The Pairing
The Great Hearts, by David Oliver
The Reasoning
In a world fraught with dangers, one of the biggest that Calidan and Cassius face is a scorpion of monstrous proportions. In response, I decided on a margarita with a kick in the aftertaste – jalapeño infused tequila provides the bite, with sweet fruit juice to balance it out. You’ll want to adjust the amount to your own spice tolerance.
The Cocktail
You will need:
- Whiskey tumbler
- Channeling or paring knife
- 5-6 ice cubes
- 1 saucer
- Tequila
- Jam jar
- 1-2 jalapeños (depending on spice tolerance)
- Kosher salt
- Pineapple chunks (fresh or canned is fine)
- Pineapple juice
- 1 Orange
- 1 Lime
- 1.5 oz Triple Sec
To start out, we’ll need to make our infused tequila. Take a clean jam jar or similar container, and slice your jalapeños. Put them in the jar and top up with tequila, then allow to infuse overnight. The next day, strain out and discard the jalapeños and seeds (unless you want it to really blow your face off). This will be pretty spicy, so you will want to use it according to your personal taste. Also fun for dares and drinking games to see who can take the biggest sting. 😉
Pour some kosher salt into your saucer. Cut a wedge from your lime, and swipe it around the rim of your tumbler, then dip into the salt until evenly coated. Drop a few pineapple chunks into the glass and muddle them, then add a lime wedge and your ice. Using your knife, cut a twist of orange peel and add to the glass.
To start out, I’d advise measuring 2 tbsp of your infused tequila, plus 1 oz of regular tequila into the glass, followed by 1.5 oz triple sec. Squeeze out about a tbsp of lime juice and orange juice, then top up with pineapple juice. Adjust as necessary!
