Smoke and fire: Spicy Mezcal Margarita

The classic margarita gets a smoky, spicy makeover, swapping mezcal for tequila, muddling in some jalapeño and firing up the traditional salt rim with chile powder and cayenne pepper. Recipe below.

NO BIG ORIGIN STORY FOR THIS COCKTAIL. I saw an article somewhere about quickly infusing tequila with the heat and pepper flavor of jalapeño, just by muddling it—no setting it aside for days. Then we were at La Mejikãna, a fun bar/restaurant that combines “the authenticity of the traditional Mexican kitchen with a modern flair,” according to their website (apparently part of the flair includes using the tilde over the letter A in their name as a design element). Our drinks featured mezcal and had spicy chile salt rims. Synapses fired. A drink idea happened—this one, to be exact.

The Spicy Mezcal Margarita takes everything that makes a margarita a fun summer drink and dials it up. It’s cold and refreshing, and the mezcal gives it a smoky campfire note. It also packs some serious heat, both from the jalapeño  infusion and the chile salt rim. That rim adds a pleasant tingle to your lips and a spicy/salty flavor, all while looking very cool. And finally, this margarita is as easy to make as it is impressive.

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Spicy Mezcal Margarita

The classic margarita gets a smoky, spicy makeover, swapping mezcal for tequila, muddling in some jalapeño and firing up the traditional salt rim with chile powder and cayenne pepper.

Course Drinks

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 ounces mezcal (see Kitchen Notes)
• slices of jalapeño pepper
• 1 ounce triple sec or other orange liqueur
• 2 dashes orange bitters optional
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice
• 3/4 ounce simple syrup, or agave nectar (see Kitchen Notes)
• lime wheel for garnish

For the chile salt:

• 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt (see Kitchen Notes)
• 2 teaspoons New Mexican chile powder (or your favorite)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• lime wedge

Instructions

• First make the chile salt. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl barely wide enough to accommodate the rim of your rocks glass. Set aside.
• Make the cocktail. In a shaker, muddle the mezcal and 2 slices of jalapeño (you may wish to remove the seeds and stem beforehand to reduce the heat—or not). Add the triple sec, the bitters (if using), lime juice and simple syrup. Add ice and shake until quite cold, about 20 seconds.
• Rub the lime wedge on the glass rim; dip the rim into the chile salt to coat—I found that kind of sliding the glass lip around on the bottom of the bowl accomplished this nicely. Fill the glass with ice, being careful to not knock off the chile salt rim. Strain the cocktail into the glass, garnish with lime wheel and additional jalapeño slices. Serve.

Kitchen Notes

What mezcal to use? It's easy to spend a lot of money on mezcal—most are, by definition, small batch spirits. But there are a number of affordable mezcals that can be used for cocktails or just sipping. Three we're currently liking are Montelobos, Banhez and Sombra.

Simple syrup or agave nectar? We are not fans of single-purpose ingredients. Agave nectar is really nothing more than super-sweet sugar water, so we choose simple syrup. And it really is just that: Combine equal parts sugar and water in a small saucepan (I generally do 1 cup each) and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar completely dissolves. Remove from heat and cool completely. Simple syrup will keep for more than a week refrigerated in an airtight container.

What salt? Many margarita recipes call for kosher salt or coarse sea salt. But there's coarse and there's coarse. You want the salt to not be too coarse or it won't blend nicely with the chile powder—visually or on your lips. I used Morton's coarse kosher salt, which had the right level of coarseness. The Baleine coarse sea salt we have would have been too coarse—if anything, I would use their fine sea salt flakes.