Mezcal Margarita with Cucumber & Jalapeño

“I love mezcal in my margarita,” says Ana González Quaid of Chicago, who is famous in her family and friend circle for her bartending skills. “It gives the margarita this incredible smoky depth and a lot more oomph. I love the flavor of mezcal.”

Growing up, Ana’s family didn’t have this agave spirit around the house. “At family parties, we had tequila, pulque and other types of alcohol that were popular in San Luis Potosí, where we are from in Mexico. But not mezcal.”

Ana and her husband, Brian, who both work in restaurant management in Chicago, started coming across ingenious ways to use mezcal at work. And their interest solidified after a trip to Mexico City some years back. ”That’s when Brian and I started to make our own mezcal margaritas,” says Ana. “We love adding cucumbers for a tart-fresh-sweet flavor and sometimes we use mezcal that we first infuse with a jalapeño. Or a serrano. Whatever chile we have around.” Ana also prefers to use the smaller English or Persian cucumbers. They have more crunch and “taste more cucumbery,” she says.

Quick mezcal primer: Mezcal, like tequila, is made from the agave plant. Unlike tequila, mezcal does not have to be made in controlled regions of Mexico and can be produced from any kind of agave. It gets its smoky flavor when the piña, the heart of the agave plant, is cooked in underground pits that are also filled with lava rocks, wood and charcoal. It’s then placed in oak barrels, like tequila: up to two months for mezcal jóven or blanco, two to four months for reposado, and one year for añejo.

“If you are trying to do something different with a cocktail, yet keep it very traditional Mexican, using mezcal in your margarita is a great way to go. You can taste the plant, you get the smokiness. It’s not filtered by other things,” says Ana. ”It’s pure Mexico in a glass.”

Ready to Shake up a Celebration-Worthy Mezcal Margarita?

Mezcal Margarita with Cucumber & Jalapeño

Recipe by Ana González Quaid

5.0 from 1 vote

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 oz mezcal

• 1 jalapeño, seeded and sliced (keep seeds in for spicier)

• 1 oz lime juice, freshly squeezed

• 3/4 oz agave syrup

• 3 to 4 slices cucumber, thinly sliced

• 1 tsp smoked kosher salt or margarita salt

• 1 sprig cilantro, fresh, for garnish

Directions

• Transfer mezcal the day before into a Mason jar or pitcher with a lid.
• Seed and slice the jalapeño into 4 to 6 thin strips. Place into the jar or pitcher with the mezcal and cover tightly. Put into your fridge for 4 hours—or overnight.
• After at least 4 hours, take out the jalapeño slices and discard.
• In a pitcher or cocktail shaker, muddle the cucumber slices, lime juice and agave syrup. Don’t do it too hard: you want the cucumber to get a little soft and break apart, but not get smushed. Add ice. Add mezcal. Stir or shake, con gusto.
• Spread kosher salt or your favorite margarita salt on a plate. Dip your margarita glass in lime juice or water and then dip into the salt. Add new ice to your glass. Pour the mezcal margarita mixture through a strainer into the glass. Garnish with a slice or two of cucumber and a sprig of cilantro—and serve.

Notes

• You can slice the cucumber horizontally and garnish with one or two rounds. Or you can slice it thinly the long way and wrap it around the inside of your margarita glass for a more dramatic presentation.