You will need to infuse the bourbon 1 day before preparing the cocktail.
Crack the dried star anise pods and place them in a 1-liter Mason jar or drop them directly into the original bourbon bottle.
Shake up the jar or bottle, and let it sit out at room temperature, covered, for 24 hours.
The next day, fine strain the infused bourbon into a large bowl, discarding the pods. Return the contents to the jar or bottle.
The infused bourbon is now ready to use. It will keep indefinitely.
2 dried star anise pods
1 750-mL bottle Heaven Hill Bonded bourbon
1 750-mL bottle Heaven Hill Bonded bourbon
This article appears in January 2013.