Ingredients
- Lime wedge and salt for rim
- 2-3 jalapeño slices
- 1¾ ounces silver tequila
- ¾ ounce orange liqueur
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- ½ ounce agave nectar
- Ice
- Jalapeño slice and lime wedge for garnish
Instructions
- To prepare rim, rub the rim of the rocks glass with the lime wedge.
- With the salt on a saucer, dip either half or the entire rim of the glass in the salt to coat.
- In a cocktail shaker, muddle jalapeño slices with a splash of tequila.
- Add ice, remaining tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, and agave nectar.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into prepared glass.
- Garnish with jalapeño slice and lime wedge.
Variations and Substitutions
The spicy margarita can be as sweet, sour, and spicy as you want it to be. Consider a few of these options as you explore this piquant cocktail.
- Use jalapeño tequila, either store bought or infused, in place of muddled jalapeño coins.
- If you're really daring, use jalapeño tequila with muddled jalapeño coins. But proceed with extreme caution.
- Use simple syrup or honey in place of agave.
- Add additional agave, or another sweetener, for a sweeter spicy margarita.
- Freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice adds a bright or juicy citrus touch to the heat.
Garnishes
A jalapeño coin is the traditional marker for a spicy margarita, but if you're feeling crafty or want options, you can use other garnishes, too.
- Use a lime slice or wheel.
- Consider an orange or lemon wedge, slice, or wheel. The orange flavors add a juicy, sweeter touch, and the lemon adds a bright, slightly tart note to the spicy margarita.
- Dehydrated citrus wheels, either lime, lemon, or orange, shake up the usual citrus garnishes.
- Consider layering the jalapeño slice on top of the regular or dehydrated citrus wheel, piercing both with a cocktail skewer.
- Skip the salt rim in favor of a sugar rim for a sweeter flavor or a tajin, chili powder, or paprika rim to boost the heat.
- Do only a small piece rather than the entire rim if you don't want too much of a salty or sweet rim.
- Include a citrus peel. Express this over the drink or along the rim for a more pronounced flavor.
About the Jalapeño Margarita
Based on one of the most worldwide popular cocktails, the spicy margarita is a fiery twist on a reliable favorite, the classic margarita. Although the jalapeño margarita didn't appear as early as the classic margarita did in the 1920s, it quickly followed, hot on its heels. However, once the spicy margarita had its fiery flavors served to the masses, it's never lost its foothold in immense popularity.
Whether the recipe is used with spicy tequila or made with freshly muddled jalapeños, the spicy margarita has been biting patrons back for decades. Its beloved status is sure to only increase over the years, as those who seek a blazing cocktail will continue to fan the flames of its reputation, spreading the gospel of this cocktail like wildfire.
Feelin' Hot Hot Hot
The spicy margarita is one of the most demanded and universal margaritas. Its spicy notes are a change from sour or sweet cocktails, offering a change of pace (and temperature) in the usual cocktail landscape.
