Tequila and Vodka Summer Infusions

     To me, the best part about planning a party is planning the drinks to serve at that party.  Gives me a chance to be creative and show off a bit instead of serving 151 punch and jello shots.  So with an upcoming outdoor party, I had to think of lighter, broad palette pleasing ingredients.  Which naturally made me think of easily attainable fresh fruits: strawberries, citrus, kiwi's, and sugary pineapple.  Vodka Infusion was a given and I also thought to try another Tequila Infusion (this being only my second tequila attempt after a pepper/mango infusion previously).       So after a 2 part stop, liquor and grocery store, I decided on Camarena Tequila(100% Blue Agave) and Local Texas Vodka Enchanted Rock along with my ingredients consisting of a whole pineapple, 6 kiwis, a little over a pound of strawberries, fresh cherries, a few Texas oranges, 2 peaches, 1 cantaloup, and a handful of lemons.

Strawberries, Kiwis, and Pineapples oh my!

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     As I always say, "Lets start with Tequila first".  I picked one  750ml bottle of Camarena Reposado(Rested) Tequila to use, based on personal taste and the fact that the liquor store was out of Herradura.
     Quick lesson for those that are unaware of tequila types: There are essentially 4 types of tequila.  1. Blanco(white), which is either un-aged or stored in steel or neutral oak barrels for no more than 2 months, and then bottled immediately, resulting in its clear color.  2. Reposado(rested), which is barrel aged for at least two months but no longer than 1 year in oak barrels.  3. Anejo(aged), which is also barrel aged for at least 1 year but no more than 3 years.  This is my favorite kind.  4.  Extra Anejo, which is aged for 3-5 years in oak barrels as well.  Extra Anejo was introduced in 2006 by the NOM (Norma Oficial Mexicana) after the "Patron Explosion" to establish an ultra premium tequila brand.  Another type of "tequila" is refered to as Joven(young) or Mixto's.  These are usually your cheap tequilas that are only 51% agave and the other 49% usually consisting of both glucose and fructose sugars, which explains the horrible, horrible tequila hangover I'm sure we all experienced our freshmen year of college.
     But I digress.  Back to our recipe for the infusion.  We're going to start with about a pound of fresh strawberries, 6 kiwis, and one whole pineapple.  Rinse all your produce and place the pineapple in your fridge upside down for 10-15 minutes.  This allows for the sugar that has settled to the bottom of the pineapple to drip back through the whole fruit.  While thats happening, cut the green tops off your strawberries and cut them into slices.  Cut the ends off the kiwis, remove the brown skin, and cut into slices as well.  Take your pineapple out of the fridge and remove the top/bottom/outside skin/core.  We'll only be using about half of the pineapple so just eat the rest or save for later.  Place all produce in your airtight jar and fill with your tequila so it looks like this:

     Allow to sit for 4-5 days and then strain back into your bottle of choice using a mesh strainer and some cheesecloth to remove all food particles and enjoy.

     Now for the vodka.  For our fruit we're going to cut 3 oranges, 3 lemons, 5 strawberries, and 2 skinned peaches into slices.  Throw in 2 handfuls of fresh and destemmed cherries along with half of a whole cantaloup with the outside skin cut off.  Place everything in an airtight jar and then dump your vodka on it so it looks something like this:

     You can let this sit for up to a week, just taste it everyday to follow it as the infusion progresses.  You have to make sure the pith (white stuff between the skin and fruit) doesn't overpower your infusion with its bitter taste.

Enjoy!
-S.M.