Red Pepper Martini
Sweet and spicy red pepper vodka martini recipe. This cocktail is a unique alternative to a bloody mary.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 10, 2024
I did it. I quit my job!
Itโs hard to believe that the little project I named Cookie and Kate three and a half years ago has become a full-time endeavor. When my parents asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I definitely never responded, โVegetarian food blogger,โ but that was back when I subsisted on chicken fingers with ketchup and home computers were clunky novelties. Regardless, Iโve found my calling. For now.
Iโm hoping to post recipes more often from here on out. Iโm already feeling like a failure since Iโve only managed to post once during my first week as a full timer. I have, however, been attacking my to-do list like itโs a beast that can be conquered. Oh, if only it could.
Before I dive into the blog improvement projects on my agenda, I thought Iโd ask you all what you would like to see here first. What kinds of recipes do you prefer? Do you have suggestions for how this website could work better for you? Any features youโd like to see? Letโs hear it!
Stoli asked me to come up with a fall-inspired cocktail and today seemed like the perfect day to share it with you all. Itโs Friday, after all! And I quit my job! Iโm making less money but Iโm doing what I love! Letโs toast to that.
At first, I was pretty set on incorporating pears in the cocktail. I tried infusing, muddling, blending and cooking, but none of those techniques brought the best out of those pears. I probably should have bought pear vodka in the first place. I was stressing about the pear issue when my friends came over for girls night, and those lovely geniuses reminded me of my favorite cocktail from Manifesto called the Beautiful Red Bell. Red bell pepper muddled into a cocktail lends sweet peppery notes and a pretty orangey pink hue. Itโs delightful.
This red number is a cross between the beautiful red bell and a savory spin on a martini I tasted in Denver last month. That drink, which I sipped under the pink lights at The Thin Man, was made with a crazy-sounding roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato, jalapeรฑo and garlic infused vodka. It was a far cry from a classic martini, but I loved it. I love this cocktail, too. I mixed it up in a hurry this morning and got it just right on my third attempt. Of course, the drinks are reserved for tonight since I am a professional.
This cocktail would be the perfect sweet-and-spicy cocktail to serve at girls night or brunch. When you do, invite your friends to join you on RecAPP by Stoli to capture all of your original moments. Itโs a free app that lets you create video recaps of events and share them with friends. Cheers!
Red Pepper Martini
Sweet and spicy, peppery vodka martinis. Serve as a savory before-dinner cocktail, or as a light alternative to a bloody mary at brunch. Amounts given below yield two cocktails.
Ingredients
- 1 medium bell pepper, seeded and sliced into 2-inch pieces
- ยผ medium jalapeรฑo pepper, seeded (use more or less depending on how spicy you want the drink to be)
- 1 lime, juiced
- ยฝ garlic clove, peeled
- 3 ounces Stoli vodka
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar or simple syrup
- 1 dash hot sauce, preferably Cholula
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Coarse sea salt or kosher salt, optional
Instructions
- First, line the rims with black pepper and salt if desired. Sprinkle a small plate with pepper and salt, run a lime wedge around the rims of two martini glasses, and dip the edges in the salt and pepper mixture.
- In a cocktail shaker, muddle the bell pepper, jalapeno, lime juice and garlic. Youโre done when the peppers have no more crunch left in them.
- Add the vodka, agave or simple syrup, hot sauce, a couple twists of freshly ground black pepper and a dash of salt. Fill the shaker with ice, top the shaker with its lid and shake it like crazy. Strain the mixture into the prepared glasses and serve immediately.
Notes
- Cocktail inspired by the beautiful red bell cocktail at Manifesto (Kansas City) and the red pepper-infused vodka at The Thin Man (Denver).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Stoli. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who allow me to serve up more recipes. Opinions are my own, always. Savor Stoli Responsibly. STOLICHNAYAยฎ Premium Vodka. 40% Alc/Vol. Distilled from grain. William Grant & Sons, Inc. New York, NY. ยฉ 2013 Spirits International, B.V.
