Infusions - Spicy Globe Basil Vodka

I've been enamored lately with vodka, especially of the "additionally flavored" kind. I've come to discover that many cheaper vodkas contain chemical cocktails that taste like berry/melon/lemon/bubblegum/etc, but often don't contain anything remotely close to the original "flavoring substance." Most of the higher-end liquors don't call themselves flavored, but "infused," a term that implies a gentler, natural process of extracting flavors from organic material.

With a little background research though, I realized that even this naming was a marketing ploy. How much "faux flavor" vodka/soda have I been drinking at the Recovery Room, thinking I'm getting something that's less, how do I say it, "concocted."

I came across instructions for infusing spirits, so I'm trying my hand at a truly infused spirit. I had some leftover Smirnoff in the freezer and a potful of basil in the backyard (variety: spicy globe). I snipped 2 good size springs, filled a "sun-tea" pitcher with about 700 mL of Smirnoff, tossed in the basil and gave it a hearty good shake. I figured this would be a good experiment, since I can't stomach Smirnoff, even with soda, and my article reminds us that

just as during Prohibition, when mixers were born to make bad liquor more tolerable, flavoring makes a cheaper vodka more tolerable.

I'll let you all know how it turns out, 3-5 days from now. If it works, I think I'm going to have on well-stocked, organic-herb-infused-vodka bar.