Homemade Jalapeño Vodka

A mason jar of vodka with floating jalapeño rings beside an empty bottle, a funnel, a shot glass and a fresh jalapeño on a butcher-block counter

Homemade Jalapeño Vodka

Plain vodka infused with sliced jalapeños for a mild, fresh heat. It takes a couple of days on the counter and pours straight into a Bloody Mary or a martini.

Course Cocktails

Keyword Jalapeno Pepper

Prep Time 10

Infusing 2

Total Time 2 10

Servings 1 1/2-ounce pours

Calories 104kcal

Ingredients

1 bottle plain vodka 750 ml
2 jalapeño peppers sliced into 1/4-inch rings, seeds and white ribs removed (see notes)

Instructions

Rinse and dry the jalapeños. Slice them into 1/4-inch rings and push out the seeds and white ribs.
Put the jalapeño rings in a clean 1-quart glass jar and pour in the vodka. Keep the empty bottle. Seal the jar.
Leave the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and give it a gentle shake once a day.
Start tasting after 24 hours with a small sip. Most batches are where they need to be in 2 to 5 days. Stop as soon as it's as hot as you like.
Strain the vodka through a fine-mesh strainer (lined with a coffee filter for a clearer pour) and funnel it back into the bottle. Discard the jalapeños and cap the bottle.

Notes

Heat: Jalapeños run 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville heat units, and no two are quite the same, so tasting is the only real timer. With the seeds and ribs out, two peppers give a mild to medium burn.

Want it hotter? Leave some of the white ribs in, add a third jalapeño, or let it infuse a few more days. Most of a jalapeño's heat is in those ribs, not the seeds. Red jalapeños work too: they're a little hotter and sweeter than green.

Storage: Once strained, cap it and keep it in a cool, dark cupboard like any other vodka. If you leave the peppers in, it keeps getting hotter.

Nutrition