Sargent Pepper - holiday drink recipe

While we were in New Orleans (how many posts will I write that start like that?) we found a number of delicious drinks that were all, inevitably, the most amazing we'd ever had. They are extremely creative with their drink recipes! Maybe it's just because we're from Utah or maybe we're just not drinking at the right places? Either way The Bear came home from that trip inspired to try something new and that is where this drink recipe came from. Technically this is not the drink he created.......it's my recipe that was inspired by his recipe that was inspired by New Orleans. But I let him name it (Sargent Pepper) as a nod to his creativity (aka he was extremely put off by my desire to claim this recipe as my own). The truth is I wouldn't be shocked if there is some official drink out there with similar ingredients but I've never seen a recipe so I'm claiming it as my own.

This drink calls for pepper infused vodka which, to my knowledge, you cannot just pick up at any ol' liquor store. It is REALLY simple to make, aside from the wait time. Which is kind of a bummer if you are reading this and want to drink it tonight. At the very least you have to wait 1 week, at the very most 3 weeks, but please hear me when I say it is SOOOO worth it. You can use it with a lot of drinks as a flavoring, a spicy Bloody Mary is my personal second favorite. Here is the recipe we used for the vodka but there are a lot of different recipes out there, perhaps one that doesn't require so much wait time? The instructions say 2-3 weeks but we felt like 1 week would have been enough if you're impatient. Also, use a mini food processor to grind the peppercorns (or a coffee bean grinder if you have one) to save yourself a lot of time.

So, after that lengthy introduction (you had 3 weeks to read it while your vodka infused so what's the big deal?) here we go with the drink that you most definitely need at this point! What you need : Vodka, the regular kind (any brand will do but I highly recommend at least mid shelf as the vodka flavor is a big highlight to your drink), pepper infused vodka, 100% cranberry juice....NOT cran-apple, fresh limes, tonic water.

Drinks taste better if you make them with holiday decor as a backdrop

Fill your glass with ice and then add 2 shots/ounces of regular vodka, a generous splash of tonic water, and fill with cranberry juice leaving room for another ounce of liquid without spilling over.

Squeeze a generous wedge of fresh lime and throw the remaining lime in the glass.

Don't be like Mr. Bear and use bottled lime juice, don't do it!!!

 Add 1/2 ounce/shot glass of the pepper infused vodka....stir, taste, and add more if desired.

Don't let the muddy pepper vodka scare you....

Cheers!!!

Recipe:
2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. pepper vodka (I use closer to 1 oz but start with 1/2 and work your way up)
cranberry juice
generous splash of tonic water
1 lime
Add ingredients to glass, stir, drink. Winning!

Please try this and when you do I'm totally fine with you silently thanking me in your mind. If you make some adjustments feel free to totally re-name the drink and post it as your own on your blog. The Bear would be offended but no one plans on telling him. Speaking of my Mr. Bear.....here is his version of the drink. I'm unsure on the quantity of each ingredient so I'll just list them all.

• Cranberry juice (still no cran-apple please)
• Tonic water
• Lime juice from a bottle
• Sweet and sour mixer
• Pepper infused vodka

So, you are switching fresh lime for bottled lime juice and adding the sweet and sour mixer.