Jalapeno Vodka – Spicy!

I was reading about Master of Malts creating a spicy vodka using the Naga Jolokia pepper or Ghost Pepper and it sounded like one hell of an idea. Then I watched the reaction videos and it didn’t seem quite so funny anymore. Having a red nose and slurring your speech from drinking is one thing, but when that happens because you can’t breath due to the stinking hot vapors of the Ghost Pepper, it’s not so good.

But the idea struck me, how do you make a spicy vodka? Field Trip!

Of to the liquor store to see what they have. It came as no surprise to find the Absolut Peppar, but then things got a little weird. It wasn’t the pepper flavors, but the cookie dough, cotton candy, cream pie, key lime pie, whipped cream and other unholy flavors that have been infused into vodka. And indeed, there was bacon. That’s just not cricket.

So back to the lab and back to the web. Turns out, it’s very simply to make a spicy vodka. All it takes is some vodka and some peppers. Jalapenos ought to do the trick.

Since I didn’t leave the liquor store empty handed, all I needed was the jalapenos. Luckily for me the local store had a huge supply. Check out the size of the peppers I got! They should infuse plenty of spice.

I used some old spaghetti jars to hold my creation and in mere moments I was done. It may not look super elegant, but after a quick straining you’ll never be able to tell.

This should not be considered a vodka to do shots with. Even if it’s not that spicy on the tongue, sucking down that much probably won’t be so good for the stomach. This is meant for mixing or as spicy standalone for sipping on a cold winter night. Since we’re in winter and Christmas is coming, it seemed like a good idea.

By the way, the other peppers are Serrano peppers. They went into a different jar. I forgot to get a picture of that. I’ll get one when I open it in a couple of days.

There is another part to this experiment, which is the peppers themselves. Since I actually did this project awhile ago and just never go around to posting it, I plan to take the peppers are use them in a spicy jalapeno-cheddar bread loaf. I don’t know if the peppers have taken on any of the vodka essence, but even if not, the peppers should be preserved from being in the alcohol. They can still be used to make a nice bread. I should have the results of that later this week.