so, as an experiment, i set some vodka to macerating on wedneday night after i closed, and i checked up on it tonight (friday).

wow, what a difference a couple of days makes.

here’s what i combined:

2 bottles of vodka

1 (mostly peeled, thinly sliced) english cucumber

1 (thinly sliced) lemon

2-3 small sprigs rosemary

8-10 sprigs thyme

1-2 sprigs hyssop

3-4 sprigs sage

when i tasted it tonight, it was already pretty strong.  i crushed the herbs a little bit before i started the infusion process, which breaks cell walls and releases the congener-rich oils that flavor the spirit, so a good deal of flavor has already infused into the vodka.  i pulled most of the thyme out this evening (i left 3 small sprigs), since it was threatening to overwhelm the rest, but it’s already pretty interesting.  to my palate, the cucumber brings out the latent sweetness in the vodka, with the herbs’ slight bitterness overlaying and the lemon providing a necessary note of sourness.  i’m not entirely sure what i’m going to do with it yet (i have a drink i concocted a couple years back i think i could use this in), but i’m excited with how it’s coming along, and i don’t think it’s going to need much more time to macerate before it’s ready to decant.