I love vodka. Actually, I’m not sure whether I should put that statement in writing. But it’s true. Vodka martinis, vodka lemonade, vodka soda, Moscow mules – vodka is a keeper. I have a lot of different vodkas from all over the world, but for my “house” vodka, I use Iceberg. Besides the fact that it’s Canadian, it showed up as #2 in the Beverage Tasting Institute’s 1998 vodka rankings, at least according to the Grey Goose ad below! I’ve alway said Iceberg should use the same ranking that Grey Goose does and advertise itself as “the World’s second best tasting vodka, at half the price of the World’s best tasting vodka” [Note: you are welcome Iceberg marketing people!]
I also love spicy food. Spicy food is good for you. It speeds up your metabolism; protects your stomach lining; reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease; and recent Australian studies show that adding chilies to your food may protect against the buildup of cholesterol in your blood. Spicy food also tastes fantastic.
So, why not put two things that I love together?
Ladies and Gentlemen…..spicy vodka, 3 ways.
What you need:
- 4 Thai (bird’s eye) chili peppers
- 3 Habanero chili peppers
- 1 – 1.14 L bottle good vodka (I used Iceberg)
- 3 – 500 ml mason jars
What you do:
- Cut slits in the chilies
- Place in jars
- Jar 1 – 3 Thai chili peppers
- Jar 2 – 1 Habanero chili pepper, 1 Thai chili pepper
- Cover with approximately 1 3/4 cup of vodka per jar
- Seal with lid
- Put in a dark area for 3 days to 1 week (the longer you keep the peppers in the vodka, the stronger and hotter the pepper taste)
Jar 3 – Quick Spicy Pepper Garlic Vodka
For those times you say, “darn, I want spicy vodka now”.
What you need:
- 2 Habanero chili peppers, sliced (de-seed one of them, keep the seeds in the other one)
- 3 cloves of garlic, sliced into chunks
- 1 3/4 cups of vodka
- 1 500 ml mason jar
What you do:
- Add sliced chilies and garlic to mason jar
- Cover with vodka
- Place lid on, seal tightly
- Shake
- Place in cool, dark area, for 3 – 4 hours, shaking often
- Strain into second jar
Now that you have Spicy Pepper Vodka, what do you do with it?
Moscow Kicking Mule
Prep time: 1 minute Serves: 2
What you need:
- 2 1/2 oz Spicy Vodka (I used the Habanero Thai Chili Vodka – Jar 2 recipe)
- 1 bottle Ginger Beer
- Sliced Pickled Jalapeños
- ice
What you do:
- Fill two tall glasses with ice
- Add 1 1/4 oz Spicy Vodka per glass
- Divide Ginger Beer between the 2 glasses
- Top with pickled Jalapeños
- Stir and enjoy
