Jalapeño-Infused Vodka Lime Drink Thing

At the Bella Luna Milky Way Restaurant and Lounge in JP this weekend I had a drink they call Some Like It Hot. It is delicious: Jalapeno-infused vodka, muddled limes, simple syrup. Added to that is a secret ingredient the bar tender said is a drop of juice from a jar of cherry peppers.

I had to be able to make my own version at home.

Step 1: Infuse the vodka with jalapeños.
I looked up a few recipes online but decided to mostly just listen to the Bella Luna Milky Way bar tender’s advice: slice up some jalapeños and let it sit in the vodka for 24 hours. Easy enough. I went with Absolut vodka mostly because it comes in a clear glass bottle that would makes for easy viewing of the jalapeños. (oooh, pretty)

I sliced the jalapeños length-wise and squeezed them through the neck of the Absolut. Then I let the bottle sit in a dark cabinet for 24 hours, shaking the mixture whenever I remembered. My randomly-chosen ratio was 3 sliced jalapeños to 1 liter of vodka.

Step 2: Mix Your Drink
I didn’t really have all of his exact ingredients so I decided to improvise. Instead of “cherry peppers” – whatever those are – I picked up a jar of Peppadew Peppers. Why? Because they looked like what the bar tender had used and I happen to run across them in Whole Foods. I don’t have any Simple Syrup pre-made so I just used a dash of sugar. And I wanted a little extra sourness so I used a combination of a muddled lime, lime juice and Rose’s Lime Juice.

Final mixture:

•  3-4 oz. of homemade jalapeño-infused vodka
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. Rose’s Lime Juice
• Large slice of lime
• Dash of sugar

Muddle the lime in the above mixture. Add ice. Shake turbulently.

Before you pour the mixture into a martini glass, add a large drop of the Peppadew juice straight from the jar. Throw in one whole Peppadew, mostly for aesthetics. Pour into the glass.

Step 3: Enjoy your spicy concoction.

Damn, that’s one spicy meatball!