Why you are pouring this tonight
Swap half the tequila for mezcal and the Margarita shifts into a different drink: smoky, earthy, deeper. Mezcal is agave roasted in underground pits before distillation, so the smoke comes straight from the spirit, not from any gimmick.
Works especially well with a charred-lime half-rim of salt. Use a good mezcal like Del Maguey Vida. Going all-mezcal is an option too if you want the smoke to be the whole story.
What changes from the Classic Margarita
Half the blanco tequila becomes mezcal. Lime charred instead of sliced. Salt rim half-done, one side only.
What to pour it alongside
Slow-smoked meats, barbacoa, chipotle-anything. The mezcal smoke finds its echo in charred food.
The recipe
Ingredients
Method
Method
- Rub a lime wedge around half the rim of a rocks glass; dip that half in sea salt.
- Fill the glass with large ice cubes.
- Add tequila, mezcal, lime juice and Cointreau to a shaker with ice. Shake hard.
- Strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with a charred lime wedge.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 520kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Want the classic? Our Classic Margarita recipe is here.