Cranberry Vodka

I’ve made cranberry liqueur before – I mean, you have to for the holidays. It’s so pretty! But, I’ve never made a cranberry vodka before. And, I’ve never used cooked cranberries in a liqueur, either. So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it.

The recipe belongs to Michael Chiarello, and I found it on www.foodnetwork.com. So here’s the recipe, although I’m going to type it up differently, because there’s a definitely mistake in it:

Cranberry Vodka

1 pound cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used the bean, split, with the seeds removed)
1 bottle of vodka (his recipe says 1 bottle of tonic!)

Place the cranberries, sugar and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Place pan over medium heat and stir. Simmer cranberry mixture until the berries burst, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Divide mixture in half and pour into large, clean mason jars. Pour vodka into the jars to cover the berries. Set aside and allow to sit for 1 week. After 1 week, strain out the cranberries and store cranberry vodka in a clean jar in the refrigerator.

To serve: Pour 2 ounces of vodka mixture over ice in a tall glass and top with tonic. Garnish with a slice of lime. I plan on using the cranberry vodka in a vodka tonic, or add cream to it for a creamy cranberry martini!

note: This vodka is very sweet. The next time I use this recipe, I’m going to cut the sugar in half.