Like the majority of Philadelphia (and the east coast), we’re barricaded in the apartment, waiting out this hurricane everyone keeps talking about. In anticipation of the drinks we will doubtlessly get to making in the near future, we decided to try out a new syrup.
Raspberry Vanilla Syrup
1/2 pint Raspberries
1/2 cup water
2 vanilla beans
1 cup sugar
1 oz Vodka
Throw the water and raspberries into a blender and run it for a few seconds to get everything good and soupy. Bring the mixture to a boil with the sugar.
While that’s heating up, cut your vanilla pods longways and spread them open. Scrape out all the tiny seeds into a nice little pile, and throw the pile into the sugar/water/raspberry mix, which should be pretty close to boiling now. Mix it all together, and toss in the scraped vanilla bean pods. Simmer the whole thing for about 10 minutes, adding a little water if it looks like it’s getting too thick.
Once you’re finished, you’ll need to strain the hell out of it. I did 2 passes through a regular kitchen strainer for the big chunks, then twice more through a fine cocktail strainer. Once you’ve got it satisfactorily smooth (there will still be some vanilla beans in there, which is fine), stir in 1 oz of vodka to fortify, and put in the fridge without the lid on. Once it is cool, close tightly, and you’re ready to go.
This stuff tastes goddamn delicious. Drinks using it are definitely coming soon.
NOTE: Credit where credit is due: I got this idea from the (way too many) cookies I stocked up on from Cookie Confidential. They’ve got a raspberry balsamic cookie that is insanely good.
