Adding flavors to neutral spirits, the easy way?

[oplosan]

Just to shake things up from the usual discussion about wood chips --

I've made two flavored spirits so far -- a lemon vodka and a gin. I made both by adding spices and/or fruit bits to hearts for a while (week or two) before straining and redistilling the hearts. I used just lemon peel for the vodka, and for the gin, I did this with the flavoring agents we know and love (juniper, coriander, tangerine peel, et al per Odin's famed Gin recipe ).

For anyone else who's fond of this technique -- any personal favorites, tricks, or "gotchas"? After I first got into home winemaking, I realized that while grape and apple juice make tasty results, but orange juice ferments into something wretched. There are probably some "gotchas" to this method, and I appreciate any feedback about that! UJSSM is kind of in the same ballpark, but if possible, I'm looking for even simpler liquors involving infusion.

I called this topic "the easy way" in contrast to "the easiest way", which is infusing/macerating in the final product. Kool-Aid added vodka with sweetener works pretty well for "the easiest way"

[NormandieStill]

The Ginger Bomb (Search the forum for ginger, you'll find it) is a straight up ginger liqueur. And worthy of a test batch. I've made a creme de mûres and have a creme de cassis planned for my next batch of neutral.

Pastis uses a mix of redistilling and straight maceration. You can play around with that as well.

I think one gotcha with maceration is that you'll probably never get all the bits out and somethings can turn bitter over time (think overstewed tea).

[SouthwestAl]

Blueberries work well as an infused fruit into neutral - they give a great colour, that is actually very stable too and doesn't brown, as well as being naturally sweet. Also mixes well with cucumber (without the peel, which can be bitter) and mint.