Experimental Water Mixtures

[The fabulous Ian]

Evenin' folks, I'm Ian and this is my first topic.

Followning a burst of inspiration after a visit to the local hookah lounge, I've been experimenting with using different liquids either mixed with, or in place of the water in the vase. If anyone else has any suggestions or recipe's they'd like to put up, I'll be posting the different ones I come up with and what effect they have on the hookah experiance.

I'm smoking out of a Mya QT, which comes with a 14 oz vase, keeping the stem about one inch below the water, so all my recipe's are scaled to produce about that much liquid. They all also involve the idea of finishing your infusion with an amount of crushed ice. If your hookah has an ice-chamber, or you happen to not like adding ice to your water, you can obviously skip this step and replace it with a similar amount of cool water. I'd also like to note I leave my spices in the infusion, though they could easily be strained out if you're worried about appearances. I do think this results in a weaker flavor, but it could just be me.

I'd love to hear some reviews and opinions about this, as well as any personal recipes you might use. Beware, some of these can be quite pricey, but may be worth the expense now and then for special occasions, or just to explore new ways if enjoying your hookah. Happy days, boys and girls, and happy smoking.

Four Spice - My first experiment. The spices are expensive (I get mine in huge bulk containers from the restaurant I work in) but the flavors definitely come through. I'm working on the ratio of spices, but here's the basic mix I've found to work the best so far.

2 cups water
5 whole cloves
1 six-inch cinnamon stick
5 pieces whole allspice
5 pieces whole star anise
2 cups crushed ice

Bring your water to a rolling boil, turn the heat down real lowand add the spices. Immediately cover the mix, and allow to steep for about fifteen minutes. You're looking for the cinnamon to uncurl and soften. High heat will destroy the oils you're looking to release, so keep it low. Transfer the infusion to another container and allow to cool to room-temperature. Pour over the crushed ice, and add to your vase.


Fall Apple - Nothing really than an expansion on the previous idea, and experimenting with the notion of juice. My friends loved it, and the amount of spices has been reduced to be more cost-effective.

3 cups filtered apple juice
1 six-inch cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1 cup crushed ice

Bring the juice to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the bubbles are moving heavily, reduce the heat to low or 'warm' if your stove has that setting, add the spices and quickly cover. Let the infusion steep for about fifteen minutes, or until the cinnamon softens and uncurls. Transfer to another container to expediate the cooling process. Pour the room-temperature infusion over the crushed ice and add to your vase.



That's all the working recipes I feel comfortable putting up. I'm still working on the effects of other additions to the water including milk, cream, different spirits (Brandy, Grand Marnier), wines, sodas, spices, powdered drink mixes, candy flavorings, caramelized sugar, honey, vanilla, herbs and juices. I can't wait to hear some feedback, and see what other people have come up with. Edited March 8, 2007 by The fabulous Ian

[tingjunkie]

Damn. You are the first true hookah gourmet I have encountered! Impressive. Did you try drinking the Fall Apple mix before you put it in the base? Sounds delicious! I would order that off a menu to drink anyday.

I have experimented a little with stuff in the base, but haven't noticed much of a difference in taste of the smoke. I once put pineapple juice and coconut rum in the base while smoking Fumari Pina Colada, and it didn't do much for me. Theoretically, I can't see how much flavor could be imparted directly into the smoke from just having the bubbles quickly pass through 1"-2" of liquid. I would imagine any flavor enhancement simply comes from the mixture flavoring the air in the chamber. So, the more aromatic and "fume-filled" you can make the mixture, probably the better. Any plans to add flowers to the mix? Perhaps the kinds commonly used to flavor tea? Rose, Jasmine, Osmanthus, Orchid, etc.

My next experiment is going to be sweetened coffee in the base with Starbuzz Irish Creme- an Irish Coffee if you will. Edited March 12, 2007 by tingjunkie

[lazria]

Wow, didn't occur to me to try mixing like that. Might have to give it a go - I have TONS of spices as I like my food with KICK!

I've used coffee in the base before w/ Havana Capacrino - added to the taste. I mixed up my own Pina Colotia (sorry, I can't spell to save my life) with Al Waha Pinapple/Vanilla/Coconut and Havana Orange/Coconut - then added some Mailbu Coconut rum to the base. Now that was tastie - not cheap, but good....

Keep experimenting - it give me ideas... *cue evil laughter*

[The fabulous Ian]

tingjunkie:
Ahh! Get out of my head!

