Fire cider is a folk tonic made by steeping apple cider vinegar with hot, sharp and bright ingredients like horseradish, garlic, onion, ginger, citrus and chili peppers, then sweetening it with honey. It tastes exactly like that list sounds: sour, sweet and spicy, all in one swallow.
Where Fire Cider Comes From
Vinegar tonics are old. The name “fire cider” was popularized by herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, who taught her recipe in the late 1970s and encouraged people to make their own. Home cooks and small makers have been riffing on it ever since. When a company trademarked the name in 2012, herbalists fought it, and in 2019 a federal court ruled that “fire cider” is a generic term that belongs to everyone.
What Goes in Ours
Janie was making Fire In Cider for herself long before Springs Culture existed. The recipe on the label:
Apple cider vinegar, honey, oranges, lemons, jalapeños, onions, ginger, horseradish, garlic, turmeric, habanero pepper and black pepper. Oranges, onions, ginger and turmeric are organic, and it is non-GMO.
Two kinds of chili, raw horseradish and black pepper make the heat. Citrus and honey keep it from being just a dare.
How to Take It
The label says it plainly: shake well, then drink 1 oz daily or as often as you like. Beyond the straight shot:
- Straight up. One ounce, chilled, in one go. Have water nearby the first time.
- With a chaser. Follow the shot with a sip of orange juice or a bite of something sweet.
- In hot water. An ounce in a mug of hot water with an extra spoonful of honey makes a spicy, sour hot toddy without the whiskey.
- In a salad dressing. Whisk it with olive oil, a pinch of salt and a little mustard. It is already seasoned.
- In a Bloody Mary. A splash adds heat and acid to tomato juice, with or without the vodka.
Sizes and Where to Find It
Fire In Cider comes in full-size bottles and 2 oz shots. Find it alongside our kombucha at retail partners around Colorado Springs, and meet its partner, the Elderberry Elixir eSHOT, on our Wellness Shots page.