Natural Flavor Infused Vodka Recipes

Why infused vodka recipes in a wellness blog? Flavored spirits can be full of extra sugar, artificial flavorings, etc. Making cocktails with vodkas made at home, like the below spritzer featuring pomegranate mango infused vodka, makes sure you can decide exactly what’s going into your drink/body! Added bonus: the hangover can be much less rough without all the added sugar.

More Healthy Cocktails – Less Guilt!

I’m actually doing a whole healthier/cleaner fall & winter cocktail recipes series the next few weeks. The reason being, when I lost my health, at first, I felt like I lost my happiness too. I was so sick, I almost died. So I went on a strict Paleo AIP protocol and it changed my life. However, while my physical health improved, my mental health plummeted. Doing such a strict diet and being so sick, killed my social life and activity level. I felt alone, hopeless, and isolated.

Well…I’m here to tell you it’s NOT your forever. After I was strict and did some healing, I was able to incorporate most regular foods (still strictly gluten-free). I also could do most of the activities I was doing before and have some amazing food and cocktails! It just took a little work to find some cleaner drinks. Luckily, I’m here to take that work away from you and help you keep your healthy body and still have fun 😉

I’m not sure if it’s just that my body is used to being treated so much better now than before I was sick. Or if it can really make that big of a difference by turning just a few years older. However, drinking too much as an adult now hits my body with a not-so-fun wave of inflammation. But, I’ve found that when making more intelligent decisions, my body even can still handle a couple of drinks!

For example: avoiding typical cocktails loaded with: artificial colors, artificial flavors, high amounts of sugar, gluten, etc.,  So, I enjoy naturally-infusing vodka and saving it for the days I need to relax a bit without feeling awful during/afterwards!

Making Infused Vodkas

To begin the process, a friend and I took five of my favorite fruits and added them in different combinations into mason jars. Each jar was then filled with Tito’s (a decent gluten-free vodka made from yellow corn). We left a few centimeters of space at the top, which allowed room to shake each jar’s contents during infusion. Each jar was then covered, shaken a few times per day, and allowed to sit at room temperature to infuse for 5-7 days (or more) before use. To create a cocktail: strain the vodka, add 1½ oz of your favorite flavor to a glass, add ice, fill to the top with carbonated water, and add a garnish or a few pieces of fruit.

Here are just a few extra notes about this process:

*I found that infusing vodka is a very fun way to get friends involved in my healthier lifestyle, after all, who doesn’t love cocktails with less calories/sugar/artificial sweeteners?!
*The flavors pictured are: mango-pomegranate, starfruit, coconut-lime, and coconut-lime-mango-starfruit. I found the taste of coconut lime and starfruit to not be strong enough to ease the harshness of vodka. My personal favorite was the mango- pomegranate which is used in the full recipe below.
*Make sure the fruit you use is completely ripe. I got excited to infuse my vodka right away, but found that the second run (after these pictures were taken) with fruit that I allowed to ripen a bit longer was much tastier.
*I’ve seen that it’s debated on the web as to whether or not vodka and other liqueurs distilled from wheat has enough gluten remaining to cause a reaction in those with celiacs or a gluten-intolerance. The first year I was gluten-free and was feeling much better, I noticed a few times where I had an inflammatory reaction like I used to have when consuming gluten. The only thing I had recently added into my diet, unfortunately, was my favorite passionfruit liqueur. While I’m sure it depends on your personal level of sensitivity to gluten, due to my personal experiences, I avoid using vodka (and/or other forms of alcohol) derived from wheat. Tito’s, which I recommend using below, has actually been certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG). See their website’s “Ask-Tito” for more information and type in “gluten.”

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Please note that the vodkas take 5-7 days to infuse! If you have immediate cocktails needs (only sometimes do I plan this far ahead haha). For more healthy cocktails make sure to check out my healthy and gluten free cocktails and party recipes or try some of these:

• Pink Gin and Kombucha Cocktail – have you ever tried a cocktail with kombucha?! Delicious and get in your probiotics! *Make sure to grab a gluten-free gin like Maine Distilleries’ Cold River Gin.
• Lotus Blossom Cocktail – a unique drink with the legendary distilled rice alcohol . *Make sure to grab a gluten-free sake.
• Orange Crush Cocktail which makes an amazing citrusy natural party drink.

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I hope you enjoy these cleaner cocktails! Here’s to regaining our sparkle together,

✧❈✯✦Jenn✦✯❈✧

Print Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Mango Pomegranate Vodka Spritzers

These cleaner cocktails are made from naturally fruit-infused vodka! The pomegranate mango infused vodka below turned out the best! Great for get-togethers where you want to relax a bit, while keeping your clean lifestyle…These beautiful cocktails are not only eye catchy, but tasty, and the infused vodka in them makes for a great conversation starter and a fun project to do with friends!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time0 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten free cocktail, health cocktail, vodka spritzer

Servings: 6 cocktails

Author: Jenn @ Regain Your Sparkle

Ingredients

• 9 oz vodka I used Tito’s
• 1 pomegranate seeded
• 1 mango peeled and sliced
• Carbonated water
• Mason jars
• Ice
• Extra fruit for garnish if desired

Instructions

• Add about ½ of the pomegranate seeds and 1 slice of mango into the mason jar.
• Filled the remainder of the mason jar with vodka, leaving a few centimeters of space at the top. Cover with lid.
• Allow mixture to sit at room temperature and infuse for 5-7 days (or more) before use, shaking several times each day.
• Strain the fruit from the vodka.
• To make one cocktail, add 1½ oz of infused vodka to a glass half filled with ice.
• Fill glass to the top with carbonated water.
• Garnish with pomegranate seeds and a couple mango slices!

Notes

*Make sure the fruit you use is fully ripened for the best flavor.
*Sub your favorite fruits for pomegranate or mango if desired!
*Use gluten-free vodka if you are highly sensitive to gluten or have celiac disease.
*Additional ideas for flavor-infused vodkas can include: other fruits, citrus peels, vanilla beans (split), whole spices (toasted if desired), herbs (lightly crushed), and chiles.