{Tony staged and photographed these bottles because he is a loving and supportive husband}

Booze tends to be the go-to holiday gift because, let’s face it, it’s basically medicine for grown-ups to get through this insane time of year. I like to over-commit myself to projects I don’t have the time or skills for, and doing DIY holiday gifts is on my list of regrettable decisions as of late! Last year, I made rosemary simple syrup and gave them with cute little skull-shaped bottles of vodka. This year, I decided to make spicy tequila because I love it and you’re supposed to give the things you love, right?!

It’s super easy, which is lucky for me because I’m running around like a chicken with its head cut off who really needs to shower and shave its legs. For one 1.75L 100% pure agave bottle of tequila, chop up 4 jalapenos, put them in a pot, pour the tequila over the jalapeno, put saran wrap over the pot and cover it with a lid (you want it to be as airtight as possible). Or, a large airtight container would probably be a cleaner, wiser choice now that I think about it (oh well, Tony already cleaned up the mess I made). Or, if you’re doing it on a small scale, just throw a few slices in a mason jar and fill it with tequila. Let it soak 24 hours, then bottle it and blow people’s minds!

If you want to be like me, you can save the tequila soaked jalapeno slices and use them for your AM green juice. I did that for my morning smoothie, and it was just the right amount of booze to kick the day off with a *bang! (*By bang, I mean numb the holiday stress. HAPPY TUESDAY!)