Happy to hear that, Kate! Bet Cookie is happy, too.
Would love to see some postings on cooking with Tofu. I havenโt checked your past posts for those, but I will.
I love your blog and I have told many people about it and repost on FB. Your photography is lovely and your recipes rock. Keep up the great work!
Thank you, Trish, for sharing my blog! I really appreciate your feedback, too. I donโt cook with tofu very often, to tell you the truth. Iโve never quite mastered it. Minimalist Baker just posted a great tofu recipe that I hope to try soon. Maybe youโll like it, too!
Congratulations! This is so exciting. Youโve absolutely inspired me to work a bit harder at my blog. You should do a post that explains how you got the courage to quit your job and what you did to get where you are (as a blogger, and in life). Keep up the great work. This cocktail looks so tasty.
Thanks, Heidi! Thatโs a great idea. The short answer is, โI got bored at an office job and started a blog,โ but the story is much longer than thatโฆ
Yay!! Thatโs super news! Thrilled for you Kate!
Thank you, sweet Becky! xo.
So exciting!!! As a lifelong vegetarian Iโve always loved your recipes and canโt wait to see more โ cheers to a great celebratory cocktail, too!
Thank you, Liz!
Congratulations! Thatโs wonderful news. Thank you for all your hard work on this website, I enjoy it very much. For me, Iโm always interested in easy lunches and/or lunches that last several days for work.
Thank you, Annamarie! I will try to think of some more lunch ideas for you soon. I really appreciate your feedback!
CONGRATULATIONS! I am so excited for you. I am also both extremely jealous and incredibly inspired. While blogging isnโt my gig, I definitely have non-corporate aspirations, and love to watch other people gain the courage to live their dreams! One day I will take the plunge too. Iโm looking forward to lots more recipes! :-)
Thank you, Kathryn! Best wishes to you and to following your dreams!
Kate!!! Oh my gosh, iโm beyond excited for you. Congrats on taking the risk โ so inspiring. Iโm going to be unhelpful here and say go for the recipes that excite you! I loved your spicy peanut soup , meals that comfort you, meals that fulfill you, meals that leap off the plate and into my memory so I come running back here every time i want to cook. Okay that wasnโt helpful at all, that was totally full of pressure โฆ sorry!! :)) Congrats again. Lots more home time for Cookie :)
Thank you, Dervla! Your comment made me smile. Iโm listening to everyoneโs suggestions, for sure, but I always post the recipes that inspire me. :)
Hi Kate, I love your blog! I have vegetarian children (19 and 23 years old) and am always looking for easy, nutritious dinners :-)
Thank you, Margie! I will try to come up with more easy dinners for your family soon. :)
This is SUCH exciting news! Hooray to quitting your job and following your dreams. Iโll drink (a red pepper martini) to that :-)
Congrats, Kathryne! Iโm so impressed that youโve been able to make the leap. Pretty tremendous. :)
Thank you, Kimberley! Iโm looking forward to having more time to devote to other projects.
Congrats!! So excited for what the future holds for Cookie & Kate! I would love to see more โquick, weeknight mealโ posts โ I am also a fan of your soup recipes! :-)
Great suggestions! Thank you, Cassie.
Congrats, Kate! Quitting my job to go to culinary school was the BEST feeling. I literally skipped out of the office that last day :)
Thanks! High five for quitting our jobs! Maybe Iโll go to culinary school someday, too.
Congratulations! As a new food blogger this is really inspiring โ wish you all the best in this endeavor!
Thank you, Mai!
Congratulations!! Iโm so glad youโre able to do something you love as a full-time gig! (And Iโm so glad for us, who get to benefit from your creations, ha. That butternut squash chipotle chili is one of my all-time faves!)
Thank you! Iโm so glad you love the chili! Itโs about that time of year again. :)
Hi Kate!
