be stored for up to two months in the refrigerator.