Beverage Trend: Spicy Cocktails

Last year elderberry cocktails were all the rage. Apparently, this is the season of spicy drinks. Every other restaurant I visited in the last few weeks had a chili or jalapeno cocktail on the menu. The upscale Thai restaurant housed in downtown Manhattan’s 60 Thompson hotel, Kittichai, was my first introduction to spicy alcoholic beverages. Their Ruby Red Chili drink contains grapefruit juice, vodka, limoncello, and red chili peppers for the perfect blend of juice and liquor, with a kick from the slices of red chili peppers.

One of SoHo’s best happy hour options, Woo Lae Oak, offers a martini menu of $6 drinks from 5 -7 p.m. Among them is a mild martini called the Jalapeno Daiquiri, which blends rum, fresh lime and muddled bits of the hot green pepper. Also in NYC are the spicy options from Rosa Mexicano, whose Martini Mexicano blends Ketel One vodka and “jalapeno infused olive brine,” and the Upper West Side spot Citrus, which offers a jalapeno margarita, a popular drink also served at Poco in Alphabet City and Ofrenda in the West Village. Meanwhile, the Lower East Side’s Stanton Social Club offers a variation on the jalapeno margarita; its Blood Orange – Jalapeno Margarita contains the obvious ingredients, as well as Cointreau.

Meanwhile, in the midwest, the Hyde Park Steakhouse Eleven also boasts a spicy drink on its list of signature cocktails. The Cucumber Jalapeno Caipirinha contains cucumber, lime, and jalapeno muddled with cachaca.

But, if you are staying home these days, opt for a DIY option, as there are many. Click here for Food.com’s Jalapeño Caipirinha Cocktail recipe and here for the Pineapple-Chile Margarita recipe from Bon Appétit. Finally, for a true savory option, try Gastrochic.com‘s Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita recipe.