So there I was, searching for a recipe for the Summer Chillin’ Blog Hop, with the recent realization that oh yeah, a picture would be nice here, when I decided a drink was in order.

A drink recipe, that is. Added bonus that I would make it (for the photo, of course) and then…well, waste not, want not and all that jazz.

So, I glom onto the Pepperoncini Martini idea.  I enjoy these on occasion.  Not sure if I’d choose pickle or pepperoncini if it came to a showdown, but since I put hot sauce on my hot sauce, I picked the hot pepper.

I look over my bottles (I have a few) and see a Grey Goose staring back at me. Now, normally, I’m a gin martini girl, but I’ve never been known to look a gift vodka in the cork. My bad, this time.

more pics from a while ago (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This particular bottle came from one of my hubby’s recent trips back to his parent’s home.  His dad died not too long ago, and my lovin’ man’s been working at getting the house cleaned out. Needless to say, it’s a monstrous job. Also maybe needless to say, there were a fair amount of forgotten bottles of various types of alcohol in the basement.

So, I have a new old bottle of Grey Goose.  I look at the squat little bottle of Tanqueray and (yeah, I know–I’m a walking freakin’ cliche) I go with the bigger bottle.

I line out my ingredients for the photo-op.

I pour my beverage for the grand finale picture (and because now I’m getting thirsty).

Snap a pic, and I bring that baby to my parched lips. I take a sip.

WTF? Something seems off here, but I haven’t put any ice in (for my “recipe’s” sake, I’ll have you know I drop a cube in, stir it about three times, and fish it out with a spoon so as not to water my ‘tini down).  Maybe the warmth is throwing me off?

I do the ice-cube thing and sip again.  Double WTF?  There is almost a musty something going on. I take another sip because I must be crazy. No, not crazy. I take another sip just because, and then I go to sniff my jar of peppers. That must be it, right? Neither vodka nor vermouth go bad, right?

Peppers smell perfectly peppery.

Okay, now I go for the vodka, because that vermouth is a relatively fresh buy. I pop off the cork top and finally notice the dark grey tinge to the end. Smell it and verify that, indeed, my vodka has gone moldy.  I smell the bottle itself, the liquid still water-clear, and detect the musty odor.

Seriously?  I’ve dumped out bottle after bottle of cork-contaminated wine from that house, lamenting the loss of decent alcohol.  Never in a million years would I have guessed that vodka could go bad, though. And it didn’t even take a million years.  Probably about twenty to thirty.

Yuck.

I pour myself a gin martini (with a screw cap) like I should have done in the first place. Now it isn’t for a recipe photo.  It’s just to kill the mold I have growing inside me.

Here’s my recipe (minus the pictures because they just bring up bad memories):

Pour a splash of pepperoncini juice in the bottom of your martini glass.

Fish out a cute pepper and plop it in.

Pour gin to a millimeter of the glass-top.

Wave the cap of vermouth over your glass.

Take a few sips to make room for your ice-cube stir thingy if you need it.  Odds are, after a few sips, you’ll forget all about the ice.

Enjoy!

-Kimber

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