You know how much I love to infuse alcohols and make homemade simple syrups, right?

Well, this is my new favorite!  And it couldn’t have come at a better time!  Did you hear that Fireball was banned in Europe because of its high level of propylene glycol?  They claim its food grade but I prefer my booze, or anything actually, preservative (and anti-freeze!) free!

This has been a huge hit among family and friends.  I hope you’ll enjoy it too!!  It’s super easy to make and is great in cocktails or just as a tasty sipper over ice.

Happy Happy Hour!

~ Gena

 

 

Ingredients:

1.75 liter bottle of Jack Daniels, Tin Cup or any other whiskey.  (or whatever size bottle, you choose)

12 cinnamon sticks (You can get the economy pack at Costco.  I re-use my cinnamon for additional batches and it held its flavor pretty well!)

2 dried chile peppers (I used Chile de Arbol, found in the fresh herb section of the produce dept. at local grocery store)

1 recipe cinnamon simple syrup

Directions:

• Remove 1 cup of whiskey and keep for another time.  (Or approximately 1/8 of whatever size bottle you have.  If you have a 1 liter bottle, remove about 1/2 cup)
• Add cinnamon sticks and dried chiles to the remaining whiskey in the bottle.  Let set for 24 to 48 hours.  (Need it faster?  Add more cinnamon!!)
• Meanwhile, make the cinnamon simple syrup.
• When the whiskey has good cinnamon flavor (usually 24 hours does the trick!) add the simple syrup to the whiskey (should be about 1/8 the amount of whiskey)  Less is better, so if you’re unsure how much simple syrup to add, sample it.  (my favorite!) 🙂  The sugar helps hold the flavor of the cinnamon, which is why Fireball adds propylene glycol.  But too much syrup will turn your whiskey into a liqueur.  Keeping the syrup to 1/8 of the whiskey amount keeps it around 70 proof, which is slightly higher than Fireball, and just right!

Enjoy this yummy cinnamon whiskey with my Hot Cinnamon Cider!  It is also yummy to sip over ice.  Cheers!!