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Raisins Steeped in Bourbon


GaryT
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Last year I packed an 8 oz jar with raisins, and poured bourbon over them to cover (and it's been so long, I'm not sure which bourbon I used - but it may have been KCSB, or some other similarly high proof stuff). Wasn't the plan to let them sit this long (shouldn't hurt, but probably the same effect as a couple weeks), but it is what it is. Decided to bake some pumpkin cookies, which call for raisins - so throwing the jar (after straining) in along with some "non-enhanced" raisins.

Wow - really amazing cookies! The bourbon raisins play second fiddle to the pumpkin, so folks who aren't bourbon lovers won't be put off - but when you bite into one of those juicy little buggers - just delicious! Definitely going to do this with some oatmeal raisin cookies in the future!

Oh, and by the way, I obviously didn't strain the raisins without reserving that bourbon :) Looking forward to that this afternoon!

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Sounds good! My wife makes great cookies so we may try this. I bet the raisins sweetened the bourbon too. It the bourbon tastes great, you might be onto something...bourbon finished in raisin jars!

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WOW! Dude! You are soooooo damned creative. I hope you save one or two examples and bring 'em North when you come for Christmas. It sounds absolutely delicious. I'm gonna go and grab a few raisins right now before we leave for the Two James Spirits distillery tour, and stick 'em in a bottle to soak. I don't know what I'll use 'em on, but something tasty, I'm sure. Maybe a topping for a Venison backstrap?

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Sounds awesome and good thinking. Don't want to let those raisins sit around too long and turn into grapes.

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Mrs Emma Kate Willis, my friends grandmother lived to be 103 years old. She died about 6 years ago and was very much a part of the old south and Tallahassee's history. By all accounts and existing photos a charming, elegant and witty woman in her youth she was high spirited even in her final days.

As she approached the century mark a local paper sent a young reporter to interview her. At some point in the interview he asked her the secret of her longetivity. We were all startled to hear her answer "raisins, I always have 6 raisins in the evening, usually as I'm getting ready for bed, sometimes twice on holidays." He followed up with more questions about the raisins, and we learned she kept them in a mason jar and the the brand wasn't important.

After the interview we asked her more questions and wondered why we didn't know about the mason jar full of raisins. Turns out she kept them hidden in her bedroom and there was a little more to it than she admitted to the young reporter. She had been toping the jar with raisins in it with Old Grand Dad Bonded Bourbon since just after prohibition "just for a little more flavor" she smiled.

To this day my friend has a mason jar full of raisins soaking in OGD BiB on his side board in memory of his grandmother.

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Thanks for sharing that Steve! They turned out well in the cookies, and I imagine putting in breads or other dishes (thinking maybe a carrot salad?) I didn't try them straight from the jar, but I'm refilling the jar to give that a shot! I'm fresh out of OGD BIB, but I'm sure they'll stand up to the OGD 114 just fine :)

I threw the raisin/bourbon in a glass and stuck in the fridge. Just pulled it out, and it is like a raisin liqueur! The raisin is really prominent, pretty much stomping out the traditional bourbon flavor, and it obviously took on a lot of the sugar as it is THICK (damn near like warm maple syrup!) Reminds me of a high proof plum wine (which I do enjoy). Not sure I'd make a batch just to drink, but do think a few bourbon infused raisins can't be bad for my health :)

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Another good reason to keep a supply of Old Grand Dad on hand.

....As if you needed another reason!!! :pope: We all know how you love this (me too!).

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....As if you needed another reason!!! :pope: We all know how you love this (me too!).

I think if I brought another bottle home in the next few weeks (even a cost-effective pick up like an OGD BIB), I would run the risk of serious bodily harm :lol: But once the New Year comes, the whole budget starts fresh, eh!

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I love raisins soaked in bourbon. Or in Courvoisier cognac. Alas, I cannot eat them because raisins are off my diet.

Tim

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We have people come into the distillery all the time and tell us the same tale. Older folks swear that the key to good health is raisins that have been soaked in gin before bedtime. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that.

