From now on my blog starts to take on a very 'make your own christmas' theme. This flavoured vodka is just one of the homemade gifts I will be giving this year. It tastes delicious a little bit like bottling up Autumn. The flavour of the apples comes through at the beginning and is quickly followed by the sweetness of the sugar and blackberries and finished off with the sharpness of the vodka. I think it works really well and will be making this again next year. If you just want blackberry vodka just leave out the apple and if you want to try something a bit sweeter try adding some vanilla.
I am entering this into the No Waste Food Challenge, which this month is being hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen and the theme is apples. I used leftover apple and blackberry pulp from some recent blackberry and apple jelly/jam I had made. However you could use some apples heated until soft and stuffed into the vodka bottle together with some blackberries. If you start now you will have enough time to let this stand and bottle it up for Christmas presents.
To make your vodka buy a bottle of cheap vodka. I bought a bottle of Sainsburys basics vodka and for another bottle had some leftover Smirnoff.
In the Smirnoff I put my blackberry and apple left over pulp. Weigh the amount of pulp you are adding and add the same amount of sugar to the vodka. Place the bottle in a dark place and keep shaking daily until the flavour and colour has seeped into the vodka.
With the Sainsbury's own vodka I just added blackberries. Again add the same weight of sugar as fruit. Wait 4-6 weeks and then strain and bottle the vodka. I used a clean J- cloth over a sieve for the straining.
 |  |  |
I've also popped this on the Thrifty Christmas website where you can get lots of other ideas for home made Christmas gifts.
