Black Point Inn : August 2014

In this week’s blog I’d like to introduce you to the world of liquor infusions and show you how you can make fantastic cocktails using local ingredients. Here at Black Point Inn, we have a cocktail called the “Maine Blueberry Martini”, which consists of our house infused blueberry vodka, lemon juice, basil, maple syrup, and a splash of soda water. When I was thinking about bringing a blueberry martini onto our cocktail list, I decided to use as many Maine ingredients as I could source, especially since Maine is known for its blueberries.

Our house infused vodka is what makes this cocktail unique; most other blueberry martinis you will come across use a blueberry flavored vodka. Flavored vodka can result in a wonderful martini, but to get the authentic taste of blueberries in our drink I chose to infuse the vodka with the real thing.

First, I started with Black Cap Vodka from Maine Craft Distilling, located in Portland, ME:

“Named for the Maine state bird, the black cap chickadee, Black Cap Vodka is a unique 100%

Maine product. It is triple-distilled from a single-malted Maine-grown barley and filtered

through Maine maple charcoal.” (http://www.mainecraftdistilling.com/)

Courtesy of www.mangoesandpalmtrees.com

Next I cut a cup of blueberries in half before adding them to the vodka. Cutting the blueberries in half breaks the skins of the blueberries which in turn helps the vodka infuse with the blueberry flavors faster and helps dye the vodka a deep vibrant purple. I suggest using Maine blueberries which are significantly smaller than the "normal" berries you find in the store. You can usually find them at specialty grocery stores in your area. Or, if you are feeling adventurous, you can bundle up your own blueberries at a local farm. I suggest going to Blueberry Hill Farm in Acton, ME which is a little less than an hour outside of Portland. The height of blueberry season is usually mid-June to August and wild blueberry bushes are quite prevalent in Maine.

Blueberry Hill Farm in Acton, ME

After cutting a cup of blueberries in half, it's time to add them to your vodka. You have a few options when it comes to vessels in which to infuse. You can empty some of the vodka out of the original bottle to make room and add the blueberries directly to that bottle. You can infuse your mixture in another glass vessel, such as any canning jar or infusion jar.

A hint: If you are going to use an infusion jar with a spigot, add some glass stones to the bottom of the jar before you add in your vodka and fruit. The stones will keep the fruit from clogging at the bottom near the spigot.

If you would like to kick your infusion up a notch, add in a fresh basil leaf or two to the mixture. Make sure you slap your basil leaves on the palm of your hand before throwing them in, as this technique helps release the aromas, oils, and flavors of the basil leaf. If you are really ambitious, you can easily grow your own basil for this cocktail, just like we do at Black Point Inn, or you can buy

farm fresh basil from a local farmer's market.

[Our Local Farmer's Market is the Scarborough Farmers Market Open Sundays June through October | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m | Behind Scarborough High School in the Town Hall's lower parking lot in Scarborough | 207-883-4893 | Features vegetables, perennials, fruit, dairy, eggs, seafood, meat, baked goods, honey, herbs and berries.]

Now for the hardest part... waiting.
You’re going to want to wait at least four days to let your blueberry vodka mixture properly infuse. Be sure to leave the bottle in a fairly dark place (i.e. the back of your cabinet) and everyday your mixture is infusing, you should swirl it around gently to mix all of the ingredients together. After four days (or more) it's time to go ahead and make your first martini!

For your convenience we have listed the ingredients and preparation for this martini below. Most of these ingredients you can source locally, such as the Maine Maple Syrup. Trust me - using local, flavorful ingredients definitely makes a difference!