Bar Tools

Immersion Circulator

An immersion circulator, or sous-vide stick, is a heater and pump usually around 30 to 40cm long that clips to a deep pot and holds the water at a set temperature. In a bar it warms infusions of spirit with fruit, spice, tea or herbs at around 50 to 60°C for one to three hours, and it makes syrups without boiling them. It gives the same result each time, which a jar on a shelf does not.

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The tool

About the Immersion Circulator

A Water Bath That Holds Its Number

The circulator clips to the side of a deep pot, heats the water and pumps it round, so the whole bath sits at the temperature you set.

An infusion in a jar on a shelf changes with the season and the room. In a bath at 55°C for two hours, it comes out the same next time, because the conditions have not moved.

Water bath, cream whipper and jar infusions compared

Immersion circulator

Temperature: Usually 50 to 60°C, sealed
Typical time: One to three hours
Character: Repeatable, with control over strength

Cream whipper

Temperature: Room temperature, under pressure
Typical time: A few minutes
Character: Quick and bright

Jar on a shelf

Temperature: Room temperature
Typical time: Days to weeks
Character: Varies with the room

Method	Temperature	Typical time	Character
Immersion circulator	Usually 50 to 60°C, sealed	One to three hours	Repeatable, with control over strength
Cream whipper	Room temperature, under pressure	A few minutes	Quick and bright
Jar on a shelf	Room temperature	Days to weeks	Varies with the room

Well Short of the Point Where Ethanol Boils

Ethanol boils at about 78°C. Keep the bath at 50 to 60°C and the bag or jar sealed, and very little alcohol escapes.

Heat changes flavour before it changes strength. Fresh herbs taste stewed and citrus peel turns towards marmalade when they are pushed too hot or too long, so start low and taste.

Food Safety After the Bath

Wash fruit and herbs before they go in, and use bags or jars made for heating food. Cool the sealed bag or jar in iced water before you open it.

Full-strength spirit keeps well once it is strained. Syrups, cordials and low-strength infusions are different: chill them as soon as they come out, bottle them clean, keep them in the fridge and use them within a couple of weeks.

Do not leave them sitting warm in the bath past their time. Throw away anything that turns cloudy, fizzy or mouldy.

Fat-Washing in a Bath

Stir a melted fat, such as browned butter, into a spirit, hold the sealed bag at around 50 to 60°C for an hour, then freeze it. The fat sets and lifts off, and what passes through a fine strainer keeps the flavour without the grease.

The Benton's Old Fashioned, bourbon washed with bacon fat and usually credited to Don Lee at PDT in New York around 2007, is the drink bartenders tend to cite. Keep any fat-washed spirit in the fridge.

Using it

Using the Immersion Circulator

Usage

Infusing spirits with fruit, spice, tea or herbs, fat-washing, and making syrups and cordials without boiling them. Most infusions sit at around 50 to 60°C for one to three hours in a sealed bag or jar.

Pro Tip

Write the temperature, the time and the date on the bottle. The point of a circulator is that you can make the same infusion again, and that only works if you know what you did.

Professional Tips

Keep the water between the minimum and maximum lines on the stick.
Use bags or jars made for sous vide or for hot food, and seal them well.
Weigh the bag down; spirit is lighter than water and floats.
Cool the sealed bag or jar in iced water before you open it.

Alternatives

Budget Alternative

A jar on a shelf. A cold infusion takes days instead of hours and varies with the room, but it needs no kit at all.

Premium Option

A more powerful circulator that brings a larger pot up to temperature faster and holds it steady. Useful for big batches; for a bottle at a time, a small one does the same job.

Specifications

Material
Stainless steel and plastic
Capacity
Heats a pot or tub of water; the maker gives minimum and maximum water lines and the largest volume it can hold steady
Details
Heater, pump and thermostat in one stick, usually around 30 to 40cm long, with a clip or clamp to fix it to the container

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is an immersion circulator used for in drinks?

Holding a water bath at an exact temperature, so an infusion of spirit with fruit, spice, tea or herbs, or a syrup, comes out the same each time. Most infusions take one to three hours at around 50 to 60°C, against days for a jar at room temperature.

What temperature should I use for a sous-vide infusion?

Around 50 to 60°C for most infusions, well short of 78°C, where ethanol boils. Lower settings keep fresh herbs and citrus tasting fresh; spice and dried botanicals take the longer times. Keep the bag or jar sealed so the vapour cannot escape.

Does sous-vide heat remove the alcohol?

Very little, if the bag or jar is sealed and the bath stays well short of 78°C. What vapour forms stays inside and condenses as it cools, which is why you chill the bag before opening it. An open container in the same bath would lose alcohol and aroma.

Is a sous-vide infusion safe to keep?

An infusion at full spirit strength keeps well once strained. Syrups, cordials and low-strength infusions do not: chill them straight from the bath, keep them in a clean bottle in the fridge and use them within a couple of weeks. Throw away anything that turns cloudy, fizzy or mouldy.

Can I use a zip bag or a jar for a sous-vide infusion?

Yes. Use bags sold for sous vide or for freezing, and push the air out by lowering the open bag into water before sealing it; a vacuum sealer can draw liquid into the seal. A heatproof preserving jar works too, closed as its maker directs for heating, and takes longer to warm.

What is fat-washing?

Mixing a spirit with a melted fat, such as browned butter or bacon fat, holding it warm so the flavour passes into the spirit, then freezing it so the fat sets and can be lifted off. Strain it well afterwards and keep it in the fridge.

How long do sous-vide infusions take?

Usually one to three hours at 50 to 60°C. Fresh herbs and citrus peel need the shorter end, spice and dried botanicals the longer. Tea turns bitter quickly, so give it far less time, and taste as you go.

Make something

Made with the Immersion Circulator

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Related Ingredients

Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 10 October 2026

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