Playing with Vodka

Late last year, I was scanning the blogosphere (as I am wont to do) and I came across Joy the Baker's blog post here about making your own vanilla extract.  I was intrigued.  I am a HUGE fan of vanilla and the vanilla bean and it never dawned on me that I could make my own extract.

So I began sourcing high quality extract grade beans.  I found Vanilla Products USA on ebay here where I purchased a couple of small bundles of extract grade vanilla.  I closely followed the tutorial here and found some lonely vodka on my bar.

 

It is not necessary to use high quality vodka like the Ketel One (above)...honest, I used what was on hand.  

After several months of submission, I found amber glass jars and bottle wax to seal the deal.

I put personal message on the waterproof labels scored at onlinelabels.com.  I also put a small vanilla bean in the jar so vodka can be added to it for lifetime use.

One of the possible bu-products is vanilla sugar.  Never to waste a good product, I made some by covering the beans in sugar.

I've used some in peach cobbler and baking items...even on oatmeal and grits (an acquired taste). ~ksp