But, yes, I've been trying to combine my (limited) knowledge of perfumes with my culinary knowledge to come up with something packed with aroma moreso than taste. The Fall Apple mix tasted...tanniny, like licking a tree. But! It smelled damn delicious. If you're looking to adapt that idea into a drink, try this one, another recipe from my little book:

Mulled Cider
1C Apple juice (Cider is even better)
1 cinnamon stick
1 clove
whipped cream (optional)
grated nutmeg (optional)
2 oz Brandy (I typically use the really cheap Christian Brother's brand. Good for cooking and overpowering mixers)
Bundle the cinnamon and clove in a cheesecloth wrapping, tie off with string to make a small sachet. Either steep in the hot cider (or juice) on the stove, or microwave the cider and let the spices simmer in. Remove the spices after about five minutes. You can re-use the sachet for yourself, or pass it onto the next drinker at a party. Add your brandy last and stir. I'm a lightweight, so I keep my drinks relatively light, up the alchohol as you see fit. If you want, a spray of whipped cream on top garnished with nutmeg is great. It's a damn good winter drink.

That's what I'm after, so anything packed with highly aromatic oils, like whole spices and (you guessed my next move!) flowers. I'm growing lavender in my herb garden this year, and I'm getting some edible flowers through the restaurant distributors, and I'll be more than happy to report how it goes. I'm really excited to try out different forms of rose in a wine and spirit base. Springtime offers lots of options. ^_____^

Also, I'm not sure sweetened coffee will do much for you. A really strong coffee infusion will carry a strong aroma, but I don't see the sugar offering much smell. If it doesn't work out, try working out a strong coffee infusion with either milk or cream and the Irish Creme. Or just coffee and Irish Creme. Or, I could be totally wrong. Let me know how it works out!

Lazria:
Bwaha. It's good I can put my damn culinary school education to use for good and constructive purposes. *cough-cough*

I'm glad you like the idea, hope you try some. How much rum did you add to your pina colada mix? Did it have much effect? Have you had any other mixes that worked (or didn't) out? Edited March 14, 2007 by The fabulous Ian

[The fabulous Ian]

aa Edited March 15, 2007 by The fabulous Ian

[lazria]

About 1 cup of rum. (make sure to add 5-10 ice cubes, depending on size of base).

I've tried Mango Rum (same brand) with Al Waha Vanilla - added some spice, but you lost the Mango taste.

Did some with Strawberry Liquior - with Rapsberry Havana - nice, gave it some much needed sweetness.

I've mixed plain orange juice, apple juice, and pineapple/orange before with several different flavors as well. Depending on the base flavor of shisha, it can enhance - distract - or disappear.

Trying to make a "Surfer on Acid" drink flavor - Licorice, Pineapple/Orange, Coconut flavor but so far nothing (either shisha mix or liquid mix) has gotten close enough.

BF made a "White Russian" - added Kulha & milk to the base, with Capacino Havana. Yummie, different - picks up some of the milk taste.

Plain cheap Vanilla extract (about a whole bottle) will add some smoothness to "rough" shisha - but not much flavor, due I think that's due to it being cheap imatation stuff. But pure extract should increase the taste - but that's super pricey.

I always have liquor always in the fridge - mainly for cooking, so it's not too bad for me to use that stuff. Spices on the other hand - come in smaller amounts and do cost more. Edited March 14, 2007 by lazria

[racer_dude18]

hello. i am new to this forum and this is my first reply. i joined because i found someones video on youtube of a homemade hooka and thought it was cool.

anyways, i have ben smoking hooka for a while and have tried numerous combinations of mixtures in the base. i am the type of person that likes to smoke hooka out and about. (while fishing, bbq-ing, drinking out by the fire ect.) so alot of times we wont havve water or will wanna try something else.

one time we were having a bon fire and we were out in the desert. the only liquid that we had was beer. we forgot to bring some water for the hookah. so we used beer for the base and if you are a beer drinker it was surprisingly very good. it tasted like the girly fruit flavored beer. but if you just like regular beer use a shisha without a very strong taste. try it and tell me what you think

[The King]

Hey theres a section for liquid/ tabbacco mixes uinder product reviews then under tabbacco...post your ideas in there, BTW they sound great

[zshornick]

I love putting orange juice in the base.

I tried Root Beer the other day with Havana Tropical Strawberry Banana in the bowl and it tasted like candy. Really sweet!

[Magamba Satta]

The hookah I built consists of a chamber surrounded by a vase in which to hold ice cubes or crushed ice. What one can do, to get extra flavour, and also have extremely cold fluid in the chamber, is to add crushed ice to the outside vase, with much rock salt, and fill the interior chamber with something such as bacardi or jack. This gives a good amount of extra flavour, but not overpowering, and also allows the alcohol to get quite cold without worries of the filtration fluid freezing or becoming ineffective at circulating and filtering.

Just a thought.

-m.s.

[talksrealfast]

Damn. You are the first true hookah gourmet I have encountered! Impressive.

+1
I wholeheartedly agree.