Weโre roommates, vegetarians and best friends who love your blog! Weโre really proud of you and so excited to see what comes next. Planning to make your frozen Bloody Mary this weekend for brunch!
Best,
Devon & Shayna
Hi Devon and Shayna! Thank you! Iโm really glad youโre enjoying the recipes. Hope your brunch turned out great!
This drink looked soooo cool, so I made this last night for my husband and me. Delicious! Nice and spicy, with a little sweet and sour thrown in for good measure. Great idea! Love your blog.
Thanks for commenting, Holly! Iโm glad you two enjoyed the drink! Itโs my new favorite.
Huge congrats to you, Kate!! So happy for you and wishing you continued success. Youโre doing amazing things in this space and I canโt wait to see what you do in the future. Best of luck!!!
Kate,
I had been out of touch for a while and was pleasantly surprised to read the news about your now full time gig! I canโt tell you how happy I am for you. The recipes and photographs are still so special. Canโt wait to tune in again real soon.
Your news has inspired me and letโs me know that dreams do come true!
Thank you very much, Kathy! :)
Hi Kate,
Iโve been hanging around food blogs for a while now while preparing to start my own (soon, very soon!!) and I have to say that yours is one of my very favourites. Just love your down-to-earth and โrealโ yet high quality and classy style โฆ and especially the way that you interact with your readers โฆ itโs definitely the approach that I most identify with and Iโm hopeful of emulating that on my own blog in the coming weeks/hopefully months and years!
Iโm also extremely happy for you and encouraged that you have taken the plunge and gone full-time with this.
All the very best to you! You deserve all the success that has come/is coming your way!
Helen, thank you for your kind words! I really appreciate your comment. Thank you.
You go girl! Funny, I quit my job to start blogging. I knew Iโd never get it off the ground if I couldnโt completely focus on the task. Iโm hoping to finalize a few things on the site, launch and then start looking for a paying gig. Wish me luck! I know youโll do great!
Congratulations, Iโm so happy for you!!! I found your blog about a year ago and am always excited when I see a new posting in my blog scroll. Your recipes are fabulous and the photography is stunning! Congratulations again!!!
Thank you very much, A!
You are such an inspiration! Iโve recently started a food blog and iโm absolutely loving it and hopefully one day can do it full time also! Congratulations and iโm excited to see some more from you in the future :)
Thank you, Aisha!
WOW!!! Perhaps I am a little late to comment, but I can see truly why you quit your job, and hopefully still are! Your site is beautiful; being new to blogging myself, I am in awe; not with just the recipes (this one was delish, definitely a starting point for further experimentation) but with the whole bright and vibrant layout of your site! Thank you so much for your inspiration! Jerry
Jerry, thank you! Yes, Iโm still blogging full time and loving it. Iโm so glad you enjoyed this cocktail! Thank you for your kind words and best of luck with your new blog!
I just decided to try this red bell pepper martini recipe because I had some vodka infused with some very hot cayenne peppers that has been โrestingโ for over a year and IMO, itโs a really fantastic recipe. I used a Bloody Mary salt for the rim. As per yuge, I didnโt measure anything except for the two jiggers of vodka. Regardless, the red bell pepper and agave really toned down the overall heat, making this martini an easy drinking spicy delight. Thanks for the idea.
LOVED this martini the first time I made it; but โmuddlingโ two-inch pieces of bell pepper was a workout, and the second time I made it, not nearly as successful. All in all, too labor intensive, especially for making multiples. Any suggestions for an easier prep, and is there a make-ahead method to make it simpler for entertaining?
But to reiterate, great taste, surprisingly tasty to me (a non-vegetable eating, sweet drink lover), and worth the effort if thereโs no way around it! Thank you!
Thank you for your review! You can make a larger batch at a time. Sorry I donโt have a better option for you. Iโm delighted you enjoyed the taste.
Hi Kate! I love your recipes and just found this cocktail which looks AMAZING! I have no sense of smell so need a drink with spice! Canโt wait to try this!!!
Diane
I hope you love it, Diane!