Pineapple & De Arbol Chilli Tequila Liqueur

This year has been so bloody awful, that August & September saw me making tons of flavoured booze. It gives me something to look forward to as in two or three months time, the liqueurs will be ready and I can sit down on a Friday evening and have a nice home made cocktail and drawn my sorrows in it. This is my third liqueur so far and I'm delighted with the results.

There is one thing I would probably change in this recipe and that is that I decided to sliced the chillies instead of using them whole. While slicing them made the liqueur more evenly spicy, when it came to fishing the chillies out so the liqueur didn't get overly hot, I had to strain the whole thing through a cheese cloth, take out a gazillion of chilli slices and then put everything back into the jar, a little cumbersome. Next time, I'll probably use the whole chillies, just stem out and deseeded, that way, fishing them out will be easier.

If I was to give you a good piece of advise, is to invest in a few 1.5 litre Kilner glass Jars to keep making booze through the summer so you may have a happy winter! Berries and tropical fruits are plentiful during the summer months and it's a great way to use any excess at the time when they are at their best without making jam... although, once I strained the fruit from the liqueur, I'm planning to make some boozy jam too!

I had it on my instagram stories and loads of people have been asking for the recipe, so here it goes. Hope you enjoy it!

• 1 large Ripe Pineapple
• 3 De Arbol Chillies
• 100 grams Caster Sugar
• 1 bottle of Tequila Blanco
• 50 grams Piloncillo

Use white tequila, reposado or anejo tequilas are too good for this. Their aged flavour will be masked by the other flavours, so white is the best base for this.

If you don't have Piloncillo, very dark brown sugar might do too.

Amount it feeds: A Party

Step 1

Start by sterilising the jar you'll use. Remove the rubber seal and boil it for 10 minutes. Wash the jar with soapy water and place it upside down in a roasting tin and place it in a preheated oven at 180 celsius for 10 minutes. Leave the jar to cool completely before you use it.

Step 2

Remove the stem from the chillies and with a pair of scissors cut the chillies into rings and discard the seeds. If you prefer, you can leave the chillies whole too, just pull the stem and shake all the seeds out.

Heat a pan at medium high heat and put the chillies into it, toast them for one minute, making sure to stir them constantly so they don't burn.

Step 3

Peel and chop the pineapple into small chunks, bite size. Add the pineapple to the jar.

Step 4

Pour the sugar into the jar to coat the pineapple. Follow by adding the chilli and pouring tequila over it.

Step 5

Seal the jar and shake it vigorously until the sugar is disolved and everything inside the jar is well mixed. Put the jar in a cool, dark place and shake it every day for a week.

Step 6

After a week, open the jar and taste the liquid. You don't want to it to get too spicy. It should be just right. Fish out the chillies at this stage (this step is easier if you left the chilies whole). Discard the chilies and add the piloncillo finely chopped. Seal the jar again and shake to dissolve the piloncillo. Put the jar back into a dark place and let it age for a couple of months, shaking every week.

When you're ready, strain the liqueur through a cheese cloth or a strainer and bottle the liqueur for further storage or to drink. The pineapple can be used to make boozy jam, to put it over ice cream or to make it into sorbet. No waste! This liqueur is so good! perfect for cocktails!