The following is an extended version of the article that appears in our September 2022 issue.
Conejo’s cucumber-jalapeno margarita (Photo by Jeff Grant courtesy Conejo)
Spicy drinks are big sellers. They’re fun, they’re sexy, and, according to Harvard, a regular dose of heat might help you live longer — it’s a metabolism booster, and it lowers cholesterol. Jalapeno, serrano, habanero, cayenne and other chile peppers add various levels of kick to a cocktail via liquor infusions, syrups, muddling, rim-coating or, for the roulette player, just plopping in raw pepper slices. Take a look at these reimagined favorites and wild new spicy spins.
Cucumber-jalapeno Margarita
It would be hard to overstate the fresh perfection of this green beauty from Conejo, rimmed with spice and salt and loaded with a vegetal cucumber flavor, that you would greedily chug if it weren’t laced with jalapeno. Prepare to spot this marg on about every other table. Somehow, it’s only $9.
3/4 ounces simple syrup
3/4 ounces lime juice
1 ounce green juice (cucumber, jalapeno and poblano, blended and strained)
2 ounces blanco tequila
Tajin seasoning
Shake with ice and double-strain into a Tajin-rimmed chilled coupe.
The Expat
Habanero moonshine! You know that’s going to be a good time. Ginger and lime offset the heavy alcohol content, with lemongrass syrup rounding off the sharp bite of the shine and adding brightness to the little herb garden (a base of muddled basil and mint) that this drink, found at The Daily Kitchen & Bar in Carytown, has going on.
1 1/2 ounces Belle Isle honey habanero moonshine
1 ounce lime juice
1 ounce lemongrass simple syrup
5-6 mint leaves
5-6 basil leaves
Maine Root ginger beer
Muddle mint and basil in glass, add moonshine, lime juice and syrup, stir, top with ginger beer.
Smoke + Chili
Deceptively simple, this petite wonder is a flavor bomb of tart, sweet, boozy, smoky, herbal magic. Pinky’s makes everything in-house from scratch, including bar goodies such as the Fresno pepper shrub and the mezcal-chartreuse blend that makes for a potent beverage.
2 ounces of Smoke and Chili Mix (recipe below)
1/2 ounce Fresno Shrub (recipe below)
1/2 ounce lime juice
Combine everything in a shaker and shake. The perfect shake is 11 seconds, just enough to cool the drink and add the slightest bit of water without diluting it. After shaking, strain into a rocks glass over a king cube. Top with a pickled Fresno chile.
Smoke and Chili Mix
Combine 1.5 parts Lunazul, 1.5 parts Vida Mezcal and 1 part Green Chartreuse.
Fresno Shrub
This consists of 1 part vinegar, 1 part sugar and 1 part Fresno peppers. Steep everything together for a few minutes, and then blend it up and strain it. It is the perfect spice level to counteract the smokiness from the mezcal.
