As we’ve discussed before, infusing your booze seems intimidating and maybe even difficult. Trust me when I tell you it’s not. I know from personal experience – I’m inherently lazy, after all. To prove it to you, one of my drinks is named Apathy, and its ingredients are simply whatever is already sitting on the bar at the time.
This infusion takes about 10 minutes to prepare and like the infusions we’ve posted about before, our Pineapple and Vanilla Infused Tequila, Pineapple Infused Vodka, Hot Tamales Infused Vodka and peach infusions is delicious and offers you and your guests something that you can’t find when visiting your favorite bar. You can mix cocktails with infused spirits, of course, but the infusions are fabulous straight up as well.
Figs seem like a natural with bourbon. The rich, flavorful taste of the fruit compliments the sweet, boozy taste of the bourbon. That said, when we first tested out infusing figs and bourbon, the taste was sort of flat. The resulting concoction didn’t have enough punch to it. We decided to add vanilla beans to the infusion on the next go-around. The vanilla added much more depth to the fig taste and delivered the match made in heaven that we expected.
The ingredient list is pretty short:
Fig-Infused Bourbon Ingredients
- 1.5 L of your favorite Bourbon (I used Bulleit)
- 24 Dried Mission Figs (I used Sun-Maid California Mission Figs)
- 2 Vanilla Beans
Cut each of the figs in half and cut the vanilla beans in half lengthwise. Toss the results into a jar big enough to hold all the ingredients. Some people like a sealed jar. I use one that does not seal, but covers the mixture nicely (see photo). Pour the bourbon over your figs and vanilla, cover and place someplace relatively cool and out of direct sunlight. That’s it. I told you it was easy.
Let your infusion sit for three weeks, stirring it once every day. Don’t worry if you miss a day here and there. Yeah, I know, that seems like forever. In our experiments, it took two weeks to mellow and the third week really added richness. Feel free to take a shot or two after two weeks to see how you feel about it. We think you’ll be happier after three if you have the patience to wait.
When the three long weeks has passed, scoop out the spent figs and vanilla beans with a ladle, then strain the infusion through some cheesecloth into mason jars or another type of sealable container. You need to strain it because some of the seeds in the figs will work their way loose during the process. By the way, feel free to try one of the bourbon-soaked figs, it’s a pretty intense taste.
Generally speaking, we like to refrigerate infusions with fruit, but this one should be served at room temperature. When cold, the fig taste is somehow overshadowed by the sharpness of the bourbon. When warm, the infusion takes on a rich, port-like texture that’s quite good.
While we think you’ll like this infusion straight up, here are two drinks that we made with it that are also quite good:
Go Figure
- 2 oz Fig-Infused Bourbon
- 1 oz Dry Vermouth
- 1/2 oz Amaro
- 2 dsh Orange Bitters
Stir in a mixing glass with ice until thoroughly chilled. Strain into a coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with a fig.
Fig Manhattan
- 2 oz Fig-Infused Bourbon
- 1 oz Amaro
- 2 dsh Angostura Bitters
Stir in a mixing glass with ice until thoroughly chilled. Strain into a coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with a fig.