Crafted cocktails are the rage these days. The linchpins to upscale beverage 16 cloves programs are house-made infusions and liqueurs. With patience and imagination you, too, can craft some wicked cocktails.

infusions
Infusions are neutral spirits that have been steeped with botanicals to incorporate the desired flavor. Items with strong essential oils work best, such as citrus peel, fresh green herbs, spices and fruits.

Back in the ‘20s and ‘30s during Prohibition, infusions were important to the cocktail program of any speakeasy. Since good gin and liquors were hard to come by and priced out of sight by the black market, speakeasy owners began making their own gin by adding botanicals to neutral spirits to improve the flavor of the ‘rot gut’ they had to serve. Many times this ‘gin’ was concocted in bathtubs, hence the name ‘bathtub gin.’

liqueurs
Liqueurs are essentially infusions with the addition of sugar. The sugar source can come from honey, agave nectar or simple syrup. Some common, easy-to-make liqueurs are Limoncello and Kahlùa. Here is an example of one I created that is basically an enhanced bathtub gin.

jeffrey’s dried cranberry and blood orange gin
2 bottles of vodka of choice (Don’t go crazy here; inexpensive is fine.)
¼ c. dried juniper berries
¼ c. dried cranberries
1 bunch fresh thyme
zest of 8 blood oranges
1 cinnamon stick
16 cloves

» Empty vodka into a glass or plastic container large enough to hold it plus the other ingredients, or split into two equal containers.
» Crumble the thyme and muddle the juniper and cranberries to release their essential oils.
» Add all the botanicals to the vodka and stir. Cap and leave refrigerated for seven to 10 days. Strain and rebottle. Put on your own fancy label and serve!

try this: the unclaimed gift
2 oz. Jeffrey’s Blood Orange and Cranberry Gin
¼ oz. ginger liqueur
¼ oz. pomegranate liqueur
Splash of cranberry juice

» Combine ingredients in a martini shaker over ice and shake.
» Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a sprig of thyme and flamed blood orange twist.

Jeffrey Hall is the sommelier for The Four Seasons Hotel-St. Louis.