Apple and Pear Infused Gin

It's more common to infuse infuse vodka, rum, or tequila and comparatively rare to find infused gins because they are usually already perfumed and flavored with other ingredients. It is, however, a real treat to sip on a correctly infused gin. Our easy recipe will allow you to do just that: enjoy this flavorful beverage and warm up with comforting fall flavors. Inspired by a cocktail called the Early Autumn, which was created by Adam Schuman of Fatty Crab in New York City, this recipe uses fragrant fresh apples and pears, plus sweet dried pears, to inject the gin with a bright and vibrant flavor.

For this version, stick with Bombay Sapphire, not only one of the most known gins around, but also the one that suits this preparation best, as its juniper and citrus flavors complement the tart fruitiness of apples and pears really well. In short, when you infuse a spirit—or any other liquid, for that matter—you are adding flavors by placing an ingredient in the liquid and allowing it to seep into it for an allotted time, from days to months. The beauty of this process is that you are not adding liquid into the alcohol to change its flavor, but solids that you are then removing. You could easily add apple juice to a gin cocktail but this will change the volume of the recipe and possibly not produce the subtle flavor you are looking for. Thus, infusing is an easy way to go. You'll be adding a touch of fall flavors to a great gin that you can then use to put a spin on many other gin cocktails or sip on its own.

This recipe requires 20 minutes of preparation and a clean one-quart jar with a tight lid. The infusing time can vary depending on your preference, but we recommend a minimum of one week, with a taste test after about 4 days from the beginning of the process. You could use any red apples of your preference like Fuji, Envy, Honey crisp, or Empire. We do suggest finding red pears for the infusion, like an Anjou, as they have a citrus hint in their flavor, and in general are sweeter than green pears. Use organic produce if possible, as you are infusing your gin with the unpeeled fruit and most pesticides do stick to apple and pear peels, sometimes penetrating the flesh of non-organic fruit.