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It was a way to get a little tipple without drinking. Not proper to drink don'tcha know. Just sampling the baked goods spices after all.

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As folks who got to be "older" seem to swear by it, I'm going to try to incorporate that into my diet. Yep. Purely for the benefits of good health :D

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I'm amazed to see how quickly these little buggers (the raisins) soak up the Bourbon. They've at least doubled in size in just two days.... and nearly sucked up all the Bourbon in which I dropped 'em; I may need to add more Bourbon; but then they may plump up so much the damned bottle explodes.... a real conundrum. I'll let you all know; or maybe you'll read about the explosion on the 'interweb'.

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Mrs Emma Kate Willis, my friends grandmother lived to be 103 years old. She died about 6 years ago and was very much a part of the old south and Tallahassee's history. By all accounts and existing photos a charming, elegant and witty woman in her youth she was high spirited even in her final days.

As she approached the century mark a local paper sent a young reporter to interview her. At some point in the interview he asked her the secret of her longetivity. We were all startled to hear her answer "raisins, I always have 6 raisins in the evening, usually as I'm getting ready for bed, sometimes twice on holidays." He followed up with more questions about the raisins, and we learned she kept them in a mason jar and the the brand wasn't important.

After the interview we asked her more questions and wondered why we didn't know about the mason jar full of raisins. Turns out she kept them hidden in her bedroom and there was a little more to it than she admitted to the young reporter. She had been toping the jar with raisins in it with Old Grand Dad Bonded Bourbon since just after prohibition "just for a little more flavor" she smiled.

To this day my friend has a mason jar full of raisins soaking in OGD BiB on his side board in memory of his grandmother.

Great story Steve

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We have people come into the distillery all the time and tell us the same tale. Older folks swear that the key to good health is raisins that have been soaked in gin before bedtime. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that.

That's what my in-laws swear by. Golden raisins soaked in Gin. It is quite well known as an alternative method to ease arthritis symptoms. Try googling it. They have experienced tremendous improvements even after a few days of it. So, they've been doing it for years now.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update on the 'exploding raisins'.....

They never did explode. In fact they didn't do much more expanding at all after a couple days. They do taste fabulous! ....A topping on vanilla ice cream that can't be beat! (IMHO) ....And, the fruit flavored bourbon left behind, although somewhat cloudy, tastes interesting enough to enjoy (even though it is rather udulterated, and will never replace plain old Bourbon on my list of favorites).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Does any know if you receive the "health benefits" if you drink the bourbon and eat the raisins separately? Especially if the raisins are coated in dark chocolate!

If that is the case I have antioxidants and flavonoid a plenty.

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Does any know if you receive the "health benefits" if you drink the bourbon and eat the raisins separately? Especially if the raisins are coated in dark chocolate!

If that is the case I have antioxidants and flavonoid a plenty.

I'm not sure . . . but now I'm wanting to steep chocolate covered raisins in bourbon! :yum:

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  • 3 weeks later...
Mrs Emma Kate Willis, my friends grandmother lived to be 103 years old. She died about 6 years ago and was very much a part of the old south and Tallahassee's history. By all accounts and existing photos a charming, elegant and witty woman in her youth she was high spirited even in her final days.

As she approached the century mark a local paper sent a young reporter to interview her. At some point in the interview he asked her the secret of her longetivity. We were all startled to hear her answer "raisins, I always have 6 raisins in the evening, usually as I'm getting ready for bed, sometimes twice on holidays." He followed up with more questions about the raisins, and we learned she kept them in a mason jar and the the brand wasn't important.

After the interview we asked her more questions and wondered why we didn't know about the mason jar full of raisins. Turns out she kept them hidden in her bedroom and there was a little more to it than she admitted to the young reporter. She had been toping the jar with raisins in it with Old Grand Dad Bonded Bourbon since just after prohibition "just for a little more flavor" she smiled.

To this day my friend has a mason jar full of raisins soaking in OGD BiB on his side board in memory of his grandmother.

Steve after you told me this I made a jar of raisins soaked in OGD 114. Figured with the extra alcohol I could preserve my self to well over 106.

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