Arbikie Chilli Vodka Highland Estate 70 cl 43%

In a field above Lunan Bay, chilli plants grow between the potato rows. They are picked, smoked and left to steep in vodka. Arbikie Chilli Vodka is the loudest bottle on the estate, and there is very little like it in Scotland.

Expert description

Arbikie Chilli Vodka is a Scottish Vodka from Arbikie Distillery, built on the house potato vodka and steeped with home-grown chipotle chillies, bottled at 43%.

Chipotle is smoke-dried jalapeño, and it is the smoke rather than the burn that carries this bottle. Arbikie grows the chillies on the farm in Angus and drops them in whole. No extracts, no colourings, no concentrates, which is why the liquid sits pale brown instead of clear.

The base is the same potato spirit the distillery began with. Potato distillate has a weight and a creaminess that grain does not deliver in the same way, and that texture is exactly why the chilli never turns sharp or dusty. The heat settles on top of the softness rather than cutting through it.

Flavoured vodka carries a mixed reputation, and syrup and flavouring compounds are usually to blame. Neither appears here. The chilli steeps until it has given up both smoke and heat, and the bottling strength of 43% gives the spice room to spread.

Tasting notes

Nose

Smoke first, like a bonfire on its way out. Behind it sits dried chilli, a touch of sweetness and something earthy close to baked potato skin.

Palate

Creamy and full at the start, almost soft. Then the chilli arrives: a deep, smoked warmth that builds rather than strikes. Clearly present without ever punishing.

Finish

Long and warm. The smoke hangs on longest while the spice slides slowly down the throat.

Specifications

Name: Arbikie Chilli Vodka
Distillery: Arbikie Distillery
Region/Country: Angus, Scotland
Type: Scottish Vodka
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Serving suggestion: In a Bloody Mary where the chilli replaces the tabasco, or ice cold as a shot alongside barbecue.

Flavour profile

Smoky · Spicy · Creamy · Earthy

Did you know?

Chipotle is not a chilli variety but a condition. It is a jalapeño left to ripen until it turns red and then dried over smoke, and that is precisely the treatment these chillies get before they meet the vodka.

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Frequently asked questions about Arbikie Chilli Vodka

How hot is it?

The heat is obvious but it is not built as an endurance test. Chipotle gives a rounded, building warmth rather than a stab, and it arrives after the flavour instead of ahead of it. If you cook with chilli, nothing here will catch you out.

What is it made from?

Potatoes and chilli. The base is the Arbikie potato vodka, and home-grown chipotle chillies from the farm steep in it. No extracts, colourings or concentrates are used, so everything you taste came out of the fruit itself.

Can I drink it neat?

Yes, and it handles it better than most flavoured vodkas. Serve it cold but not frozen, because the freezer shuts the smoke down. Around fridge temperature you get both the creamy potato base and the slow warmth.

Which drinks work best?

Anything where tomato, citrus or sweetness can absorb the smoke. A Bloody Mary improves noticeably, and it also works in a Mule with ginger beer and lime. Find more ideas across our range of Vodka.

Why is the liquid not clear?

Because the chilli has been sitting in it. When whole fruit steeps in spirit it releases both colour and oils, and the result is a pale brown tint. No colouring has been added to achieve it.

Can it be used in cooking?

Yes, and it is an obvious shortcut. A splash in a marinade, a salsa or a tomato sauce delivers smoke and heat in one move. Alcohol evaporates quickly, so add it late if you want it to keep lifting the aromas.

Who is behind Arbikie?

The Stirling brothers, who run the family farm in Angus on the east coast of Scotland. They built the distillery on the farm and grow the crops their spirits are made from, so every bottle traces back to a field.