As most of my followers know, I have become known for my “Salad Water” creations. In fact, almost a year ago when I relaunched The Pandemic Passport as Simply Chef Karen, the first recipe that was put back up on the blog was the drink that I got the most requests for to show a recipe. However, over the years, I started getting photos of different menus that had “alcoholic salad water” from friends dining at restaurants. Of course, the photo generally was accompanied by a “When are you starting to make these?” text. I never attempted it… until now.
To start, if you aren’t familiar with what my Salad Waters are, they are fruit infused waters that the fruit is put directly into the water. It can be a mix of several options, with my common go to being lemon, mint, ginger, cucumber and strawberries. Other options can include limes, blueberries, rosemary, blackberries and more. The possibilities are endless and the benefits are undeniable. I drink several a day and have really helped me with hydration.
And although I am not a huge vodka fan myself, I know it is more calorie friendly compared to some other hard liquors that are out there. I had been wanting to try it out at a restaurant but part of me thought, I’d like to be able to control what was in there. The more I thought about buying a store bought vodka, which is more convenient, the more I thought, I could give this a shot myself.
So what do you need? Simple: a vodka of your choice and some fruit/herbs that you want to infuse. Although I normally go with lemons in my salad water, I decided to switch things up and do limes. I LOVE limes. It’s one of my favorite ingredients and can be used in so many capacities.
However, limes have a very bitter taste that can come if you don’t remove the pith. What is the pith? It’s that white layer that lies between the rind and the actual meat of the fruit. If left in things too long, like beverages or put into desserts, it will leave a very bitter, unenjoyable taste.
Due to that, I placed in just some zest as well as just the meat of the fruit.
I also added in some fresh mint, as you can never go wrong with mint when it comes to summer beverages.
Now everything that I read about infusing vodka at home mentioned it being kept in glass containers. I did a small amount as this was my first time. Other information that I looked up also stated that the way to accelerate the infusion was to keep it in a cool, dark place. Therefore, it went into my lower kitchen cupboard that we don’t frequent.
I infused mine for 4 days. Depending on the ingredients you are using, it could be less and it could be more depending on how much flavor you are trying to get.
Once you are ready to use, strain the vodka through a fine mesh strainer to keep as much of the extra sediment out. This will give you a clearer, more eye appealing final product.
Gather your other desired fruits and herbs that you are going to put in your drinks. I opted for limes and mint obviously, but then cucumbers, strawberries and ginger since I already had them on hand. Wash all your fruits and herbs thoroughly and divide them up between your glasses.
Add ice to the glasses. You can then pour your infused vodka directly into your glasses or add to a cocktail shaker with more ice. Next up, we can’t call this Alcoholic Salad Water for nothing! Grab one of those super popular flavored seltzers in any flavor your chose. You can pick a complimenting flavor or add another flavor in of your own. I had grapefruit flavored in the house and opted for that.
Give a good stir and there you have it! Super easy and quite refreshing for summer. Be forewarned. This is not a very sweet drink. So if you need to have a little more sweetness in there, add a bit of stevia or monkfruit syrup if you’d like. I, myself, am not into overly sweet drinks. So this hit the spot for me.
Make this for BBQ’s, picnics or just summer happy hour. By no means am I promising any healthy benefits with this. It’s not a healthy option. But it is HEALTHIER then some other drinks loaded with sugar and carbs.
“Adult Salad Water”- Infused Vodka Cocktail with Fresh Fruit
Makes 4 6oz cocktails
- 1 organic lime, cut into wedges with pith removed
- 3 sprigs fresh mint tops plus additional for garnish
- 750 mL vodka
- 4 Strawberries, tops removed, cleaned and cut in half
- 4 Cucumber Slices
- 4 pieces of fresh Ginger, peeled and cut into half 1/2″ pieces
- 1 16oz can of flavored seltzer (any complimentary or fruit based flavor you’d like)
- Ice
- Combine all the infusion ingredients in a large, clean sealable jar or container. In this case, it would be the lime and mint sprigs.
- Place in a cool, dark location such as a pantry and allow to infuse for three, shaking each day to blend flavors.
- Strain the infusion ingredients and store in the original vodka bottle or a clean bottle or container.
- To make cocktail, assemble additional fruit and divide into serving glasses. Add ice to each glass.
- Pour 3 oz of vodka into each glass. Top with flavored seltzer of choice. Stir gently and serve cold!