Have you ever made your own gin? It’s so much fun, and so easy! This winter gin is infused with fresh foraged juniper berries, white fir, and lots of winter herbs and spices. It’s refreshing and aromatic, and a perfect winter foraging cocktail recipe. This homemade infused gin is the perfect recipe for the holidays to indulge in yourself or give as a gift.
Homemade Infused Gin
Winter is here, and that means fancy cocktails for many of us!
I am usually a wine or mead drinker, but I am a sucker for a gin martini (or a pomegranate martini) on special occasions. I know, gin seems like an old man drink, but sometimes I feel like an old man!
Seriously, though, my grandpa was a gin drinker, and he used to let me stick my finger in his drink and taste it when I was a wee one. Probably not the best thing in the world to let a 5 year old do, but it did give me a taste for gin once I became old enough to actually partake in an adult beverage.
Then I discovered that gin was traditionally made by infusing juniper berries and other botanicals into a neutral spirit.
Foraged botanicals and liquor infusions – of course I was smitten! Totally my kind of jam.
So when I saw a recipe in Emily Han’s new book Wild Drinks and Cocktails for Winter Infused Gin, I knew I had to make it! Just in time for the holidays, here is how to make infused winter gin.
Winter Infused Gin Recipe
What’s great about this recipe is how incredibly easy it is. You basically just steep a bunch of herbs and spices in a neutral spirit, such as vodka, for a few days and there it is.
Now here is where I tell you what I did a little differently (as I often do).
I only used 1 tsp coriander seeds and added 1 tsp anise seeds, because I read that they are often used in gin making and that sounded tasty to me.
I actually didn’t think that I had any coriander seeds, until I got smart and raided my gardening seed packets. Coriander is cilantro seed, and I had some on hand!
I also used a fresh (not dried) sage leaf from my garden, and was happy to find that the plant was alive and well under all the snow.
Since there is no white fir in my immediate vicinity, I used Douglas-fir instead. I debated between that and blue spruce, as I bet that would be nice as well.
Any edible conifer sprig will work instead of white fir, such as pine, spruce, or Douglas-fir.
Do not use Yew as it is toxic.
Related: 30+ Conifer Needle Recipes: Drinks, Desserts, Syrups, Balms & more!
Soak the Juniper Berries
This recipe starts with you soaking the juniper berries in vodka (or another neutral tasting spirit) in a quart sized mason jar for the first 12 hours or overnight.
Juniper berries are what will give it that classic gin flavor.
Infuse the Gin Botanicals
After the 12 hour juniper berry pre-soak, add the rest of the herbs, spices, and the conifer sprig to the vodka.
It sure is pretty once you have everything added!
All of these lovely botanicals will make a tasty and herbaceous brew.
Cover and let it sit for 36 more hours. It will become a yellowish color after the infusion. That’s all the herbal goodness in your booze!
Strain & Enjoy
Strain your lovely winter infused gin into another jar with a fine mesh sieve.
Then pour a little into a glass. A wonderfully tasty and festive brew!
Feel free to ice it down with some snow if you don’t have any ice cubes in your freezer, like me. Totally unprepared!
Cheers to that! And cheers to Emily Han for making such a wonderful recipe.
I’ve also made her rose hip whiskey smash, which turned out just as fabulous.
I highly recommend her book, Wild Drinks and Cocktails. I want to make every single recipe in it, they all sound so good!
Hope you have a wonderful winter and happy holidays!
Herbal Infused Drinks & Cocktails
Dress up your drink with these beautiful herbal infusions!
- Conifer Infused Vodka
- Rosemary Champagne Cocktail with Blood Orange
- Persimmon Champagne Cocktail with Sage
- Pomegranate Martini with Rosemary
- Reishi Mushroom Infused Wine
Homemade Infused Gin
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp juniper berries fresh or dried
- 750 ml vodka or other neutral spirit
- 2 tsp coriander seeds or use anise seeds for all or part
- 1 tsp dried orange peel or fresh orange zest
- 3" sprig fresh white fir or another edible conifer sprig
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 whole allspice berry
- 1 sage leaf fresh or dried
- 1/2 dried California bay leaf or 1 dried Turkish bay leaf
Instructions
- Put the juniper berries in a quart jar and pour the vodka in the jar. Cap the jar tightly and let it infuse for 12 hours or overnight.
