The Spirits: Monday Night Homework

~ Forewarned is forearmed ~

Hello -

This Friday’s cocktail will call for pecan-infused bourbon. It’s best made about five days in advance. You can use walnuts too, if that’s more expedient; as Niki Segnit writes in one of the Flavour Thesaurus’s most memorable asides: “pecans and walnuts are nearly always interchangeable, although pecans are sweeter, less bitter and easier to slide under doors”.

1) Toast about 150g pecans in an oven. About five minutes at 180°C should do it. Watch closely though! It’s so easy to overdo nuts; this is one of the many reasons Air-Friers are superior to ovens.

2) Allow the nuts to cool, then place in a jar. Pour over about 250ml bourbon (I used Buffalo Trace). Agitate.

3) Leave in a cool, dark place for about 4-7 days, shaking (and tasting) daily. Watch out for creeping bitterness. Strain the nuts out through a sieve and you’re ready to use to liquor in Friday’s cocktail or any other bourbon mixture you fancy. I’ll leave it up to you what you do with the boozy nuts.

Until Friday, then. The other ingredients you’ll need are maple syrup and cocktail bitters.

Richard