Strawberry vodka part 2.

When we thought about making the strawberry vodka,  or rather I thought about it as I'm a strawberry fan and a vodka girl,  one of the first things I did was to look online for other people's blogs,  at forums which have 'how to do' ideas,  and recipes.   That's if  making a fruit based drink counts as a recipe? 

Most of these suggested a minimum of 3 days soaking the fruit in alcohol and up to about 10 days,  with some then suggesting leaving the strained brew to mature for anything up to 6 months.  After 3 days we had a gorgeous ruby-red vodka with pale strawberries,  day 4 we had a little taster and it was wonderful.   Day 8 - yesterday -  I decided to strain and bottle the juice and chill it for drinking whenever needed.

I can't quite express my disappointment because the ruby-red colour had completely vanished.  Not to the point of clear juice,  but more a sepia toned vodka.  Taste = 10/10.  Colour about 2/10.  So did all those sites I looked at first have photo-shopped pictures?

I don't know,  so last night I looked at more online info and found more food and drink blogs and forums with photos of strawberry vodka that actually look like ours.  Some suggest adding sugar to the soaking mix but then you end up with a liqueur like drink and I'm not sure that keeps the colour.  But nowhere can I find anyone who says " where did the colour go?"  and without signing up and posing the question on lots of different places, I'm not sure I'll find out. 

Will we try it again?  Not sure.  Today's strawberries have made 8 lollies - natural whizzed down strawberries and then poured into lolly moulds,  no added anythings,  plus a plateful for lunch to have with pineapple, apple, pear and melon,  and some not quite ripe enough but they will keep  till the next picking.