Redeeming Spirits Cocktail

My uber talented friend, Kara Newman, created this recipe specially for my readers. I highly recommend it as the ideal drink when you read my fiction debut-  The Devil in Us!

Enjoy, friends! I look forward to your thoughts on the drink and the book!

Redeeming Spirits 

A variation on the classic “Moscow Mule,” this drink is powered by the heat of pepper-infused vodka. Choose a good commercial brand (I like Oola, from Washington State – https://caskers.com/product/oola-chili-pepper-vodka/), or marinate a sliced fresh jalapeno in one cup of unflavored vodka for a couple of hours. Note – a traditional Mule uses ginger beer; here the sweetness of ginger ale should help balance out the jalapeno spice.

1 1/2 ounces chile pepper-infused vodka

1/2 ounce lime juice (about half a lime)

4 ounces ginger ale

Jalapeno slice (to garnish)

In a tall glass, pour in the vodka and squeeze the lime wedges into the glass. Drop the wedges into the glass, and add a scoop of ice. Add ginger ale to fill the glass and stir.

NON ALCOHOLIC VERSION:

4-6 ounces spicy ginger beer

1/2 ounce lime juice (about half a lime)

In a tall glass, pour in the ginger beer and squeeze the lime wedges into the glass. Drop the wedges into the glass. Scoop in ice and stir to chill.

Kara Newman is the spirits editor for Wine Enthusiast magazine and the author of two cocktail books, Spice & Ice and the forthcoming Cocktails for a Crowd (both from Chronicle Books) – as well as The Secret Financial Life of Food, newly published by Columbia University Press.

She is the former vice president of strategic research at Thomson Reuters and a former board member of the Culinary Historians of New York. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Saveur, NPR’s “Kitchen Window” and many other publications.

Photograph by Andrea Meyers.. who did a fantastic job as usual!