[ahwahoo2006]

I know adding salt to ice and water will make it much colder... I wonder how much salt flavor would be passed on to the smoke?

[tj154906]

I know adding salt to ice and water will make it much colder... I wonder how much salt flavor would be passed on to the smoke?

If you were worried about that, a good alternative would be to fill the base with regular ice water, and put it in a bucket of salty ice water.

[ahwahoo2006]

That's a good thought, but I don't know if I want a floating/unstable hookah. Now I'm all curious about it and trying to remember my high school chemistry to figure it all out.

[Lunar2HoseHookah]

Try this combo...

-Hawaiian Punch
-1/2 cup Welch's Strawberry Breeze juice concentrate
-plenty of ice
-8 finely crushed Altoids (the strongest ones you can get)
-and any Berry shisha (preferebly raspberry)

The Hawaiian Punch and Welch's juice concentrate really add to the intensity of the raspberry shisha, while the Altoids create a minty overtone for added coolness and smoothness.

[PGMan123]

wow that sounds really REALLY good. especially the altoids idea thats genius! Im going to try that tonight. Has anyone ever tried cofee (or cappucino) in the base and mint shisha?

[olooko]

Evenin' folks, I'm Ian and this is my first topic.

Followning a burst of inspiration after a visit to the local hookah lounge, I've been experimenting with using different liquids either mixed with, or in place of the water in the vase. If anyone else has any suggestions or recipe's they'd like to put up, I'll be posting the different ones I come up with and what effect they have on the hookah experiance.

I'm smoking out of a Mya QT, which comes with a 14 oz vase, keeping the stem about one inch below the water, so all my recipe's are scaled to produce about that much liquid. They all also involve the idea of finishing your infusion with an amount of crushed ice. If your hookah has an ice-chamber, or you happen to not like adding ice to your water, you can obviously skip this step and replace it with a similar amount of cool water. I'd also like to note I leave my spices in the infusion, though they could easily be strained out if you're worried about appearances. I do think this results in a weaker flavor, but it could just be me.

I'd love to hear some reviews and opinions about this, as well as any personal recipes you might use. Beware, some of these can be quite pricey, but may be worth the expense now and then for special occasions, or just to explore new ways if enjoying your hookah. Happy days, boys and girls, and happy smoking.

Four Spice - My first experiment. The spices are expensive (I get mine in huge bulk containers from the restaurant I work in) but the flavors definitely come through. I'm working on the ratio of spices, but here's the basic mix I've found to work the best so far.

2 cups water
5 whole cloves
1 six-inch cinnamon stick
5 pieces whole allspice
5 pieces whole star anise
2 cups crushed ice

Bring your water to a rolling boil, turn the heat down real lowand add the spices. Immediately cover the mix, and allow to steep for about fifteen minutes. You're looking for the cinnamon to uncurl and soften. High heat will destroy the oils you're looking to release, so keep it low. Transfer the infusion to another container and allow to cool to room-temperature. Pour over the crushed ice, and add to your vase.


Fall Apple - Nothing really than an expansion on the previous idea, and experimenting with the notion of juice. My friends loved it, and the amount of spices has been reduced to be more cost-effective.

3 cups filtered apple juice
1 six-inch cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1 cup crushed ice

Bring the juice to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the bubbles are moving heavily, reduce the heat to low or 'warm' if your stove has that setting, add the spices and quickly cover. Let the infusion steep for about fifteen minutes, or until the cinnamon softens and uncurls. Transfer to another container to expediate the cooling process. Pour the room-temperature infusion over the crushed ice and add to your vase.



That's all the working recipes I feel comfortable putting up. I'm still working on the effects of other additions to the water including milk, cream, different spirits (Brandy, Grand Marnier), wines, sodas, spices, powdered drink mixes, candy flavorings, caramelized sugar, honey, vanilla, herbs and juices. I can't wait to hear some feedback, and see what other people have come up with.

I tried using 2% milk yesterday, and it was a mess. It bubbled in to my hose. So i use d half milk and half water. I worked great after that since the milk bubbles it hold the smoke back longer allowing more time to cool. THis in combo with a diffuser works great. I also didn't taste the milk either, so no worries.

[HookahCrazy]

ive always been kinda hesitant to use milk but when i put a little in the water i tasted it but not too much so it was ok

[The King]

Your definately not supposed to use all milk, i wouldnt even use half milk...it will bubble up and be gross... use like a third milk or so and it should be fine

[Boersnoes]

This weekend I tried some cheap pastis. It turned out great!
This drink really has a unique taste so it is really distinguishable in the flavor.

I tried it with my cherry tobaco that I don't like (but it's just a waste to not smoke it) and it really improved the expirience.
Will try it with some other flavors when I get the chance.