New York's spiciest cocktails

Johnny Utah's | The Gunsmith

Haven’t worked up the nerve to ride the mechanical bull? That’s what liquid courage is for, and at this Southwestern-style saloon it’s served in a double-rocks glass filled with vodka, olive juice and Johnny Utah’s secret barbecue sauce, then dusted with cayenne powder, garnished with an olive-and-lime wheel and taken as a shot. “This'll get you on the bull and keep you moving around afterward,” says head bartender Jeff O’Connell, who highly recommends a Dos Equis Amber chaser—which you'll need to cut the ethanol burn of this pungent shot that’s best taken all at once. ($10—although it's currently served by request only. JU reps recommend a Vault Margarita instead: Huradura Suprema and Pure Agave nectar, served with a flaming lime.)

Burn Degree: 3rd

Hot stuff? 1 star. Despite the sweet viscosity of the barbecue sauce and the salty brine of the olive juice, this shot’s peppery smolder lives on thanks to the cayenne pepper, which leaves a lingering lip-singe.

Johnny Utah’s (25 W. 51st St., 212-265-8824)