<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

This gives much better flavor than store-bought.  By using rum as a base,
you avoid the grain alcohol that is normally used in store-bought. The
ingredients are somewhat expensive compared to the standard brands, but
less than the premium brands. It is very easy to make. It has proven very
popular as a holiday gift.

Homemade Vanilla Flavoring

Ingredients: 2 whole vanilla beans;  3 tablespoons brown sugar;
approximately 12 oz. good quality dark rum;  clean sheet of paper; a
clean and scalded bottle with clean and scalded cork or tight sealing lid.

Steps:  Slit the vanilla beans lengthwise almost all the way through, and
press open. Cut in half crosswise or as needed to fit into bottle.
Insert vanilla beans into bottle.  Wrap the paper into a soft funnel and
use it to shake the brown sugar into the bottle.  Fill the bottle with
the rum.  Cork or seal the bottle and shake for 30 seconds. Repeat
shaking as needed to dissolve the sugar into the rum.  Age the mixture in
a dark cupboard for 3 months or more.  As it ages, the vanilla flavor
suffuses into the rum mixture.  As it ages and gets stronger, it will
darken in color.  The longer it ages, the stronger it gets.

Notes:

Although the alcohol in the rum and the sugar are both preservative, it
is a good idea to take care that all utensils,  surfaces and your hands
are clean and sanitary before starting.  It should be kept tightly capped
or corked; but otherwise requires no special storage.

I prefer dark brown sugar.  Light brown, "raw" or even white sugar or a
mix of sugars may be substituted to taste.

Whole vanilla beans are available from natural and specialty food stores
or by mail order.  By shopping around, I have been able to find them for
as little as US$2.00 each.

Flavoring made with this recipe and well aged can generally be used 1 for
1 in recipes calling for vanilla flavor.  One can "top up" the bottle
with additional rum to extend it. Additional aging is helpful when you do
this, although the result is less and less flavorful with repeated
dilutions.

Good quality rum should be made from pure cane juice with no grain
products involved. Check with the manufacturer if you have any doubts.
Very cheap or flavored rums may have grain alcohol or other additives
which may not be gluten free.