Alan doesn’t do spicy. I, on the other hand, adore hot, spicy foods, especially cocktails. Whenever we go out, I scan the drink menu for a spicy cocktail to try. Even though Alan can’t handle spicy, for some reason, he always has to try a sip, which makes him whine and cry!

When we were dating, we went to Gregory Gourdet’s (of Top Chef Session 12 fame) Departure Restaurant in Portland (my favorite restaurant), for drinks. They used to serve a Thai chile-infused ginger beer drink called a Tacho Macho and Alan insisted on trying it. Alan picked up the drink, took a big sip, burned his mouth, and in his haste to get the glass out of his hands, spilled the entire drink all over the bar—I hadn’t even had a taste of it yet! The bartender generously made me another one, laughing at Alan who was holding his mouth and whimpering in the seat next to me! He’s never learned his lesson, and still insists on trying a sip of my spicy drink—I just no longer let him pick the glass up off the bar top anymore!

Alan’s Tears, inspired by Alan’s reaction to spicy cocktails, is basically a spicy Paloma, a refreshing Mexican cocktail made with tequila, grapefruit and lime juices, sugar syrup, and sparkling water. However, I recently discovered chile-infused vodka, and have been making Alan’s Tears with this. Chile vodka is very simple to make and is a great way to use up leftover or aging chilies. Simply slice the chilies, jalapeno, habanero, serrano, etc., place in a quart mason jar, and cover with vodka. You can also add the core, seeds, membrane, and stem end of bell peppers to this as well, which is a great use of what would otherwise be wasted. Put the lid on it and let the peppers infuse in the vodka at least a couple of days or up to a week, depending on the heat of your chilies and the level of spiciness you want. Take a taste every day or so to see where it’s at. Once your happy with it, strain out the solids and store in a glass bottle. You can also infuse tequila with peppers using the same technique.

It’s completely up to you if you want to use tequila, vodka, pepper-infused vodka, or pepper-infused tequila in this drink.

How to Make Alan’s Tears

Here’s the ingredients for making Alan’s Tears:

• Tequila, Vodka, or Pepper Infused Tequila or Vodka, your choice
• St. Germain or other Elderflower Liqueur
• Sanpellegrino Pompelmo Sparkling Fruit Beverage (most grocery stores carry this)
• Hot peppers of choice, I like jalapenos and habaneros, but you can use serranos, Thai chilies, etc.
• Ice

Tools needed:

• Cutting board and knife
• Cocktail jigger or other cocktail measuring device
• Cocktail shaker
• Cocktail strainer, if your shaker doesn’t have one built-in
• Collins or other tall drink glass

Cut the peppers into slices and put into your cocktail shaker. I do about three nice slices of jalapeno and a couple slices of habanero. Add tequila or vodka of choice, St. Germain, and ice, then muddle well to break up the peppers.

Lid the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.

Strain the muddled and shaken mixture over ice in a Collins glass.

Top the glass off with chilled Sanpellegrino Pompelmo Sparkling Fruit Beverage and stir.

Garnish with slices of pepper used in the cocktail and enjoy!

If you can’t find the Sanpellegrino Pompelmo, you can make this with grapefruit soda or grapefruit juice, some simple syrup, and sparkling water as a substitute, which would be equally delicious.

If you like a spicy drink, give these a try! And make some hot pepper infused vodka too, as it is wonderful in Alan’s Tears as well as Bloody Mary’s with Vegan Worcestershire Sauce and Tomato Juice.

 

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