Oh dear. We’re only three days into MoFo and I’ve already experienced my first fail. I had such high hopes, too. A few weeks ago, I made a basil-infused vodka that turned out really well—after just a week of infusing, the vodka was super flavorful. High on my success, I put some of my frozen blueberries into another glass jar of vodka and eagerly watched as the liquid turned a surprising and stunning shade of ultraviolet. Yesterday, I made myself a drink with the infusion, a simple concoction of simple syrup, the blueberry vodka, and club soda. I imagined a light, fruity, fizzy spritzer, perfect for the 90˚F Labor Day holiday. It certainly looked the part.

Alas! Like a vapid pop star*, its looks were really all this drink had going for it. It was dull and tasted mostly of the club soda, with no discernible blueberry taste at all. Crushed and not wanting to waste the vodka I’d already infused, I went back to the drawing board. I muddled another handful of blueberries in a mortar and pestle, then added some sugar and let them stew in their juices for a half hour or so. Then I added that liquidy mess back into the vodka and put it all back on the shelf to infuse some more. Here’s hoping that next week, I’ll taste the infusion and come back triumphant, with a post about my success. If you don’t hear anything, assume the worst.

Have you ever made an infused alcohol? If so, what’s the secret?!

* That was a cheap shot; I know a total of zero pop stars and shouldn’t disparage the ones I don’t know personally.