…It’s all part of the hipster quest.
After a lunch at Miya’s Sushi in New Haven, I got the bright idea that infusing sake with herbs from my garden would make a delicious drink. My plan wasn’t entirely successful, but Edison didn’t invent the light bulb on his first try either. Here’s what I did, so you can learn from my mistakes and come up with your own sake science experiment.
Supplies
- Mason jar
- Coffee filter
- Colander
- Some other container
Ingredients
- Half a mag of plain sake
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1 sprig thyme
- 6 or 7 peppercorns
- 1 “twist” freshly ground pepper
Directions
- Wash and dry a mason jar. Fill most of the way up with sake.
- Wash herbs and pat dry.
- Add herbs, peppercorns, and pepper to sake.
- Let the jar sit in a cool, dark area for two days.
- Strain the infused sake into another container using a coffee filter in a colander. Pour the strained sake back into the mason jar, or a sterilized jar if you don’t plan on drinking it within a day or two.
- Serve chilled.
Where I think I went wrong was letting the herbs infuse for two days – one day probably would have done it, but by the second day my concoction really tasted like a pine tree. (This didn’t stop me from drinking all of it, but I had to get it REALLY chilled first.) It paired well enough with some smoked trout that Mike and I happened to have on hand, maybe because both flavors were “outdoorsy.” But for my next attempt at infusion, I’m going to try fruit or hot peppers instead – stay tuned!
Some of the best things come out of trial and error, so don’t give up!
I like muddling my herbs into my cocktails just before drinking them…I’m not big on infused flavors because they can overpower the flavor.
Thanks for the tip! This one was definitely overpowering!
I have found that rosemary is a powerful flavor that must be used in moderation – too many restaurants i have been to are very heavy handed with it and it overpowers everything. However – I have found mincing the leaves only very fine and adding no more than a teaspoon is fantastic! by the way – keep experimenting, it is the only way to learn!
I have been fantasizing about rosemary sake and I will take your advice. One day. I LOVE sake and have been going through a total transition to it. Just when I think “it won’t be good in that” – it is. And it is even better than than whatever else. And with no acid reflux. Sake. Yum.
i love to make bloody marys with rosemary infused sake! or mix it with 1 part sake, 1 part triple sec and 3 parts nice tangy margarita mix
That sounds yummy!