Sous Vide Spirits

You're hankering after gin; there's only vodka in the house. What to do? Eamon Rockey, general manager and resident cocktail tinkerer at Betony in Manhattan, has the answer: Nomiku, an immersion sous vide machine ($299.99; amazon.com). Most people use the device to slow-cook vacuum-packed proteins, but Rockey had the idea to try it with booze. He pours vodka into a bag, loads it with aromatics—pepper, fennel seeds, star anise, coriander, maybe some lavender or bay leaf, and, of course, juniper—and drops it sealed into a Nomiku bath set at 176 degrees. Ninety seconds and a short, cold plunge later, and the bag no longer contains vodka, folks; it's filled with gin.