Habañero Lemonade and Bourbon

The idea of a lemonade with the right amount of heat and the right kind of booze is a tricky thing to come by. To be honest, I was surprised at how well this particular experiment turned out, but it’s a perfect storm of flavors. The lemonade and Bourbon go remarkably well together, and the habañero flavor kicks in right at the end. The great thing about using the habañero is that it gives you distinctive “spice” without a pronounced vegetable flavor often encountered with jalapeño infusions.


To start, you have to make or buy your lemonade. Since I’m all about the DIY, I made my own. Also, this is remarkably easy; it literally takes less than five minutes, so in my opinion making your own is always the way to go! As I was making this to mix with booze, I made it a little stronger (sweeter and more lemon-y) than I would just a plain lemonade, and it made for a better tasting cocktail.

The Lemonade:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice (concentrated)
  • Juice of 1 fresh lemon (optional)
  • 6 cups water

First you need a simple syrup. Add the 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of water to a pan and heat on a low setting. Stir the mixture until all the sugar dissolves and then dump the syrup into your vessel of choice. Add the rest of the ingredients, minus 1/2 cup of water. I had to use concentrated lemon juice because that’s all I could find, but I put in a little of the fresh squeezed stuff for texture. If you use only fresh squeezed juice, you’ll have to use more of it-let your taste buds be the judge. Do keep in mind that this should be a little strong, and that you’re also making it for yourself. The recipe is based on what tasted good to me, but you may want to add a little more or less of the ingredients.

The Habañero:

If you’re not familiar with them, habañeros are some of the hottest peppers around, with some varieties being 100 times hotter on the Scoville scale than your average jalapeño. They range in color from light green to deep red, and the closer they get to red the stronger they are. Mine were orange, which Is considered a medium strength – relatively speaking; on a personal note, I once ate a whole habañero and it was a six hour odyssey of pain, so be *very* careful when you’re handling this thing!

I poured one pint of my lemonade into a jar and added a sliced habañero with the seeds removed. For easy removal I wrapped it in cheesecloth, but a coffee filter would also work. I then tossed the mixture into the fridge, and after an hour and a half it had just the right amount of spice. I checked on the lemonade about every half hour, and I’d recommend you do the same. If you let it sit too long, the habañero will be the only thing you taste.

The Cocktail:

I used Bulleit Bourbon (again) because it’s decent and fairly cheap, but go ahead and use something else if you’d like. The Bourbon flavor does come through in this, so I wouldn’t use anything you couldn’t drink straight.

Simply combine the following and enjoy:

  • 1 part bourbon
  • 3 parts habanero lemonade
  • ice

Or, blend the whole thing and enjoy a kickass frozen drink!

Cheers!

13 thoughts on “Habañero Lemonade and Bourbon

    1. i would imagine 90 days worth of infusing with a habanero would result in ultimate PAAIIIIN. pat did you try any longer infusions?

  1. Grandmas best organic Honey Lemonade Recipe: 1/2 gallon warm water, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice. Just mix it all with your hands (their warmth will disolve the honey and sugar) and pour mixture into a gallon container filled 3/4 with ice. You can even add a slice of fresh ginger for a little extra kick.

  2. I haven’t thought about using habañeros in my drink. Initially, I raised my eyebrow.But your post made it clear that it would give me a different kind of feeling. It’s like the fusion of coldness and hotness.

    1. If you add 1-2 mint leaves and 1 table spoon of honey you will have a variation of that recipe.

      The Honey will add a little smooth to the texture and the mint will add a hint of refreshing. 🙂

  3. This sounds odd but yummy at the same time! I think this is the first time I have come across a drink with habañeros. I’ll try to ask my boyfriend to go mix this for me so we could try it out!

  4. Wow, honestly that looks fantastic. I’m actually salivating now with my girlfriend beside me.

    We’re going gonna make this over the weekend. We’re gonna add stevia to it as we like it sweet and best of all, it doesn’t affect your glycemic index!

    Try it! Oh and thanks for this simple recipe.

    Mark Derulo
    Wichita, KS

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