Buddha’s Hand Citron Vodka

This buddhas hand citron vodka was one of our first recipe posts back in 2008. It’s fun to see how our photography and garden has changed over the years! 

What is Buddhas Hand Citrus?

You really need to get your hands on one of these, no pun intended. Behold, one of the most intriguing, beautiful and aromatic citrus of the world – The buddha’s hand citron or fingered citron.  Most of you probably already know of this squid looking, rind tentacled fruit. For those of you who don’t, it’s hard to believe that it’s even a citrus fruit at all. Doesn’t it look like a multi -fingered hand?

This buddha’s hand is one of the oldest citrus in the world and oddly enough, has no juice or pulp. The citron family of citrus fruits normally have very little juice and the buddha’s hand is part of this unique category of citrus.  What citrons lack in juice, their rinds make up in powerful fragrance. They’re superbly aromatic with concentrated lemon citrus smells. Buddha’s hand smells F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S! We feel so lucky to have a thriving buddhas hand tree in our garden.

A green buddhas hand on our tree and a ripe one ready for making the infused vodka. 

The zest alone can perfume a room with a bright, beautiful, clean scent. For food, the buddha’s hand rind can give the same citrus nuances to enhance sauces or dressings. Because of the lack of fruit pulp, the  powerful citrus flavors of the buddhas hand citron are wonderful in tea’s and other dishes that benefit from infused rinds. There’s 5 beautiful buddha’s hands that we have to play with and we’ve got some goodies lined up to share. But today, appropriate enough, we’re investing one of these amazing buddha’s hand citrons in a vodka. How could we not? Infusing this powerful scented buddha’s hand citron in some vodka means there’s going to be some great cocktail recipes in our near future.

How to Make Buddhas Hand Vodka

Buddha’s hand citron vodka is so easy to make, there really isn’t much of a recipe. Infuse the rinds in vodka for about 30 days and have fun with some fantastic cocktails! Follow our simple photo tutorial! 

1. Start with a buddha’s hand. Clean as best as possible from dirt.2. Slice “fingers” lengthwise and wash again to remove dirt.

3. Remove as much white pith as possible, leaving fragrant rind…

…separate white pith from rinds. Discard the piths.

4. Insert rinds into clean bottle or jar. Fill with vodka. Infuse for about 30 days, then remove the rinds and strain the vodka to remove any excess citrus tidbits or debris.

Beautifully citrus infused vodka makes great gifts.

Check out our Cocktail Recipes Here and our Complete Whiskey Guide.