Jalapeño & Blood Orange Mezcal Margaritas
with spring in full swing, we have alfresco cocktails on the brain. specifically, mezcal margaritas - featuring a bit of spicy jalapeño and the gorgeous bright red citrus flavor of blood oranges.
even if it’s not quite warm enough to sip these babies outside yet, we think it’s worth getting in the spirit of outdoor drinking as soon as possible. not to mention, this is a great cocktail recipe to have in your back pocket with cinco de mayo about a month away.
we made a few of these last weekend and i have to say - these mezcal margaritas really pack a punch. read on for the easy recipe!
between the limes, jalapeños and oranges, this margarita really shines from a color standpoint. it’s so fun to add those extra ingredients that totally change the look of a craft cocktail without adding too much sugar.
if you’re not afraid of spicy, you really wanna get the jalapeño flavor embedded in the drink by chopping up the pepper and infusing some mezcal first. this is definitely not necessary, but can be a fun thing to try. i was too lazy this time to fully infuse the mezcal overnight, so i just let some jalapeño slices sit in a cup of mezcal for about 20 mins before I started.
ultimately, i made two versions of this mezcal margarita - one with just the jalapeño and lime, and one with the muddled blood orange as well. both were delicious!
i just love the color that the blood orange gives this margarita!
ok so here is a simple step by step recipe:
Jalapeño and Blood Orange Mezcal Margaritas
Makes 1 margarita
INGREDIENTS:
juice of one lime
2 or 3 small slices of jalapeño, to taste (seed them first if you don’t like extra spicy!)
1/4 blood orange, flesh scooped out
2 oz Mezcal (you can substitute regular tequila if you're not a fan of the smoky flavor)
splash of orange juice
1 oz Cointreau
1/4 oz of agave (or to taste depending on how sweet you like your margs)
Lime wedges and blood orange slices for garnish
DIRECTIONS
Muddle the jalapeño and blood orange with lime juice in a shaker. (you can always use something like a wooden spoon if you don't have a muddler).
Add about a 1/2 cup of ice to the shaker and add mezcal, orange juice and Cointreau. Shake vigorously and strain into a glass, over ice if desired. Garnish with blood orange slice and lime.
Bonus points for rimming the glass with a fun chili salt, or infusing the mezcal with jalapeño the day before (skip muddling the jalapeño if so). To infuse mezcal with jalapeño, slice 3 jalapeños and place in a 750 ml bottle of mezcal. Let sit for a few hours, or ideally, overnight. You can also do what I did and take 5 or 6 slices of jalapeño and toss them in a cup of mezcal for half an hour beforehand! Just make sure to strain it afterward unless you like things insanely spicy.
so that’s my drink of choice for the season! can’t wait to make them again this weekend.
what are some of your favorite spring and summer refreshments??
