‘Tis the season for sherry lads and lasses.
‘Tis also the season when those of us living in colder areas of the world need some extra circulation. Which altogether means—I want you to meet our cayenne spiked sherry that we invented the other day.
This year, my mom and I tried out making a cayenne tincture. For externally use. I figured out not too long after we opened the first bottle of cayenne tincture, that this was in essence, the same as the trendy chili vodka that all the cool kids are drinking. Just maybe a little bit stronger. In terms of the cayenne, not the vodka.
We stumbled on this fiery sherry and cayenne tincture combination one evening, and I immediately knew that it must get onto the blog at some point. And with Christmas only three days away, I think today is the day.
How to Make Cayenne Spiked Sherry
To make this drink you will need a sherry of your choice—sweet or dry, either works fine, and of course cayenne tincture. All you then need to do, is pour a small glass of sherry, and a small teaspoon of cayenne tincture to this.
If you are wary of the heat of the cayennes, then rather do a half teaspoon, taste, and increase if you want some extra zing. If left to steep for long enough, cayenne tincture can be incredibly hot. Of course, you can also increase the cayenne vodka amount—if you have a fire tooth and are looking for a serious bit of heat.
Speaking of heat, there is another option to try with this recipe. If the weather is really cold, and you want to try out a gluhwein version, simply warm up the sherry in a small saucepan, then pour into glasses and add the cayenne vodka. Just make sure that when you are heating the sherry that you do not let it begin to simmer. If this happens, some of the alcohol will evaporate! Boooo : (.
Health Benefits of Cayenne Tincture Taken Internally
Oh no! Is she honestly going to tell us this is a health drink??? Yes. : )
Well, I am not sure about the sherry. But I cannot leave you with the recipe before letting you know about the health benefits of this cayenne tincture. We originally made it as medicine, and even though it ended up in the sherry, that does not mean that I can skip telling you about its benefits.
Cayenne tincture happens to be a potent vehicle for the health benefits of cayenne. Here is a quick list of them in case you were wondering what these may be:
Studies have shown cayenne to have the following actions:
- Promotes circulation
- Assists digestion
- Promotes weight loss
- Speeds up the metabolism
- Effective decongestant
- Immune booster
- Fights colds and flu
- Anti-fungal
- Promotes heart health
- Promotes detoxification
- Anti-irritant
- Pain-relieving
Many people make and take cayenne tincture (between 5 and 30 drops 3 times per day in water) daily, in order to reap these health benefits. Of course, you can simply eat lots of cayenne as well. However, drinking the tincture in water (or sherry if your heart desires—like me) is a very convenient way to get it in.
On an anecdotal note, we have found the tincture to be the absolute BOMB when it comes to nipping flus and sore throats in the bud. The cayenne literally burns away the germs.
So now that I have convinced everybody of how important it is to drink this as often as possible, hopefully in sherry, I want to make a toast to you where ever you are. I hope you have an absolutely lovely Christmas, many festive greetings of the season to you!
x
Cayenne Spiked Sherry
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Ingredients
- 2 small glasses worth of sweet or dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons of cayenne tincture (or to taste)
Instructions
- Pour out the sherry into two small glasses.
- Add half a teaspoon of cayenne tincture. Taste, and add the rest of the teaspoonful per glass is desired.
- Sip slowly, preferably by a roaring fire.
Notes
For a gluhwein version, warm up the sherry in small saucepan. Take care not to let it get too hot, as this will evaporate off some of the alcohol present in the sherry. Faint steaming is an indication that you can turn off the heat. Then add the tincture and enjoy.
