The Holiday Bourbon Project: Making “Weinstein Winter Reserve”

My sons and I enjoy a good bourbon. We’re not connoisseurs, but we know what we like, and Woodford Reserve has always been one of our favorites. A few days ago, I heard a recipe on the radio for an apple-vanilla-cinnamon bourbon infusion. It sounded interesting, but I decided to tweak it a little for taste and make it our own.
We’ve never tried an infusion like this, but with the holidays coming up, it felt like the right time for a family experiment. I’m already looking forward to pouring this into an Old Fashioned with my boys when it’s ready.

Here’s exactly how I made it.

Ingredients

• 750 ml Woodford Reserve
• 1 Granny Smith apple, very thinly sliced
• 2 vanilla beans
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 quart Mason jar
• FoodSaver vacuum sealer with jar attachment (optional but worth it)
• Cheesecloth for straining

The Steps:

1. Thinly Slice the Apple: I started by slicing a Granny Smith apple as thin as possible. Thin slices give you a cleaner, brighter extraction.
2. Score the Vanilla Beans: Two vanilla beans, scored down the length so the seeds and oils can open up. This gives the bourbon a warm, deep vanilla flavor that develops over the weeks.
3. Add the Cinnamon Sticks: Two cinnamon sticks go in whole. No powder. No shortcuts. This keeps the infusion clean and controlled.
4. Load the Mason Jar: I added the apple slices, scored vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks into a 1-quart Mason jar, then poured in the 750 ml of Woodford Reserve. (Anyone can use their preferred bourbon, but Woodford has the balance I like.)  I also held onto the original bottle so I can rebottle the final product later.
5. Vacuum Seal for Maximum Extraction: This part was fun.  Using my FoodSaver with the Mason jar attachment, I pulled all the air out of the jar. I watched the apple slices start to bubble from the pressure drop, which confirms the seal and speeds up the infusion.
6. Let It Sit:  Now it rests for 3–4 weeks in a cool, dark spot. Every few days, I’ll give it a gentle swirl.  By then, the bourbon should be deeper, richer, and full of warm apple-vanilla spice.
   
7. Strain and Re-Bottle:  When it’s ready, I’ll strain everything through a cheesecloth, funnel it back into the Woodford bottle, and call it done.

Closing Thoughts

Before the Holidays, I’ll pour this into an Old Fashioned and share a glass with my sons. That’s really what this experiment is about — taking something we already enjoy and making a memory out of it.

If it turns out great, it might become a yearly tradition.

If not… well, it’s still bourbon.

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