{friday cocktail: basil margarita}

I'm starting to realize basil might be one of my favorite cocktail ingredients (see recipes using it here, here, here, & here!) so why not try it out in a classic margarita in honor of Cinco de Mayo this coming Monday!  I based this cocktail off of a classic Tommy's Margarita then increased the agave nectar to make it a bit sweeter and muddled in fresh basil to add a fun herbal flavor.  The best past (and the part that makes people think you spent half a day making this drink when in fact you spent about 10 minutes) is the basil sugar/salt mixture used to rim the glass.  Simply mix together a few spoonfuls of sugar and sugar then muddle in fresh basil leaves to infuse a slight basil taste to the garnish!  I hope you enjoy this one alongside some tasty tacos and guacamole this weekend!  

Cheers!

{friday cocktail: triple pepper margarita}

Next weekend we will be attending a Cinco de Mayo party where each guest brings a batch of margaritas to enter into a contest so I have been brainstorming what recipe we should whip up for the win this year.  Last year we tried to be fancy and brought these, but we didn't win which I will chalk up to the fact that most of the judges were drunk.  My favorite kind of margarita is a classic Tommy's margarita with jalapeño muddled in and a spicy paprika salt rim (generally enjoyed in Palm Springs!) so I thought I might try out an even spicier recipe to potentially enter in the contest.  

Working with my fave recipe as a base, I added in muddled red pepper, more jalapeños, a pepper garnish including fiery habanero and rimed the glass with home-made lime salt.  I absolutely love how this cocktail turned out, but it occurred to me after a few sips that the spice won't make it a crowd pleaser (aka the champion) so I'll need to think of something else for the contest.  I think we will go off the beaten path with a less traditional margarita and I'll be happy to do all the "research" in the meantime. 

Cheers!