La Cigua

(Spicy Margarita)

(reposted here from Blood & Whiskey #37, June 2024)

Cocktails of the Month

One bourbon, one tequila…

Classic Old Fashioned

• 2 oz. bourbon 

• 1/4 oz. simple syrup (you can also just use sugar)

• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Pour ingredients into an ice-filled rocks glass and stir. Garnish with thin-shaved lemon or orange peel.

[For a twist: replace the bourbon with mezcal, the simple syrup with agave syrup or nectar, and the Angostura with something like Mole Bitters.]

La Cigua (Spicy Margarita)

I’d rather drink a tequila on the rocks with lime than a margarita with triple sec (though I can occasionally handle one with Grand Marnier). But this one is a fave, with equal parts tequila and mezcal.

(from Theodora in Brooklyn, via Imbibe magazine, via Instagram…)

• 1 oz. tequila

• 1 oz. mezcal

• 3/4 oz. fresh cucumber juice

• 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice

• 1/2 oz. simple syrup

• dashes of hot sauce or spicy tincture (to taste)

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain over ice in a glass rimmed with chili salt (1 tsp salt, 1 tsp chipotle, 1 tsp chili powder).

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(Photos from La Cigua’s creator, Theodora, in Brooklyn, and Imbibe magazine)

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Also… since this newsletter is ostensibly whiskey themed, I try to go easy on the amaros, bitters, and other aperitivos that lately comprise the bulk of my (lower ABV) drinking. But if interested, here’s a great primer on the world beyond Campari, from the expert in the field, Brad Thomas Parsons (LAST CALL).

Related: I really liked this Lambrusco Spritz (via NYT Cooking + Rebekah Peppler, whose newsletter, Shortlisted, helped guide us around Mexico City).