I sampled this strange drink in a bar in Bulgaria shortly after the fall of the iron curtain. It was served to me from an old plastic bottle with a hand written label. Its taste was of rich sweet licorice and aniseed with a fiery kick.
My first batch of neutral was on the rough side to say the least so I thought I'd try an infusion to mellow it. I threw in some spices and some licorice root and left it in my greenhouse. After about a month I found the bottle and sampled it, immediately I was transported back to that bar in Bulgaria. The recipe wasn't quite there yet but close enough that I thought i could get there. It lacked the fiery heat of the Turkish Pepper as I remembered it. I had some chilli vodka also infusing so blended some of that into my spice infusion and voila!
Here's my recipe:
700 ml 50% neutral spirit (550 ml in one bottle, 150ml in another);
to the 550 ml of neutral add
3 star anise stars (roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar)
generous handful of fennel seeds (whole)
2 sticks of liquorice root smashed with a hammer.
to the 150 ml of neutral add 4 small dried hot chillis.
Leave both bottles to infuse for a couple of months shaking regularly. Strain and blend the chilli vodka with the aniseed blend until you get a heat level you are comfortable with. Can be sweetened with black treacle or molasses to taste.
Turkish Pepper
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- phillmystill
- Swill Maker
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- Location: Derbyshire, England
Turkish Pepper
You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.
― Mae West
― Mae West