Green Chile Vodka Review

Travel Distilled reviews Green Chile Vodka from St George Spirits, the vodka with a peppery punch.

Whenever we drive through New Mexico we try to stop off in the little town of Hatch, just off I-25. It calls itself the chile capital of the world, with an annual Chile Festival and field after field of chiles growing around in the Hatch Valley. It’s most famous for the Hatch Green Chile, and if we don’t buy some in the several stores that sell them, we definitely have a Hatch green chile burger or a bowl of chile.

So we do know a little bit about green chiles, and we were definitely keen to try this Green Chile Vodka from St George Spirits. The smell and taste of green chiles is distinctive, like good coffee, and when we opened the bottle we got that wonderful fresh aroma that we love so much – slightly herby, a little sour and bitter, but some sweetness too, and a little smoky. You can sense the fieriness of the chiles as well, but not overwhelmingly so.

Green Chiles for making St George Spirits Green Chile Vodka — Green Chiles

Tasting Green Chile Vodka

The distillery doesn’t use Hatch green chiles but naturally sources locally in California. What’s interesting is that they blend some lime peel and fresh cilantro into the crushed jalapeno peppers, which no doubt adds a little smoothness and freshness to the mix, and stops the chiles from overpowering the drink.

Instead of being fiery, the vodka has just a little tingle on the tongue and is beautifully smooth. That intriguing blend of bitter and sweet, and the dash of herbiness and smokiness, and of course the chile zing, makes for a wonderful vodka. You might think differently if you don’t like chiles and spicy flavors, but it has enormous cocktail potential too.

Green Chile Vodka Cocktails

This Green Chile Vodka is really good to sip on its own, but we wondered what you might do with it in a cocktail. How about with some fresh limes, my wife wondered, and then when we checked the St George website we found plenty of very tempting recipes, including some with lime.

The Best Bloody Mary sounds just that, a Green Chile Gimlet only needs fresh lime juice and a simple syrup, while I love the sound of the Old Maid, which is basically a Gimlet but freshened up with cucumber slices and mint.

This was definitely a winner with both of us, even though my wife’s not a big fan of drinking vodka neat. However, it’s well-known that chiles have an ingredient that makes them addictive. And I can tell you it’s working. We already want another.