Thai Chili & Black Pepper Martinis

Hands down the hottest thing I could find in Thailand (which is saying something), this martini takes the extra step of kicking your ass by coating your tongue, lips, and mouth with fire that won't go away.

That said, I swear it's quite enjoyable!

I'm still screwing with the recipe, I enjoyed one of these at the Blue Elephant in Bangkok, and I'm sure they have more experience making it than I do, so bear with me... I also suggest avoiding my experience, and drinking this WITHOUT a side of fried durian chips, which resemble pork rinds in flavor and texture to the casual observer.

750ml high quality vodka
1/4 cup dried red Thai chilis
1.5 TB black peppercorns, lightly crushed
Galangal syrup (recipe below)

Add black pepper and chilis to vodka. After three days, remove the chilis. Mix 2 oz. infused vodka with 1 oz. galangal syrup to make a martini, or mix the vodka half and half with a little bit of lemongrass lemonade to make a pretty damn good shot. I suggest against making this with fresh chilis, as the "green" taste of fresh chilis is a bit overpowering.

For galangal syrup:
1 cup water
1/2 cup palm sugar
5 TB galangal, thinly sliced

Bring all ingredients to simmer. Continue to simmer for 3 minutes - make sure all sugar is dissolved. Let mixture sit 1 hour for flavors to develop and strain.

Lemongrass lemonade:

You can make lemongrass lemonade by pureeing fresh lemongrass (the green part) with water and straining. Add sugar to taste. This works best with home-grown lemongrass, as the store bought variety generally has the long, grassy tops removed.