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Home » Cook » Beverages » Cocktails » Conifer Infused Vodka for Winter Cocktails

Conifer Infused Vodka for Winter Cocktails

May contain affiliate links or sponsored content. Please see my privacy policy and affiliate disclosure.

Originally published on December 19, 2016. Last updated on May 5, 2025

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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!

a mason jar filled with conifer needles and vodka

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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!

Wow your guests with these fun botanical drink recipes that use plenty of herbs, spices, and other botanicals from my ebook Botanical Holiday Cocktails for a Healthy Holiday Happy Hour!

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.

redwood needles in vodka

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.

redwood needles and vodka in a jar

Strain the needles from the vodka. The redwood needles turned the vodka a beautiful reddish brown color.

strained conifer infused vodka in a glass measuring cup

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.

conifer infused vodka in a glass with a sugared rim

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.

conifer infused vodka in a martini glass

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
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  • 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
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5 from 6 votes

Conifer Infused Vodka

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!
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Infusing Time 7 days days
Total Time 10 minutes minutes
Servings 16 shots
Calories 98kcal
Author Colleen @ Grow Forage Cook Ferment

Equipment

  • Quart Mason Jar
  • Fine Mesh Sieve

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric
  • 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1.5ounce | Calories: 98kcal
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gary Clay says

    December 21, 2024 at 8:17 am

    5 stars
    A couple winters ago I was making White Pine Needle Tea and it was good. There is a nursing home across town with probably 20-25 pine trees, I think I’ll stop in and ask permission to get some needles and educate them on it. It’s a small town (4300) in central Illinois.
    I wish I saw this sooner about the pine recipes I could have made a good Christmas gift for my nephew and his wife. Maybe next year.

    Reply
  2. Casi says

    January 21, 2024 at 6:59 pm

    5 stars
    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.

    Reply
  3. KiizaibDivaad says

    February 4, 2023 at 4:16 am

    i made also pine wine:) smells good, but taste is not so good;) maby I’ll make a blend with this infuse:)

    Reply
  4. Jennifer says

    December 15, 2022 at 8:35 am

    WARNING: Hemlock is poisonous.

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      December 20, 2022 at 5:25 pm

      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!

      Reply
  5. Tammie says

    July 19, 2022 at 6:08 pm

    5 stars
    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?

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      July 21, 2022 at 10:48 am

      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.

      Reply
      • Tammie says

        July 30, 2022 at 5:44 am

        Thank you for responding. I might give the huckleberry honey a try.

  6. Amy says

    December 26, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    Have you tried cedar?

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      December 29, 2020 at 9:10 am

      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!

      Reply
  7. CHARLOTTE Laurie MACCAY says

    February 22, 2020 at 2:58 pm

    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!

    Reply
  8. Hannah says

    November 27, 2019 at 10:54 pm

    Sounds lovely :) I would love to know where you got that gorgeous martini glass, I can’t get it out of my mind!

    Reply
  9. Cindi says

    November 24, 2019 at 8:27 pm

    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..

    Reply
  10. Cathy says

    November 24, 2019 at 9:31 am

    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.

    Reply
  11. Ellen says

    December 25, 2018 at 2:13 pm

    Well, since you asked…https://www.backyardforager.com/merry-woodsman-cocktail/

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      February 24, 2019 at 1:54 pm

      Thanks for sharing Ellen!

      Reply
  12. Amanda says

    June 25, 2018 at 9:09 pm

    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?

    Reply
  13. Chris says

    December 28, 2017 at 10:05 am

    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.

    Reply
  14. Nancy says

    January 7, 2017 at 5:35 am

    Well, I just learned something new! I’m going to give this a try. Thanks for posting!

    Reply
  15. Wanda says

    December 24, 2016 at 7:48 am

    Gonna make this today with some leftover from Christmas tree

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      December 24, 2016 at 7:53 am

      Good idea, but please make sure that your tree wasn’t sprayed first. Unfortunately they often are.

      Reply
      • Sue says

        December 24, 2016 at 8:43 am

        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.

  16. Jen says

    December 20, 2016 at 7:38 pm

    Where did you get the glass? It is gorgeous!

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      December 20, 2016 at 7:44 pm

      I got it at an antique shop in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, haha! Thank you, I love it!

      Reply
  17. Corina says

    December 20, 2016 at 3:01 pm

    Oh! I’m coming right over for a drink! I’ll bring you some goat cheese in exchange!

    Reply
5 from 6 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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