Spicy Fifty Cocktail Recipe
Vanilla vodka, elderflower and honey with fresh chilli — floral and sweet up front, hot on the finish.
- Category: New Era Drinks
- Glass: Martini glass
- ABV: 20%
- Difficulty: Medium
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Vanilla vodka50 ml (1.7 oz)
- Elderflower liqueur20 ml (0.7 oz)
- Fresh lemon juice15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Honey syrup10 ml (0.3 oz)
- Fresh chilli2 piece
How to Make It
- Muddle the chilli lightly in the shaker.
- Add the remaining ingredients and ice, then shake hard.
- Double-strain into a chilled martini glass.
- Float a thin chilli slice on top.
Garnish
Red chilli slice
What it tastes like
The sweetness is pronounced, it carries a floral top note and there is a spiced warmth to it.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
The conical martini glass. Made for drinks served without ice — the stem keeps your hand off the bowl and the cone funnels the aroma upward.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Elderflower liqueur
- Elderflower liqueur, such as St-Germain. Floral and sweet; too much of it reads as perfume, which is why recipes rarely go past 15-20 ml.
- Fresh lemon juice
- Freshly squeezed lemon; one lemon gives 30-40 ml. It can swap with lime, but lemon is softer and less aromatic, so use a touch more.
- Honey syrup
- Three parts honey to one part warm water. Neat honey seizes up in a cold drink, which is why it gets loosened first. Heavier and more aromatic than simple syrup.
The Story
Salvatore Calabrese's, made at Fifty London; one of the drinks that put fresh chilli behind respectable bars.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Spicy Fifty mixed?
- It is shaken and served in a martini glass.
- How strong is a Spicy Fifty?
- Roughly 20% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Spicy Fifty be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Spicy Fifty hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.