March 21, 2021 Cocktails

Velvet Inferno: It Hurts so Good

Like a toxic love affair — smooth going down, then it gets you. The habañero maple syrup is the engine; the cinnamon cordial and pomegranate keep it from being a one-note pepper bomb. Have a sip. We dare you.

Whiskey and pomegranate cocktail ingredients

Recipe

Velvet Inferno

Serves 1 · whickey

Ingredients

Cocktail

1.5 oz Maker's Mark Bourbon
0.75 oz habañero maple syrup (below)
0.5 oz Cannella Cinnamon Cordial (Ferino Distillery)
0.5 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
0.5 oz pomegranate juice
4 dashes Scrappy's Chocolate Bitters
Crushed maple flakes, for the rim

The Syrup

1½ cups maple syrup
½ cup water
2 sliced habañero peppers

Method

Habañero Maple Syrup

Combine everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Strain into a bottle and you're ready to roll. Makes about 2 cups. Keeps in the fridge for a couple weeks. Also great in coffee.
Rim, Shake, Pour

Rim the glass with crushed maple flakes (maple sugar works too — I found mine at Salty Savory Sweet in Reno, NV). Shake all the cocktail ingredients with ice and pour into the glass. A lemon slice on the rim with a few extra flakes is a nice finishing touch. Heat too much? Cut the habañero syrup with regular maple syrup — start half and half and adjust from there.

Velvet Inferno: It Hurts so Good

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