Go foraging for fresh conifer needles, then make this refreshing conifer needle infused vodka! You can use any edible conifer needles – there are many, such as pine, spruce, fir, redwood, or hemlock. This foraged winter vodka is a lovely winter treat!
Conifers for Cocktail Making
When the cold weather comes, there isn’t anything better than a foraged and infused cocktail.
While there isn’t always a whole lot to forage for in the winter, conifer needles are pretty reliable this time of year. This is a good thing, because they are a wonderful treat, especially during the holidays.
I recently made redwood needle shortbread cookies, and they were amazing!
All the while, I had this conifer infused vodka steeping away until the right moment… and now is that moment!
I actually made this with redwood needles that were collected on a hike that we went on in Northern California several weeks ago.
Most any conifer needle can be used, though, as the majority of them are edible. Try it with pine, spruce, fir, or hemlock (the evergreen tree, not the poisonous plant). The only one you really need to steer clear of is the toxic yew tree.
Related: How to Identify Conifer Trees: Pine, Fir, Spruce, Juniper & more!
Conifer Infused Vodka Recipe
This conifer infused vodka is so easy to do that it hardly even needs a recipe! You’ll need a big handful of foraged edible conifer needles and a bottle of vodka.
Rinse the conifer needles if they are dirty, and put them into a quart sized jar. Pour the vodka into the jar, covering the needles.
Cover the jar with a lid and put in a cool and dark place for at least several days and up to two months.
I let mine infuse for the full two months, and I was a little worried that it might be too long, but it wasn’t at all! It turned out perfect.
Strain the needles from the vodka. The redwood needles turned the vodka a beautiful reddish brown color.
All of the essence of the tree is now in this vodka, and it smells amazing!
It tastes like the perfect wintertime holiday drink. Serve it up straight in a sugar rimmed glass.
Or you can get fancy and make a cocktail with it. It would blend well with soda water or even ginger ale.
Anything where the conifer flavor can still really shine would be best.
I really love the simplicity of the redwood flavor itself. Now I can’t wait to try this with different varieties of conifers to see how the flavor is different. I’m thinking spruce tips or Douglas fir next!
If you want to try something similar, the infused winter gin that I made from Emily Han’s book Wild Drinks and Cocktails is also amazing!
If anyone makes this with different conifer needles, I’d love to know how it turns out. Please tell me about it!
More Easy Cocktail Recipes
- Cranberry Champagne Cocktail
- Rhubarb Gin Sour Cocktail
- 10 Holiday Cocktail Recipes
- Elderberry Cocktail
- Persimmon Champagne Cocktail
- Rosemary Champagne Cocktail
- Rose Hip Whiskey Smash
More Pine Needle Recipes
There are many other great ideas for using pine needles in this post I wrote for the Herbal Academy: 8 Terrific Ways to Use Pine Needles Right Now.
- 30+ Pine Needle Recipes
- Pine Needle Cough Syrup
- Fir Needle Forest Chai
- Spruce Beer
- Redwood Needle Shortbread Cookies
- Homemade Infused Gin
- Pine Lotion Bars
- Pine Needle Infused Honey
- Pine Needle Soda
- Pine Needle Cookies
- Fir Tip Syrup
Conifer Infused Vodka
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup conifer needles be sure to use an edible variety
- 1 750 ml bottle vodka
Instructions
- Rinse the conifer needles to remove any dirt or grit, shake to dry, then place into a quart-sized jar.
- Pour the vodka over the needles, covering them completely.
- Cover the jar with a lid and place in a cool dark place for several days, and up to 2 months.
- Strain the vodka into a clean jar. Cover the jar and keep at room temperature.
Notes
- Serve the conifer needle vodka straight in a sugar rimmed glass, or you can get fancy and make a cocktail with it. It would blend well with soda water or even ginger ale.
I harvested some shore pine needles the other day on the Oregon Coast and was going to infuse them in alcohol to use as a tincture. But, several articles I have read say they are one of the toxic pines. My books only mention using parts other than the needles for ingesting. I’m wondering if I should just use it to make a cleaner and find some from a less questionable pine for eating/drinking? But, the needles smell soo good.
i made also pine wine:) smells good, but taste is not so good;) maby I’ll make a blend with this infuse:)
WARNING: Hemlock is poisonous.
Hemlock the conifer tree is not toxic, but hemlock the plant in the carrot family is. It’s definitely confusing that they have the same name!
I made this with grand fir. It was heavenly smelling and tasting! I left it the full two months. But it smelled divine immediately. Just made some more tonight, might let it sit 7 days.
I made a cocktail with organic ginger beer and a few of your fermented honey & cranberries. So good!
Gosh, huckleberries will be ripe any time now. I wonder how they would be in your fermented honey recipe? have you ever tried other berries?
Hi, Tammie! I’m glad you liked this recipe. Your cocktail idea sounds lovely. I haven’t made a huckleberry fermented honey, but I’m sure it would be wonderful.
Thank you for responding. I might give the huckleberry honey a try.
Have you tried cedar?
I haven’t, cedar you need to be a little careful with because it can be toxic in large amounts depending on the variety. Also there are true cedars and arborvitae, so it depends on which one you mean. Be sure to get a positive ID on the tree first and then do some research into its edibility!
I tried Hemlock -unpleasant
Fir was good – a little musty like a scotch is peaty
Tried Fir with Lemon – don’t know what reaction happened but it was awful
Spruce was good
Pine was good, more subtle
Pine with ginger and lemon was quite nice!
Sounds lovely :) I would love to know where you got that gorgeous martini glass, I can’t get it out of my mind!
Do you think the needles might work alright with rum instead? Vodka doesn’t agree with me, but rum seems to work fine for me..
Gonna try some with juniper, and some more with lodgepole when we get our Christmas tree from the mountains. It will be fun to compare. Also, I’m going to try rimming my glass with a little salt & lime — seems like it might be good.
Well, since you asked…https://www.backyardforager.com/merry-woodsman-cocktail/
Thanks for sharing Ellen!
Thinking about making this for Christmas gifts this year. How long will it last? Is it shelf stable for a while or does it need to be refrigerated?
One conifer that should be avoided by pregnant ladies is Ponderosa Pine needles. They cause abortion in cattle and there is no reliable information on whether it would do so with humans. We use lodgepole pine needles but avoid Ponderosa.
Juniper has amazing flavor in this. Citrusy and without the resinous flavor of our pine trees. I added juniper berries and needles to mine.
Well, I just learned something new! I’m going to give this a try. Thanks for posting!
Gonna make this today with some leftover from Christmas tree
Good idea, but please make sure that your tree wasn’t sprayed first. Unfortunately they often are.
This sounds like fun. We just happen to have a young redwood in our yard that my husband planted a few years ago. It’s doing very well here in Coos County. I will try this. Wish I had a glass like yours, though. Merry Christmas, Colleen.
Where did you get the glass? It is gorgeous!
I got it at an antique shop in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, haha! Thank you, I love it!
Oh! I’m coming right over for a drink! I’ll bring you some goat cheese in exchange!