Infusing Vodka with pineapple is a similar process to infusing it with Hot Tamales candy, it’s just a little more difficult to prepare and takes a bit longer. Don’t let that put you off. Yes, you need to plan ahead – 11 days ahead – but the destination is more than worth the journey. This stuff is so good, you may find yourself thinking of having it for breakfast.
While I worked on my own version of the preparation a bit, this is hardly my idea. The Capital Grille restaurant has been making pineapple infusions for years. They call them Stoli Dolies.
The same warnings I gave you about the Hot Tamales Infusion apply here:
- Make a lot of this stuff. Once people try it, they’ll suck it down. I’ve gone through 1.75L with a handful of people in a few hours.
- The end result of this infusion is pure alcohol and some small amount of fruit juice (VERY small). Contrary to what the quantities would suggest, it’ll taste a lot like straight up pineapple juice, but it’s almost all vodka. I suggest you warn your guests. They’re going to get trashed if they don’t keep that in mind.
- Just in case the last point wasn’t clear, just hide everyone’s car keys.
- 3 medium size, ripe pineapples
- 2, 1.75L bottles middle-grade vodka (I use Stolichnaya)
- A few additional slices of fresh pineapple for garnish (not part of the infusion)
First things first. Cut up the three pineapples by shaving off their tops, bottoms and sides. Core the pineapple or just cut the fruit off around the core. I find that slices that are about 1/2″ thick work well. Perfection isn’t critical here, but why waste good fruit?
40Comments
July 10, 2013 at 8:35 pm
Have you tried this as the base of any mixed cocktails?
July 10, 2013 at 11:27 pm
No, I haven’t. I had tried the Hot Tamales Infusion in cocktails – it didn’t work. I’d think you can make some good ones with the pineapple version though. Go at it! 🙂
July 11, 2013 at 9:15 pm
I’m planning to do this soon with some Colorado peaches. How many days would you recommend for this infusion?
July 11, 2013 at 10:23 pm
I just did a small peach infusion, left it about a week. The peach flavor isn’t verry intense, but it does have a smooth, buttery aftertaste. Nice. Also a car key quarantiner.
July 11, 2013 at 10:26 pm
A friend recommended removal of the peach skins prior to infusing – said they made the result very bitter. You?
July 12, 2013 at 12:53 pm
Generally, the skin of any fruit tends to leave a a bitter taste. Not only true in infusions, BTW. Definitely take the skin off. One week seems a little short to me. I’d try some after ten days, but be ready for two weeks. Like Grant says, peaches are a pretty mild flavor.
July 12, 2013 at 4:55 pm
I removed the skins, fyi. but haven’t done it any other way, so couldn’t comment on how it compares. But me likey the way it turned out; not messing w/it. Peaches are prime right now, of course, so get to it.
July 12, 2013 at 9:30 pm
Grant, a little early for the Colorado peaches, is it not?
July 13, 2013 at 2:22 am
A Mexican restaurant we visited in Carlsbad, CA served margaritas made with pineapple-infused tequila and a grilled pineapple stick garnish. They were pretty spectacular.
December 13, 2016 at 4:59 pm
i am abartender and would consider using malibu rum for a stoli doli martini with a slice of pine apple for garnish. a little over the top might be to rime the glas with shaved and toasted coconut “aaah wefweshing”!
December 13, 2016 at 6:05 pm
Hey Molly! Thanks for the comment. I’ll give it a try with rum. Do you use a flavored Malibu or the straight stuff?
March 30, 2017 at 6:02 pm
So Morton’s steakhouse uses the infused pineapple vodka and X-Rated Passion Fruit liquor with a squeeze of lime and calls it a Palm Beach Martini. It’s awesome.
March 31, 2017 at 1:12 am
Tanya, that sounds entirely fabulous. I’ll give it a try at home. Thanks!
May 7, 2017 at 10:33 pm
This is a little more work intensive but I have a small fruit press that I put the pineapple slices in after the soak. I usually get about 8 cups of juice/vodka back from this and strain it back into the infused vodka I pour off originally. The pulp isn’t good for much after that. Heed the warning this is stout stuff.
