cocktail, DrinksCarlene Thomassous vide, sous vide cocktail, gin and tonic, celery gin, pineapple gin, celery pineapple gin and tonic

Pineapple Celery Gin and Tonic Cocktail : Sous Vide Infusion

cocktail, DrinksCarlene Thomassous vide, sous vide cocktail, gin and tonic, celery gin, pineapple gin, celery pineapple gin and tonic
Pineapple Celery Gin and Tonic Cocktail : Sous Vide Infusion

An updated gin and tonic that uses sous vide rapid flavor infusion with gin. A blending of sweet pineapple and cooling, astringent celery.

An updated gin and tonic that uses sous vide rapid flavor infusion with gin. A blending of sweet pineapple and cooling, astringent celery

It’s no secret we’ve been a fan of sous vide cooking for years now. While we create recipes for Anova on a very regular basis that focus on the benefits of sous vide as well as steam (for their new oven product), one of our favorite uses of sous vide? Rapid flavor infusion for alcohol. After all, we do have a drink cookbook.

Gin and tonics used to be my cocktail of choice. Sure, I still enjoy one or two during spring and summer since a gin and tonic are always best enjoyed outdoors. Over time I’ve moved away from how sweet gin and tonics are to more spirit-forward cocktails like our tomato vine vodka drink or rye. In 2021 post-pregnancy, I’ve started to appreciate more spritz-y cocktails again that use aperitifs (more specifically, bitter flavors). Go figure…bitter anything, even non-alcoholic, is something typically not safe for pregnancy. The ingredients of the compounds that create the bitter taste are a no-go for pregnancy (eg. gentian root).

While you can easily infuse alcohol without a sous vide precision cooker, it will take a few days. Sous vide infusion takes an hour. That’s why we’ve used sous vide rapid infusion to make our signature tomato vine vodka cocktail and our red pepper rum that we use to make a saffron paprika punch cocktail.

An updated gin and tonic that uses sous vide rapid flavor infusion with gin. A blending of sweet pineapple and cooling, astringent celery

For this celery pineapple infusion of gin, we loved the flavor profile created by Lyan in the UK. We decided to add peppercorns to the infusion and then use it as the base for an updated G&T along with lemon and basil.

While you’re welcome to use any gin you like, we always recommend a non-premium gin. You’re infusing flavor into this gin, it doesn’t need to stand alone so save your money! We also recommend making sure the gin you do select for infusion is not juniper heavy since this can create a competing pine taste.

An updated gin and tonic that uses sous vide rapid flavor infusion with gin. A blending of sweet pineapple and cooling, astringent celery

Celery Pineapple Gin and TOnic

INGREDIENTS

Celery Pineapple Gin

1/2 - 3/4 pineapple, chunked

3 stalks celery, chopped

8-10 black peppercorns

1 L gin (select a brand that is not juniper heavy)

Celery Pineapple Gin and Tonic

Dash of celery bitters

2.5 oz gin

5 oz tonic (we like Fever Tree Indian Tonic, or even their light version)

squeeze of lemon

pinch of salt or MSG

fresh basil

DIRECTIONS

  1. To infuse gin: Add ingredients to a bag and sous vide 140º F for 60 minutes. Let cool. Strain. Store in the fridge.

  2. To make cocktail: Add celery bitters, gin, salt or MSG and a squeeze of lemon to a glass with ice and stir. Top with tonic, stir lightly. Garnish with fresh basil.

An updated gin and tonic that uses sous vide rapid flavor infusion with gin. A blending of sweet pineapple and cooling, astringent celery

Dietitian Nutritionist and cookbook author sharing flavor-forward recipes and simplified science-driven wellness.