Ted Wagner wrote: > Peter, > > One added thing. I've been experimenting with adding peppers to bourbon for several years now. For several years running, I add mint and a pepper or two (or three or four....etc) to a bottle of bourbon and bring it to Open Fields each year. > > Any aged alcohol you must experiment and learn from. My experience is that if you aren't careful, although the alcohol will be "hot", it might taste really "off"... or let's just say "nasty". > > > Though I no longer partake myself, in my misspent youth I found that the best results were derived from steeping the chiles in the alcohol in question until the desired heat level was reached (rarely more than a week) and then straining them out. Otherwise, it does tend to get that really bad, skunky flavor- it's more noticeable in less naturally strongly-flavored alcohols like vodka, but it'll be there. Cutting the chiles in half lengthwise (if you're using something like jalapenos or habaneros) also speeds up the "heating" process as distinct from using whole chiles. Jonathan