Margaritas have to be one of my favorite cocktails. They remind me of college when we used to go to the little Mexican bar down the street that served giant fishbowls for like $5. Oh those were the days. Anyways, the last few times I’ve visited my little sister in California we have always gone out and enjoyed sipping on spicy margaritas and eating chips salsa, and guac. I am a huge fan of spicy food so when my sister told me I could order my drinks ‘spicy’ I was in heaven. When I returned home from LA after my visit this summer I went out to a bar in DC and I asked if they could make a spicy margarita. The bartender looked at me funny and said, “well I could put some hot sauce in it’. Gross, no that’s not what I was going for. Are spicy cocktails just a west coast thing? After that experience I decided if I wanted to enjoy a spicy margarita, I needed to make it myself.
Thanks to Laura and Jenn at http://www.peasandcrayons.com for the link up today I’m doing What I DRANK Wednesday. And thanks to Julie for letting me feature this post in her Best of the Blog link up.
One of the highlights of my July trip to California was going to a Tequila event sponsored by Herradura. During the event we were put in teams and had to create our own tequila cocktail, to guide us the bartender said the best ratio (math nerd) for a tequila drink is 1 ounce tequila, 1 ounce something sweet, and 1 ounce citrus or juice. So I knew I wanted to use this basic recipe when making my spicy margaritas.
I knew the recipe, now I just needed to figure out how to make the margarita spicy. When reading through some recipes there are several different ways you can add a little spice to your cocktail. You could muddle the hot peppers, slice and soak them in the alcohol, or use them to make a simple syrup. I tried muddling jalapeño peppers, and the margaritas turned out so, so. But they weren’t as delicious as the ones I had enjoyed on the west coast.
Then I came across Juli’s Pineapple Margarita Recipe and decided to try using the jalapeños to make a simple syrup. So I adapted her recipe a bit because I didn’t want the pineapple flavor, but am totally willing to try it some other time. I wanted a classic lime flavored spicy margarita. I used agave as the sweeter because that’s what the bartender at the tequila event suggested using, but you could use honey or try it with regular sugar as well. I can find agave in my local grocery store, but when in doubt when it comes to some food items, I always look for it and order on Amazon. They have almost everything in stock, be it grocery products or home-cleaning products, and can be received within a day or two. Now, using what I learned at the tequila event, I combined 1 ounce of tequila (it would be good if individuals use something like High end tequila), 1 ounce of my homemade simple syrup, and 1-ounce fresh lime juice with lots of ice– I was so happy with how good it turned out. The perfect amount of sweet and spice!
Now be warned, if you don’t like spicy food you’re probably not going to enjoy sipping on this drink, it definitely has a little kick to it. But you can control how much spice you want by how many of the jalapeño seeds you add to the simple syrup. I of course added all of them 😉 And after a few sips while eating tortilla chips you kind of get used to the spice. My husband and I snacked on Late of July Tortilla Chips with this Homemade Salsa. Late of July also makes a new Jalapeño Lime chip I need to try! CHEERS and hope you enjoy this recipe!
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup agave or honey
- 2 jalapeños, sliced
- juice of half a lime
- zest of half a lime
- 1 cup Silver Agave Tequila
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- lime wedges
- sugar or salt
- ice
- For the simple syrup in a small saucepan combine the water, agave, jalapeños, lime juice, and zest over medium heat. Whisk and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Then remove from heat and cool completely. When cooled pour the syrup through a strainer to get rid of the jalapeño slices.
- To make individual drinks use a lime wedge to wet the rim of each glass and put the sugar or salt on a small plate. Dip the rim of each glass in the sugar or salt all the way around. Add a handful of ice to each glass.
- Either individually make each drink using the ratio 1 ounce tequila, 1 ounce homemade simple syrup, 1 ounce fresh lime juice. Or you could combine the tequila, simple syrup, and lime juice in a large pitcher and mix well.
- Top each glass with a lime wedge, sip, and enjoy!
You might also enjoy this Skinny Pomegranate Margarita recipe I made last summer.
Do you like spicy food?
Have you ever tried to recreate a meal or drink you had out?
Kelly
August 9, 2016 at 11:27 pm (7 years ago)I LOVE spicy margs! My first one I had was in Wyoming, but the new restaurant around the corner from us has them too! So you should just move to Columbus 🙂 I also use jalapeño infused vodka in my Bloody Mary’s!!
sweetandstrong
August 10, 2016 at 12:34 am (7 years ago)Uh so jealous you have a restaurant around the corner with them! I will visit for the spicy marks and bloody marys and to see you of course!!!
Stephanie @ Wholesome Paradise
August 10, 2016 at 1:40 pm (7 years ago)I love jalapeno margaritas!!! Next time you visit your sister in Cali you should check out Fish Bar in Manhattan Beach for some amazing ones.
sweetandstrong
August 10, 2016 at 3:18 pm (7 years ago)Oh nice, we haven’t been there. Is there really anything better than sipping on a margarita by the beach?!?
Emily
August 10, 2016 at 1:44 pm (7 years ago)Wow that’s so intense! I’m not quite a spicy girl, but I love seeing how other people make spicy food.
sweetandstrong
August 10, 2016 at 3:17 pm (7 years ago)It’s so weird I never grew up eating or enjoying spicy food, not I’m obsessed!
Heather @ Polyglot Jot
August 10, 2016 at 6:19 pm (7 years ago)I love spicy! This sounds great and the photos are so pretty! I usually try to recreate food that I had out not so much drinks though. Cant wait to give this one a whirl.
sweetandstrong
August 10, 2016 at 11:15 pm (7 years ago)Yes I too usually try to recreate food, I usually wouldn’t touch drinks, but spicy marks are so good I had to try!
Jessie @ The Acquired Sass
August 10, 2016 at 7:41 pm (7 years ago)Mmm, I love making homemade mojitos & margaritas in the summer. We always make our own simple syrup, stores sell it like $10 for a tiny jar, so we really should go into business…I’ll have to play around with different flavors next time!
sweetandstrong
August 10, 2016 at 11:17 pm (7 years ago)YES you should totally start selling simple syrups. People will pay so much as long as they don’t have to do it themselves, but I enjoy creating things from scratch.
Kat
August 10, 2016 at 9:21 pm (7 years ago)BAHAHA hot sauce in a drink? That’s pretty funny. I actually don’t drink – like at all, but I do like the flavor of margaritas! I would never order one [since I’d rather pay for food instead of alcohol] but I might make them at home! I love your pictures here too!
sweetandstrong
August 10, 2016 at 11:19 pm (7 years ago)Hi Kat! I’m usually with you on spending money on food instead of drinks, but I like trying fun drinks on menus.
kerri mcgrail
August 10, 2016 at 10:38 pm (7 years ago)Wow these look SO good! My aunt actually makes her margaritas with jalapeños and I LOVE them- I need to make some myself!
sweetandstrong
August 10, 2016 at 11:19 pm (7 years ago)Yay, I’m so glad there are so many other spicy food/drink fans out there!
Leslee @ Her Happy Balance
August 11, 2016 at 10:53 am (7 years ago)All the yes. Love spicy food, love lime-flavored drinks, love to get my marg on 😉 It sounds really refreshing and like it would be the perfect end of summer boozy cocktail.
sweetandstrong
August 11, 2016 at 1:31 pm (7 years ago)I don’t want summer to end, but YES it’s the perfect porch sipping cocktail 😉
Ashley@CupcakesnCrunches
August 17, 2016 at 6:43 pm (7 years ago)Girl! This cocktail has my name written all over it!
P.S. Your photography is beautiful! These pictures look like something out of a magazine! 🙂