Friday Drink Post: Pepper Vodka

Joy! My good friends Micah and Erica are visiting this weekend, so I dedicate this post to them.

Once upon a time, I used to work as an administrator/tasting coordinator for an upscale catering company/event venue in Baltimore City. (Coincidentally, it was also the same place that The Saucier had worked in long before I had met her.) In our building, we had THREE bars. THREE bars that we could access merely through stepping in an elevator. And a fourth bar right across the street. And a fifth bar about a half block away. It was pretty damn sweet.
And of the three bars in our building, our company owned two of them. And being that most of my coworkers, as well as myself, wanted nothing to do with our work once we punched out, we often frequented the third bar. It was a Russian bar located in the basement of our building with a surprisingly sizable dining area (that we never saw used) and Russian karaoke in the corner (which, again, thankfully, we never saw used). The bartender was young and friendly and probably happy to liven up the 5:30 Tuesday lull with a bunch of cute salesgirls from my office. So, it wasn’t entirely rare to occasionally be treated to a free drink on the house.
One night, the bartender offered me a free shot and I agreed, if he took one with me. He agreed and asked what I wanted. I glanced over their SIZABLE collection of Russian vodkas and saw a pepper vodka. THAT was what I wanted. And that was how I earned my badass points with the bartender that day.

I have a surprising love of pepper vodka. In small doses. I’m normally not a fan of hot foods, but for some reason, a good pepper vodka just perks me right up. The first time I ever had it, it was the homemade concoction of a good friend of mine, Micah, and it was always my favorite memory of the drink. Be warned, this is not for everybody. The vodka IS hot and you can feel it trace a burning path down your esophagus. Too much, and you WILL hate yourself for it later. But honestly, everyone should try one shot at least once in their life.

There are a couple ways to make this drink: One way is to take about 8 whole chili peppers, put them in a quart of vodka, and let steep in the freezer for about a week. Or, if you are particularly daring and don’t mind setting fire to your stomach, quarter a whole habanero pepper and put it in a quart of vodka and let steep in the freezer for a couple days. Check the flavor daily until you get it at your desired level of hotness.

On a final note, DO be careful with this drink, especially if brewing your own. It can be VERY hot and VERY rough on the stomach.

Wiping her hands of all liability,
~ Chef Z