May 8, 2017 at 6:10 pm
James, tat’s a terrific idea. I have thrown the pineapple out – like you say, nasty stuff. But, there’s a load of great stuff in it. I’m wrapping up a tequila/vanilla/pineapple infusion tomorrow. I’m going to press the pineapple to get back my fair share.
Thanks!
January 25, 2019 at 9:48 pm
How do you make the tequila/vanilla pineapple?
January 25, 2019 at 10:01 pm
nvm. I found it on your website
June 14, 2017 at 8:30 pm
I strained my pineapple chunks into a cheese cloth and squeezed all that juice into my vodka. It gave it more pineapple flavor. I love this stuff!
June 15, 2017 at 11:16 pm
Does this need to be refrigerated whole fermenting, or just after the straining?
Thanks!
Wendy
June 15, 2017 at 11:17 pm
Does this need to be refrigerated while fermenting, or just after the straining?
Thanks!
Wendy
July 16, 2017 at 3:09 pm
Wendy, I’m so sorry for the delay in getting back to you. It does not need to be refrigerated while infusing, In fact, that will keep it from infusing correctly.
Thanks for the question!
May 2, 2019 at 2:35 am
I had this at a restaurant and they say they infuse the pineapple and vodka for two months. I have had mine infusing for about 7 weeks but have not tired it. Do you think it will be good? I have not read of anyone leaving it infuse this long. I hope I didn’t waste two handles of Tito’s.
May 2, 2019 at 6:14 pm
Sandy, 2 months sounds like a marketing gimmick to me. I can guarantee you will not find any difference between 2 weeks of infusion (for fruit) and 2 months. I think you’ll be fine, aside from wasted time spent waiting. That is, as long as you removed all the skin from the pineapple. If so, the vodka and pineapple have exchanged all the molecules that they will ever exchange. Just a reminder. Don’t eat the pineapple. Well, it’s fine, but it will taste awful! Don’t wait another week. Go for it right now! Enjoy and report back on how it tastes.
May 3, 2019 at 2:15 am
Yes I had all the skin off the pineapple. Honestly it does not taste very good. Could the pineapple have fermented giving it a bad taste? I am pretty disappointed.
May 3, 2019 at 3:20 pm
I’m so sorry to hear that, Sandy. I thought you’d be OK, but I’ve never run anything that long. It’s only 40% alcohol, perhaps the pineapple went bad, as you said. The good news is that if you do it again, it’ll only take 11 days as our recipe states. I just did one and it came out great!
July 30, 2018 at 12:29 am
I made this and was ready this past Friday evening. The first drink, (3 oz in shaker with ice then strained into martini glass) was excellent. Worth the wait and all the hype. However the next evening it tasted a bit bitter, not as smooth as the first day. Then today, two days later, it definitely has a bitter edge to it. The first day was so easy going down I was afraid I’d drink too much of it. But now I’m not as excited about drinking it. Any ideas what I could do to fix this from happening? Thanks,
August 28, 2018 at 8:50 pm
Dan, so sorry for the delay! This sounds like either the fruit is being left in too long or you had too much rind on the fruit during the infusion. When you were preparing the fruit, did you make sure you removed all the rind/skin? It’s super bitter. It sounds like you did because the first day was so good, but just checking. It’s important.
At the end of the infusion, that is, after the 10-11 days you let the infusing process go, did you remove all the fruit and strain out any pulp (small pieces of fruit and skin)? You should filter with at least cheesecloth a couple of times. Coffee filters are even better.
Do either of these make sense as problems?
August 28, 2018 at 9:52 pm
Will, The first part, yes, I used only the fruit with no green armor sides and no core either. I’m a big pineapple eater on a regular basis so I know about trimming a pineapple very well.
The second part, no, I did not strain it with cheesecloth etc., I used a strainer with a handle, like you would use for kitchen work however this one is fine mesh but not like a filter you mention.
Perhaps this was my problem. The first day was great tasting but the next day and the following days the infusion started to go bitter because it wasn’t strained enough?
I’ll be starting a new batch next week and do as you suggest and let you know the results.
Thanks man,
August 29, 2018 at 5:26 pm
One more thing, Dan. Are you refrigerating the mixture post-infusion? I find it’s best when it remains cold.
Looking forward to find out what you learn. I’ve made this several times this summer without any problems.
