Spicy Fifty
Chili wakes the gin up
A fiery vanilla-vodka cocktail with a slow-building chili heat balanced by elderflower sweetness and lime. Every sip escalates — in the best way possible.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 oz Vanilla Vodka
- 1/2 oz St-Germain
- 1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
- 1/3 oz Honey Syrup
- 2 slices Fresh Red Chili
Method
Muddle chili slices in a shaker. Add vodka, St-Germain, lime juice, and honey syrup with ice. Shake vigorously. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a red chili pepper.
Created by Salvatore Calabrese for his bar Fifty in London, opening February 2005 with this as a signature drink; inspiration drawn from Michelin-starred chef Jean-George Vongerichten's spice-forward menu at Rama restaurant (housed within the same Fifty St James location). Per Difford's Guide #3611. Notes: vanilla vodka, elderflower cordial, honey syrup, fresh lime, fresh red chili; structurally foundational to the modern chili-cocktail category. A competing cocktail, MyZo, emerged around the same time (2004), created by Myles Cunliffe and placed third in the 2004 UKBG Cocktail Challenge with a similar vanilla-vodka-elderflower-citrus-chilli base.
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