Homemade Vanilla Extract

Last week I made vanilla extract.

It was something I’ve been wanting to make for some time now, and since I seem to be caught up in a DIY wave these days, I felt this was the right time to make it. Happily, everything fell into place – the vanilla beans I ordered arrived quickly, I found some quality alcohol, and a friend recently posted an excellent recipe for homemade vanilla extract.  I was totally set.

For a little while, I was trying to decide between using vodka or bourbon.  I’m more familiar with vodka in cocktails, mostly due to my interest in the Cosmopolitan (vodka, cranberry juice, triple sec, lime juice) in the 90s. I loved that drink, and still order it sometimes. The best one I ever had was made at Caffe Venezia in Berkeley – it was pink and beautiful and deliciously tangy (excessively sweet Comos are not my thing), and I sucked it down like a champ. It was also very strong, and it hit me shortly after I drained the glass. Thankfully, I ate soon after which helped keep the intoxication at bay (for a little while).

That being said, I recently had a bourbon-based cocktail the other day at The Astor Room‘s Beaver Bar. It was in a drink call the “New Yorker” (lemon juice, claret, bourbon), and it was delicious.  The bourbon had a kind of perfume to it that I enjoyed very much.  I thought it would be perfect for vanilla extract.

In the end, I used vodka because I bought a big bottle of it to make vin d’orange, and I had plenty extra.  On the recommendation of the man at the liquor store, I bought a bottle of Pinnacle Vodka.  It is made in France and “in small batches”, according to the label. I tasted it on its own and it has a nice flavor – sort of spicy, a little sweet, and relatively smooth but with that fiery alcohol kick.

The vanilla beans – Bourbon Madagascar – come from JR Mushrooms & Specialties (via Amazon) and were priced well.  I paid a little over $15 for a 1/4 pound, which yields about 27 beans. They came vacuum packed, are nice and soft and smell amazing.

I used six beans for the pint of extract I made.  I used the entire bean – I cut each one in half lengthwise and scraped out the seeds, reserved the pods, then covered it all with 2 cups of vodka.

The pint jar is sitting in a dark cupboard, steeping for the next 6 weeks. I looked at it yesterday and it had already gotten quite dark. However, it smelled pretty strong – more like alcohol than vanilla – but good. It will be amazing once the 6 weeks is up. Then I’ll bottle it and perhaps offer it at the inaugural Queens Swap (more details on that in another post).

I’ll write again when the vanilla extract is ready.  Can’t wait!