Once I started reading Moscow-Petushki this winter, my mind turned to making an infusion – specifically, one with cranberries. You could also make it with other things i.e. black current or lemons or something more complex like oхотничья. My mother sometimes makes a nastoyka by simply cutting up horseradish root and putting it in vodka. Julia told me her brother puts apple pie filling in drinking spirit and that the result is very effective.
You would think a recipe with four ingredients would one have only one or two versions, but I’m almost tempted to make a flow chart because everyone seems to combine the ingredients in a different order. Most of the contention comes with the timing of the sugar and water. From what I gather, if you make the quick version and only have it sit for a few days, you can put the water and sugar in early on. Otherwise, put it in later.
You will need:
-A 3-liter vessel (I used a Carlo Rossi wine bottle)
-1 liter of cranberries, fresh or frozen (~600-800g)
-1 liter of spirit (95% 190 proof. They sell at liquor stores, I think Everclear is the most easily available brand. This stuff is prohibited in some states, including my home state of Massachusetts. If this is the case, you could just get vodka and omit the water)
-300-500 g of granulated sugar (1.5-2.5 cups – one recipe didn’t use any sugar.)
-1-1.4 liter water (depending on how strong you want it. A few recipes said to make the sugar-syrup with ~700g of water and then at the end fill the 3 liter vessel to the top. Some recipes said there’s enough water in the cranberries: a version that results in something quite a bit stronger. A few recipes underscored the importance of using quality water. )
-Scrim aka cheese cloth aka gauze
-A strainer
-A funnel
- In one recipe the guy picks his own cranberries on a bog and then freezes them for a bit to make them drier. In another, someone adds a bit of sugar to the cranberries and waits for them to ferment a bit – ‘to the first foam’. Either way, you have to press them so that the skin splits. Some people cut each cranberry individually with a knife, others just chop it up in the food processor, though this potentially makes it more difficult to strain later. One woman actually said that you have to poke each cranberry individually with a needle, preferably multiple times, which seems a bit neurotic. I just smooshed them with a wooden spoon.
- After this you cover the cranberries with spirit. Some say put the sugar and/or water in at this step, though this makes the end result weaker (for more details, look up Mendeleev). If you only want to wait a few days, you can add the sugar and water now. If you are willing to wait longer, put off
the sugar and water, and let the cranberries sit for a while in the spirit: time indications ranged from a couple weeks to a few months. Some say to mix it occasionally
first strain
during this step. I kept putting off the last steps so mine sat around for five months.
cranberry spirits, water, sugar water If you have not put in the sugar and water, you can do so after straining. Or, don’t strain, add the sugar and water, and then wait until all the cranberry stuff drifts to the bottom. Then pour the clarified drink, bypassing the need for cheesecloth. (Mine didn't really need to be strained with the cheesecloth; it got a couple cranberry seeds and that's it. Also I ran out of white sugar and used brown sugar, but I don't think that makes a difference.- Enjoy! Be careful, it’s stronger than it tastes. I'm ready for spring fling
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