Rashad Pleasant
Every so often you might want to bring a little savory flavor to your beverage of choice. Today we are exploring a few spicy cocktail recipes. If you’ve followed along with the series this far you’ll note that we have covered some refreshing twists, some influence from the garden, and the might melon. Let’s jump into a few drinks with more of a spicy, tangy kick to them.
Spicy Casamigos Tequila Cocktail
Ingredients:
* 2 oz Casamigos Blanco Tequila
* 0.75 oz Chili Flake Infused Agave Nectar (recipe below)
* 0.50 oz Fresh Lime Juice
* 2 leaves Fresh Cilantro
* 1 dash Orange Bitters
* 1 Egg white
* Mango Sugar (see notes)
How to make a Spicy Casamigos Tequila
1. Rim a martini or coupe glass with a thick layer of mango sugar
2. Combine all ingredients except the mango sugar in a cocktail shaker
3. Add ice and shake vigorously for 20-25 seconds (longer shake is required to break down the egg white)
4. Double strain through a cone strainer to discard the cilantro leaves
5. If you have it, squeeze a grapefruit or an orange peel over the drink
How to make the Chili Flake Infused Agave Nectar:
Pour 25 oz (750 ml. bottle) of agave syrup and add 2 tablespoons of dried chili flakes in a sealable jar. Close the jar, shake well for a minute and then let the pepper flakes sit in the agave syrup for about 20 minutes. Fine strain the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer to discard the chili flakes. Pour the spicy agave syrup back in the bottle. When refrigerated, this syrup will be good for up to a month.
How to make Mango Sugar:
We actually made our own sugar for this project by drying out thin slices of mango in the oven for about 6 hours and blending them with sugar in a magic bullet. But if you don’t have the time and energy to do so, this mango sugar by Rokz would do just fine as well.
A note for the Cilantro:
As a general rule of thumb, use cilantro sparingly in cocktails as it tends to overpower other ingredients. Also, small leaves are usually more than enough to flavor a cocktail without compromising the overall flavor and aroma.
Lovely Rita
Ingredients:
* 60ml Tres Agaves Blanco Tequila
* 30ml Tomatillo Cilantro Purée
* 15ml Lime
* 15ml Simple syrup
* Dash Green Tabasco
For Garnish:
* Hawaiian Black Salt
* Castelvetrano olive
* Pearl onion
* Plantain chip
How to make the Lovely Rita:
Boil 200ml water, add 1 Jalapeño (sliced) and let steep for 1 hour. Strain, and mix water with 400ml Agave nectar.
Serrano-Spiced Paloma Cocktail
Ingredients:
* 1 ounce fresh lime juice (which is about 1 lime, juiced)
* ½ teaspoon light agave nectar or 1 teaspoon simple syrup
* 1 thinly sliced serrano round (⅛th to ¼th inch wide, just a touch… )
* 2 ounces fresh grapefruit juice (one grapefruit should do the trick)
* 2 ounces silver or blanco tequila
* 1 ½ ounces grapefruit-flavored club soda or plain club soda Salt rim and garnish
* 2 teaspoons kosher and/or sea salt
* Lime wedge, for lining the rim
* Small grapefruit wedges, for garnish
How to make a Serrano-Spiced Paloma:
* First, prepare your cocktail glass: Pour the sea salt onto a small plate. Run a lime wedge around the rim of your glass and roll the edge of the glass onto the salt. Fill the prepared glass with ice.
* In a cocktail shaker or mason jar, muddle together the lime juice, agave nectar and one small slice of Serrano pepper. Fill the shaker with ice, then pour in the grapefruit juice and tequila.
* Put the lid on your shaker/jar and shake until the mixture is thoroughly chilled. Pour the blend into your prepared glass.
* Top off the cocktail with club soda.
* Garnish with a small wedge of grapefruit.
As always, much thanks to the Culture Curators team for submitting some incredible picks. Stay tuned tomorrow for the finale of the series… don’t worry we will still keep the drinks flowing.
