Jalapeño Gojira!

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Though many of our infused vodka experiments turn out to be one-time gigs, we use a number of them regularly, and must periodically replenish our supplies. Recently, we began a new batch of our jalapeño vodka, which we use often as a marinade.

We normally infuse our jalapeño vodka for three days. This is sufficient to give the vodka a crisp, smooth flavor, reminiscent of green bell peppers, followed up by a substantial but not overwhelming kick of heat. This time, however, though I marked the date we begun the infusion on our calendar, I forgot to add an end-date reminder. As such, the vodka was neglected in an obscure cabinet in our laboratory -- for eleven days. Though it doesn't show very well in the below photo, the vodka had attained a pale but noticeable green color, which had never appeared in previous batches.



Of course, when we finally discovered it, we weren't going to give it up as a lost cause. We Mad Scienticians are well established as capsaicin addicts, and were intrigued by the over-infused vodka. We decided to sample it that night.



Amazingly, the vodka was still quite drinkable. "This has a hell of a burn on the back end," wrote Wayland, "but it's not too bad. It's probably still milder than our habanero vodka."

"It still has the same jalapeño flavor, without tasting overdone," I wrote, "but the heat is kicked up significantly."

We soon realized that of all the infusions we have created, jalapeño might be the only one that is time-scalable. Most infusions have a peak where they have attained the strongest and most faithful flavor from its ingredient, after which it descends (some gradually, others very quickly) into ruin. Jalapeño vodka may yet have its breaking point as well, but it seems that its creator can adjust their infusion time, depending on how much heat they prefer, without adversely affecting the flavor or overall quality.

Wayland noted, however, that "I can definitely feel the burn in my stomach after all is said and done."

That's a spicy meatball!

We sampled our jalapeño vodka experiment last night, while preparing to watch Duke and North Carolina State square off in the ACC tournament. (Way to go, Wolfpack! Sorry, Wayland.) The peppers had infused in the vodka for three days. We decided to play it safe with this one, and have chasers at the ready, since we didn't know just how hot this was going to be. Wayland poured himself a glass of Irish cream, while I opted for a cold beer.

I prepared myself for the worst, and knocked it back.



Oh man, that is surprisingly good stuff. It takes a few seconds to kick in; initially, it tastes more like a bell pepper, with only a mild vodka kick. The heat is all on the back end, and in just the right amount.



Wayland pondered for a moment as the two phases of the shot worked their way across his tongue and into his brain. "It's fairly smooth," he said. "There's a nice spicy bite that crept up on you at the end. The spice was at a good place, definitely spicy, but not overwhelming."

After bottling the vodka, straining it through cheesecloth to remove the seeds, I fished half of a jalapeño pepper from the jar to try a bite.



The pepper hasn't noticeably lost any flavor or heat in the infusion process. It just tastes like a regular jalapeño, slick on the surface with vodka, as if it had only been dipped in the liquor.

Next, I made a drink using the infusion, though Wayland opted to make a different drink to have with the game.

The Caesar

Dash of Worcestershire sauce
2 oz. Mad Scientician™ jalapeño vodka
4 oz. Clamato juice
Dash of black pepper

This is a modification on the Caesar recipe found on the Inferno Vodka website, pointed out to us by a faithful reader (thanks, Lilcrow). I upped the ratio a bit, and didn't bother salting the rim.

I have never had Clamato juice before, so I tried a little bit on its own before making the drink. To me, it doesn't taste much different than regular tomato juice. Wayland made all sorts of faces when I told him what Clamato juice is; but since he won't touch tomatoes or clams in any form, I let him know that he was in no position to judge.

The drink was very tasty, though I didn't see much difference between this and a Bloody Mary. But then again, I've always preferred Bloody Marys (Maries? How do you pluralize that?) to be spicy.

Brendan's score: 3.5 flasks out of 5
Wayland abstains.
Overall score:

We've got a few other cocktails up our sleeve, involving previous infusions. We'll be posting those later this afternoon.

Things are really heating up now! Jalapeño pepper vodka

This week, we've decided to try something a little different: a jalapeño pepper vodka infusion. The Mad Scienticians are big fans of spicy foods; in fact, behind ethyl alcohol and caffeine, capsaicin is our third favorite molecule.

That said, I am a little intimidated by this experiment. Many of our previous infusions have provided mild or sweet flavors to neutralize the kick of the vodka. Jalapeños, on the other hand, are celebrated for their own bite. Will the combination of these two ingredients create a spicy but otherwise neutral shot, or will they combine their powers to create a higher evil than they could separately? Only experimentation will tell.

We began by rinsing two jalapeño peppers and slicing them in half. Some would say to leave them whole; we say, where's the fun in that? Let's heat this bad boy up.



Much like the recent spearmint vodka experiment, this one was fairly straightforward. Once cut in half, we poured the vodka over the peppers.



Interestingly, the bottoms of the peppers sank to the bottom, while the tops floated. It seems that the stems are more buoyant than the rest of the jalapeño.



We're going to give this a few days and see what happens.