Thanks!
September 24, 2018 at 1:05 am
Will, I made a new batch and this time filtered with cheesecloth, then squeezed extra juice from the pineapple chunks also with cheesecloth, then filtered the whole thing through a coffee filter.
Maybe overkill I don’t know, however the result was great the first day and the second day too. No bitter taste the second day. I’m refrigerating the post-infusion mixture too. Thanks for your help man.
September 24, 2018 at 12:42 pm
Dan, so glad it worked out. Totally worth the work, right? 🙂
I didn’t understand that you were squeezing the extra juice out of the pineapple. That can also be a problem. I find that sometimes, it’s just way overcooked – a very sharp taste. While I hate to do it, I just toss the pineapple after the infusion and don’t bother with the juice inside. But if you’ve got it working, all the better.
Enjoy!
April 14, 2019 at 7:47 pm
So I give up. Why 11 days? Why not 10 or 12 or whatnot? What’s the chemical process we’re optimizing for? If you have higher sugar content pineapple (riper?) Does that take longer or shorter?
April 15, 2019 at 1:58 pm
Really? This is way less about science than it is about subjective taste, dude 🙂 But, if you need science, I ran many tests to come up with 11 days. Not surprisingly, that used many different pineapples. Most other variables were static, aside from room temperature, although that didn’t vary a lot. Yes, a more ripe pineapple will have a different taste, although it’s not the sweetness that comes through. Also, the percentage of liquid that comes out of the pineapple given the amount of vodka is pretty low.
Be careful throwing in the rind/skin. You’ll go past earthy to bitter very quickly. VERY quickly.
Tell me how it works out.
May 25, 2020 at 10:39 pm
hi. i'm kinda pissed. this is the third time i've tried this. i thought i did it right this time. I got 2 bottles Absolute Mandarin Vodka and two just right pineapples. i sliced them up almost exactly like the pix above. there might have been 3-4 tiny little brown sticker things…just the inside portion. I let it sit 10 full days. i would have let it sit 11 but it was starting to look really gross….. it was getting cloudy light brown! but i drained it all out. squeezed it in the cheesecloth. and put it in a metal shaker, lotsa ice, shook shook shook – so excited………and blech! it's bitter tasting and extremely strong. WHAT the @#$% did i do wrong???? i've wreck 2 perfectly good bottles of vodka….. Any advice on how to make it palatable???
May 26, 2020 at 1:55 pm
Anne, I'm so sorry it's not working out for you. That sucks. Did you try the infusion along the way? Maybe taking a sip every couple of days to test? If so, did it taste OK earlier? Barring that, I'm surprised your mixture was cloudy at all. Note the photos in the post about how relatively clear ours is when decanted. I think the cloudiness of yours indicates that there's still a lot of fruit floating around in it or, perhaps the pineapples were overripe.
Many people have used this recipe with a lot of success. We make it all the time. If you give it another shot, make a half batch, so you don't use so much vodka. Make sure your pineapples aren't too ripe and test along the way – every day. Just a teaspoon-ful.
I'm super sorry. We really want everyone to really enjoy this stuff and find it easy to make.
January 4, 2021 at 3:18 pm
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May 3, 2021 at 4:35 am
Has anyone noticed their pineapple getting dark spots as it’s sitting in the vodka? By day-6 I started noticing some, and now at day-11 there’s a lot – almost makes the vodka look grey-brown color. Not very appetizing! I need to strain and bottle it, so we’ll see how it comes out – but looks a little gross right now. All pineapple was fully covered by the vodka, and it’s been kept in a cool dark place.
May 3, 2021 at 2:50 pm
Mike, hmmm. Could the dark spots be the dimples when the skin of the pineapple still exists? If so, these tend to get darker over time. If not, that doesn't sound good. Can you post an image?
May 3, 2021 at 10:44 pm
Hi! Yeah…. it’s not the dimples from the rind. I just now strained out the fruit and it it’s all kind of a darker pineapple color and very fruity-smelling. None of it turned lighter as your picture shows. It’s weird.
i would post a pic or two, but not sure how to do this here
May 4, 2021 at 7:12 pm
Sorry, no facility for photo upload. You can send me a photo here: admin (at) consumatorium (dot) com.