This is where true vinegar-making pays off.  Now this isn't the only recipe for Balsamic vinegar, and you can play with the spices to your taste.  It can be used on salads and in cooking, or as a drink, tonic, stimulant, balancer, cooling lotion, skin wash, compress, or hair rinse by diluting 1 teaspoon in 1 cup of water.  Didn't know it was so useful, did you?  You can use cider or wine vinegar; this recipe normally uses cider.

You will need:
6 green cardamom pods
12 sultana raisins (golden raisins)
12 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon rosemary
4 cloves
1 1/4 cups cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients and allow to infuse for 2 months in a warm place.  Strain and bottle.  You can experiment with all kinds of herbs and spices.

On October 1st, I made a double batch of this using homemade wine vinegar (and a few bay leaves) as a gift for two people in my family.  I combined the mix in two glass bottles that I picked up, and let them sit on top of my fridge, until Dec. 2nd.  I shook them when I thought about them, and strained them when they were ready.  You can see the rich colour of the vinegar here, as well as what the spices looked like when I was finished (keeping in mind that cardamom pods are normally bright green, and sultana raisins a deep honey colour).