A couple of weeks ago, I was brainstorming Yule gift ideas for Ceci and knew I wanted to give a handmade gift. I also knew that Ceci is a gin drinker, so after sneakily peppering her with gin preference questions, I came up with a blend that I think she’ll like. With plenty of juniper berry, bitter orange, grapefruit and cardamom, this will pair nicely with just about anything Ceci likes to mix with gin.

“Homemade” gin is a bit of a misnomer here. I didn’t distill any alcohol, but instead infused a mid-range vodka with herbs and botanicals. I chose Monopolowa, a potato vodka from Poland, because of its clean dryish flavor with mineral notes. It’s also a favorite of mine for making vodka martinis. Here’s what I used for Ceci’s Blend:

1 quart mid-range vodka of your choice (I used Monopolowa)
1 tbsp dried juniper berries (fresh are fine too)
1 tbsp dried coriander
2 1-inch strips of bitter orange peel (a regular orange is fine)
2 1-inch strips of grapefruit peel
2 tbsp dried organic rose petals
2 inch piece of cinnamon stick
1 tsp peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 tsp cardamom pods

Place all ingredients in a quart jar, seal tightly and give it a good shake. Put it in a dark cool space to infuse. Infusion times will vary according to flavor preference, so sample your concoction after 8 hours. If you like it, strain off the herbs and botanicals and make yourself a gin and tonic. If you’d like it a little longer, you can infuse for up to 36 hours, but taste it periodically since some botanicals become bitter when infused too long.

Other things you can add to your gin:

ginger
lemon peel
lemongrass
sage
allspice
cucumber
chamomile
lavender (go easy unless you like your gin to taste like elderly Victorian ladies)
fennel
rosemary

Infusing times for botanicals varies from 8 to 36 hours, and I chose an 8 hour infusion, since some of the herbs I included are strong flavored and I didn’t want to create something undrinkable.