A Spicy Little Number - It’s All About The Scovilles

why recipes should always be specific

2-3 of slices of red chilli.

Ah, so it’s supposed to be a bit spicy, hence the name, but when a recipe says a chilli, is there a baseline, standard chilli or will any old chilli do?

Today’s cocktail is called the Spicy 50 and the recipe calls for 2-3 slices of “red chilli”, however, I’m sure you all know and if not then you will by the end of this, that not all chillies are created equal.

Salvatore Calabrese - Creator of the Spicy 50

Salvatore Calabrese, the creator of the Spicy 50, one of the “New Era” IBA classics was born on Italy’s Amalfi coast but made his bartending fame and fortune in London working at several bars, one of which was called Fifty where, in 2004, he created this cocktail with chillies and named it the Spicy Fifty after the bar.

Now, I tried to recreate it using the only chillies available to me at the time, which were Thai chilies and, rather than crush into the drink, I added to the vodka and left overnight to infuse.

The result of this was a reaction not entirely dissimilar to the poor unfortunate gentleman who tried to make his own limoncello and recorded the first tasting for posterity, becoming something of an internet celebrity in the process. Take a look here if you are interested in that experience. ->https://youtube.com/shorts/lbCd-eFQllM?si=WhkBaDBW0opNoyor

Back to the question, what chillies did Salvatore intend to be used?

Chillis are rated using the Scoville scale with a humble jalapeno having around 10,000 Scovilles, a Habanero having around 200,000, and something called a Carolina Reaper having 2,200,000. Asking Google what the most common chillies are on the Amalfi coast turned up something called the pepperoncino which is between 15,000 and 30,000 Scovilles, however my Thai chillies get a rating between 50,000 and 100,000 and so my reaction was not entirely surprising, if only I had done my research before my mixing.

Anyway, we always have more vodka available in my house to, erm, dilute something that is a bit strong, so with a 3:1 dilution I think I got to something around the spicy level intended.

The Spicy 50 is a Vodka and Lime Juice cocktail but is given a host of floral notes through the addition of vanilla, honey syrup, and elderflower cordial, along with the chillis we have been talking about.

I may have to play with the chilli balance, but it’s a good cocktail, with plenty of difference from the usual range of sours that make up the classic list to make it worth your while getting the ingredients. And for those who like a chilli challenge, you can try out all your favourite home grown fiery varieties, just don’t complain to me if you make it too hot.

Spicy 50

• 50 ml Vodka Vanilla - or ordinary vodka and 3-4 drops of vanilla essence.

• 15 ml Elderflower Cordial

• 15 ml Fresh Lime Juice

• 10 ml Honey Syrup - that’s a 1:1 ratio of honey mixed with water so that it mixes properly.

• 2 thin Slices Red Chili Pepper - choose your chilli carefully or enjoy the experiment.

Instructions

• Place all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake to chill, combine and dilute, 10-20 seconds depending on what ice you are using.

• Strain through a fine strainer into whatever glass you think it looks nicest in and make sure nobody gets those unexpected chilli bits.

• Garnish with a chilli pepper and be careful not to drink from where the chilli was perched if you use a hot one!

We’re entering a “heat wave” here in the UK which means that it is finally warm enough for me to enjoy my cocktails outside, so I hope you get some equally good weather to enjoy the weekend, and if you need to cool off, a frozen margarita is my tip!

Cheers!