I’ve tried plenty of other spirits for use in infusions.
Vodka, Gin, Rum, Bourbon.
How about Brandy? I haven’t done that yet.
It’s actually pretty common to make fruit-based spirits, and these are referred to as brandies. Grape brandies (which are technically Cognacs), apricot brandies and cherry brandies are pretty common.
Why don’t I simple make my own versions of those then?
Trouble is, we can’t distill spirits in Singapore without a license. That aside, distilling is a fine art by itself. You could go blind if you don’t do it properly and drink the toxic parts of a distillate. It’s a tough and risky process.
And then there’s the fine qualities of the spirit itself. Well aged grape brandy is a mild, smooth spirit that goes well with pretty much everything. Brandy infusions, if done correctly, retain a little of the heat and fire of a Cognac, but are still smooth and full of flavour. In fact, one of my favourite digestifs, Grand Marnier, is basically a brandy infused with the flavour and fragrance of orange peels.
So then, what to infuse? I’ve already tried citrus, apples, and even meat. What’s next?
How about plums?
A well aged cognac is said to have notes of prune or plum that slowly develops over the course of years. Those notes are often accompanied by the scent of vanilla, perhaps from the oak used in the aging process. Both ingredients should accentuate the corresponding flavours in the cognac and go wonderfully in the infusion, then.
I used dark Friar plums from Australia, choosing almost overripe plums which are full of juice and close to bursting with flavour; this is the opposite approach to the traditional Asian plum wine such as Umeshu, which use green, unripe plums. As an infusion, I wanted to make sure there was enough flavour to balance with the fiery, smoky VSOP cognac.
Plum Cognac
1 Bottle VSOP Cognac
12 plums, pitted and halved
1 Vanilla Bean
1 Cinnamon Stick
200g Sugar
In a mason jar, pour in the entire bottle of Cognac, 10 plums, vanilla bean and cinnamon stick. Leave to infuse for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, extract the juice of 2 fresh plums.Make a syrup by dissolving 200g of sugar into a 400g mix of water and plum juice. Pour the skins and pulp into the mixture and stir for 5 minutes. Cool the syrup and pour it into the infusion, then leave the whole mixture to sit for another 3 weeks. After 3 more weeks, filter the entire infusion’s contents and bottle the liquid.
So how did it turn out? As you can see, the deep purple skin of the plums melded with the amber cognac to give a dark garnet spirit. At first whiff, I could immediately pick up the vanilla and plum smells, which turned out to be heavenly.
Best of all was the taste. The tartness of the plums and the smoke and grape flavours of the cognac melded together to form something pleasantly sweet. balanced and perhaps even a little delicate. A little sour mixed with a little sweet, but neither being too strong and overpowering the other. There was no trace of the alcohol burn at all; the final product was as smooth as silk.
Verdict: Definitely one of the milder infusions that I’ve ever done, but definitely one of the more drinkable. Love it.