- After the 12 hour pre-soak, add the rest of the herbs and spices to the vodka.
- Cap the jar again and let it sit to infuse for 36 more hours.
- Strain the infused gin into another jar with a fine mesh sieve.
- Store in a bottle or jar in a cool and dark place for up to one year.
Notes
- Any edible conifer sprig will work instead of the white fir, such as pine, spruce, or Douglas-fir. Do not use Yew as it is toxic.
- After the infusion is finished the color of the infused gin will turn a pale yellow color.
- Serve the infused gin ice cold for the best flavor experience.
I plan to make this soon, but wondered if I should heat the spices in a dry pan (as they do in Indian cooking) before adding them to the vodka. Is that a good idea or is it better to add them cold?
You could and it might make them more aromatic, but since they’ll be infusing for several weeks, I don’t think it’ll make a significant difference in the final product’s flavor.
I have a question, I would like to use rosemary instead of a conifer branch would this be safe?
Of course!
I’m confused about the infused gin. The recipe calls for you to put the juniper berries, sage, bay leaf, etc. I to VODKA. How do you put that infusion into GIN?
Gin is essentially herbs infused in vodka. When vodka is infused with herbs, it becomes gin.
speaking of tea…have you ever included a green tea in your gin botanicals? I just tried and am afraid it contributed to an overly bitter flavor… also…I love your website! really fun
Thanks, Paul! I’ve never used green tea in my gin, but I can imagine it becoming bitter.
I’ve been reading that some juniper varieties are toxic; Savin Juniper, to be specific. is it safe to use any juniper berry for infusing vodka?
Otherwise I’ve enjoyed this very much! no one has died from what i harvested from my Common juniper. :)
Hi Charlotte, some juniper berries are more toxic than others so it is best to do some research on which variety you have to be sure.
36 hours seems rather short for an infusion. Generally in infused spirits it’s best to do one ingredient at a time to achieve the best flavor balance, as some ingredients may overpower others when infused for the same length. Has anyone experimented with infusion times on this? I intend to make this as stated this weekend as a control batch, then do a batch one ingredient at a time to compare.
I first infused the juniper berries in the vodka for 12 hours before adding the other ingredients. This recipe was from the book, Wild Drinks and Cocktails by Emily Han and came out great!
how did this work out?
Really fancy making a conifer-infused spirit, primarily to make some cocktails with! Love the idea of something strong, that I could let down with prosecco or other fizz. Do you think this was strong enough in flavour to really shine as a shot in a glass of prosecco? Can you recommend adding anything (or direct me to another of your great recipes!) if you don’t think it’d work? Thank you!!
Hi! Would love to make this gin, but I live in central TX & do not have any white fir trees, or other such trees. We do have mountain juniper & the berries and branches look just like yours! What can I do if I have no white fir or other such evergreen?
Texas cedar would be fine
Hi
How long can I leave the ingredients in the jar with the winter gin?
I think it would be fine for several weeks… it will get stronger over time, so be aware of that.
Absolutely love the recipe and fabulous images. We used pine in a Christmas liqueur and extract recipe we concocted. Will definitely try out your one here and check out the wild drinks book you referenced :)
Fun! Sounds like a good one, Colleen!
Hey Colleen, i’m not sure if it makes a difference, but I think using green juniper berries might give it an off flavor. I remember when your Smreka turned out funny and I think the berries might have been too green that time too.
Hi Bryan, this actually turned out really tasty, I had some last night! From everything I’ve read, juniper berries ripen in the fall and persist through the winter. These do look a little green, though, maybe that’s just the variety? They taste sweet and piney. While the smreka didn’t turn out awesome in the end, I think it was more because I let it go too long. It had a nice flavor to begin with, then went off. Thanks for always reading my posts :)
Happy New Year! I’m glad you enjoyed the Winter Gin recipe! It always makes me happy to see people adapting the recipes to their own tastes and what they have on hand.
I am in love with your book Emily!! In fact, I am drinking your Tulsi tea recipe right now!
Thank you, Debbie! I’ve been drinking that tea blend a lot lately, too. :)