Bell Pepper
Fresh bell pepper, occasionally muddled into savory or spicy cocktails for a crisp, vegetal note.
Origin
Central and South America, cultivated by indigenous peoples for thousands of years before spreading globally after European contact.
History
Bell peppers descend from wild chili peppers domesticated in Mexico and Central/South America, bred over centuries to remove the fruit's natural capsaicin heat, leaving the sweet, mild pepper familiar today. Spanish and Portuguese traders carried peppers to Europe, Africa, and Asia in the 16th century, and they became a global vegetable staple. In cocktails, bell pepper is a newer, savory addition, usually muddled into vegetal, Bloody Mary-adjacent, or garden-inspired drinks.
Flavor profile
Sweet, grassy, and vegetal, with a crisp, watery freshness and none of chili peppers' heat.
Tasting notes
Fresh and slightly sweet with a distinct green, grassy note; red and yellow bell peppers are noticeably sweeter than green, which tastes more bitter and vegetal, a useful distinction when muddling for a specific balance.
Substitutes
- Cucumber, for a different but similarly crisp, vegetal freshness.
- A different color bell pepper (red or yellow for more sweetness, green for more bitterness), to fine-tune a recipe's balance.
- A small amount of bell pepper juice or puree, when muddling fresh isn't practical.
Common cocktails