Infuse your booze

A few stray peaches, a fading sprig of basil, that final handful of blueberries.

Here's a thought: if you can't use them, infuse with them.

The last fruits of summer aren't just for freezing. They're perfect for flavoring gin, vodka, rum and other spirits, a process that's no more difficult than mixing a drink.

"Think about it," said Jeffery Chance, co-owner of Garrison's Bar & Grill in Virginia Beach. "It's as close to all-natural as you can get."

Jeffery and his wife, Natasha, continuously tend a voluptuous jar behind the bar where vodka is quietly infused with layers and layers of fresh pineapple. The elixir is the main ingredient of the bar's signature martini.

Mint, thyme, hot peppers, pears, lemons, cherries, melons and even rhubarb make excellent flavorings for mild-flavored spirits such as gin, vodka, white rum and sake. Brandy and tequila are other contenders. And top-shelf or not, the choice is yours.

Imagine it's the grip of winter, and you're sipping basil vodka or peach gin infused in your very own home.

Here's some how-to guidance from "The Art of Preserving," a cookbook published this summer by Williams-Sonoma: Start with a clean, wide-mouthed jar with a snug-fitting lid. Thoroughly rinse and pat dry the flavorings. Fill the jar with alcohol, leaving room for the flavorings, which will need to be pushed down into the liquid.

Wipe the rim, close the jar and store it in a cool, dark place, such as a closet. Shake every day, and taste after a week. If you prefer a stronger flavor, continue the process as long as you like.

In our closet, a jar of gin with peaches and mint took on a reddish-orange hue in just two days, but the flavors had not yet bloomed.

Within a week, the color deepened, and the flavors were more pronounced than the peach-infused spirits on liquor-store shelves. We're pressing on, aiming for an even bolder taste.

When you deem yours done, Williams-Sonoma recommends straining the flavorings before imbibing.

And Jeffery Chance offers this final bit of advice: "You can eat the fruit. That's the best part."

Lorraine Eaton, (757) 446-2697, lorraine.eaton@pilotonline.com

Check out Lorraine's blog at hamptonroads.com/blogs/lorraine-eaton