On a recent night out, we visited a favorite pizza place and while we were eating, we noticed a lot of regulars coming in and picking up their pizza to go. While they were waiting, most of them ordered a shot of “something.” We finally asked. The bartender proudly told us that he was making homemade “fireball.”
We ended up buying a bottle and taking it home. 
We then decided that if he could do it, we could too. Here’s the recipe we used!
Cinnamon Whiskey, Version 1
Ingredients
- 1 (750 mL) cheap whiskey
- 8 cinnamon sticks
- 2-4 oz. honey simple syrup
- 6 whole dried Thai chiles
Instructions
- Empty the bottle of whiskey into a large container with a lid. A quart jar works well.
- Add the cinnamon sticks, honey syrup and chilies. Screw on lid.
- Shake the container and let stand for five days, shaking daily. After five days, taste. When the flavor reaches the desired intensity, strain and rebottle. (We have let this set for 7 days as well.)
We’ve made two batches of this stuff and we’ve adjusted the simple syrup from 2 to 4 ounces. Use your judgement.
Unfortunately, when I went to take some photos for today’s post, The Hubs had just bottled our last batch to take to a holiday party. So, the photo above just shows our bottle of “cheap” base whiskey, swollen cinnamon sticks after soaking for a week, and an almost empty bottle of Buffalo Trace that we use for to fill with our own Fireball whiskey.
Use the fireball whiskey to make a great holiday cocktail. I really don’t have a recipe (although I swear I posted one earlier this year), but here’s what you do:
- 4 oz. apple cider (hot or cold)
- 1-2 oz. cinnamon whiskey
- 1/2 oz. lemon juice
Serve hot or over ice. Can garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Cheers!
