Esta margarita es muy bueno — an herbaceous and spicy simple syrup gives a kick! The herb we use is a Mexican herb called epazote. The flavor is unique — a bit like basil and cilantro combined. If you’ve had an authentic albondigas soup before, you’ll recognize it! You can find epazote fresh in Mexican markets, and they’ll always have a dried version. Both are fine to use in the simply syrup…or just use basil if that’s what you have to hand.
The purple salt rim gives this drink an extra bit of specialness…we went for sweet and salty to compliment the flavors of the margarita. Find the recipe for the salt below.
Ingredients
Epazote & Chile Simple Syrup
makes 2 cups
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons dried epazote, or 8 leaves fresh
1 jalapeno chile pepper, halvedSpicy Epazote Margarita
makes 1 cocktail, or many!
1 part freshly squeezed lime juice (use about 1 ounce per cocktail)
3 parts agave tequila (use 3 ounces per cocktail)
1 part epazote & chile simple syrup (see recipe above)
peeled cucumber, for garnish
blueberry sea salt (see recipe how-to), for garnish or substitute regular saltInstructions
For the Chile Simple Syrup
Bring the ingredients to a rolling boil, then simmer for about 5-10 minutes until your kitchen smells great. Strain the simple syrup and allow to cool completely before using. Any extra keeps in your fridge for almost forever.For the Spicy Epazote Margarita
Prepare a rocks glass by running a lime around the rim and coating it with the blueberry salt. Or, paint a section of the glass with lime, and sprinkle with salt. (The salt will only adhere to where you have the lime.) Fill the glass with ice.Plop all the ingredients (minus the garnish) into a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice and shake, shake, shake your moneymaker. The more you shake, the yummier the drink. Using the strainer, pour the cocktail into the prepared glass. Garnish with a rolled cucumber peel for beauty points.
