spicy

Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate

December 20, 2019 by Natalie Leave a Comment

There’s nothing I love more than a hot chocolate on a cold night. In fact, that’s about all I love about cold nights because I hate the cold! I made this Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate the other night when we had a snow squall. What’s a snow squall you might ask? I had to ask google the same thing. It is a very abrupt and short-lived snowstorm with blizzard and whiteout conditions. Thankfully I had my friends over at Exotico Tequila to help me through it and this Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate to keep me warm.

Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate, makes 2 cups

2 cups milk

4 oz. Exotico Tequila

2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp. demerara sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. chili powder

1/8 tsp. ground cayenne (you can omit this if you don’t want it too spicy)

bittersweet chocolate shavings, for garnish

marshmallows, for garnish

To make your Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate whisk cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, chili and cayenne together until combined. Add your milk to a small saucepan and place on the stove over low heat. Add in your dry ingredients and stir until all ingredients are incorporated and the cocoa has melted into the milk, about 10 minutes. Stir in your vanilla extract.

Add 2 oz. of tequila to your serving vessel, I used enamel mugs, and then pour the hot chocolate. Garnish with mini marshmallows and chocolate shavings.

I love sweet and savory dishes and drinks and this Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate checks all those boxes. It’s decadent and rich and warming from the chili and cayenne. I have a very high tolerance for spice and while I don’t find this overwhelmingly spicy, you can omit the cayenne if you think this recipe will be too spicy for your taste. Exotico Tequila is so perfect for this drink. Chocolate and spices complement the sweet earthy notes in tequila and other agave spirits.

This is not only a great drink to serve on Christmas Eve or for dessert on Christmas Day but you can also enjoy it all winter long. A hot cocoa bar is a great idea to set up for a party or gathering and I put together some ideas in this post. While I will be enjoying this Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate for as long as the temperature dips below 45 degrees there’s nothing like sipping on a warm drink in front of the Christmas tree.

I hope you decide to make this drink and Happy Holidays from me and Exotico Tequila! xo

Green Garden Cocktail

August 2, 2019 by Natalie Leave a Comment

Possibly one of my favorite things to do is to come up with margarita variations. The Green Garden cocktail isn’t quite just a margarita but was definitely my inspiration for creating this drink. I’m also very excited to be partnering up with my friends over at Exotico Tequila again. So expect a lot of delicious tequila drinks for the rest of 2019! I teamed up with Exotico last year for my Mango Kombucha Margarita + Bistec Mango Tacos post. Those recipes are well worth a revisit and are currently making my mouth water. If you missed that post and you aren’t familiar with Exotico Tequila it is handcrafted with tradition by the Destiladora Gonzalez Gonzalez.

The Destiladora Gonzalez Gonzalez is a family distillery spanning three generations and one of Mexico’s most respected makers of tequila. The tequila is made from 100% Blue Weber agave grown in the highlands of Jalisco. From my many travels to Jalisco I learned that the red clay soil there produces larger and much sweeter agaves which is why Exotico gets their agaves from this region. This type of agave, once distilled, gives Exotico its floral, well-rounded taste. I love the Exotico Blanco because it has notes of roasted agave with a peppery finish which makes it delightful to use in drinks or sip on its own.

I’ve been on a cucumber juice kick and thought it would make a wonderful summer ingredient in a tequila-based drink. I love spicy and savory elements in cocktails and decided to make a green bell pepper syrup to use as well. The results were amazing if I can say so myself. 😉

Green Garden, makes one serving

1 1/2 oz. Exotico Tequila

1/2 oz. Yellow Chartreuse

1 oz. fresh cucumber juice

1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

3/4 oz. green bell pepper syrup

handful of basil leaves

salt, paprika and chili flakes, for rim

Green Bell Pepper Syrup, makes 1 cup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 green bell pepper

To make the syrup, cut a green bell pepper in half, remove seeds and rinse. Chop into small pieces. In a small saucepan add sugar, water and chopped green bell pepper. Let simmer on the stove until all sugar has dissolved then remove from heat and let completely cool. I left the green bell pepper in the syrup overnight and then strained to extract the most flavor.

Next, get your cocktail glasses ready! I did an equal part combination of course sea salt, paprika and red chili flakes. Run a lime around the rim of your glass and then roll the outside rim of your glass through the salt mixture. To make cucumber juice I ran a few cucumbers through a slow juicer. If you don’t have a slow juicer the other option is blending the cucumbers and straining the cucumber juice out through a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Combine tequila, Yellow Chartreuse, cucumber juice, lime juice, green bell pepper syrup and basil leaves in a cocktail shaker. Finally, add ice, shake and strain into your salt-rimmed glasses.

Not only does this cocktail taste magnificent but the color is very stunning. I called it the Green Garden for the use of all the green ingredients and of course the color. I love the green bell pepper syrup and I can’t wait to play around with it in other drinks. Perhaps even test out some other peppers in syrups as well. This cocktail is herbal, refreshing and savory—perfect for a hot day! But always and most importantly, perfect in the company of tacos. And chips. And guacamole. You get it. xo

Watermelon Habanero Hibiscus Mezcalito

May 5, 2019 by Natalie 2 Comments

It doesn’t have to be a special day for me to indulge in a good margarita and some al pastor tacos. In fact, that’s pretty much my daily life. I was still so excited to team up with my friends at Bai to bring you this Watermelon Habanero Hibiscus Mezcalito for Cinco de Mayo.

A mezcalito is a margarita made with mezcal and perhaps my favorite way to enjoy this spirit other than sipping on it neat. I’ve touched on mezcal on the blog before but just in case you’re reading about it for the first time it is a spirit distilled from agave. A lot of people like to refer to mezcal as the “sister of tequila” but the truth is tequila is a type of mezcal, much like scotch and bourbon are types of whiskey. Mezcal is made from more than 30 varieties of agave. The most commonly used are tobalá, tobaziche, tepeztate, arroqueño and espadin. It is produced in nine different areas of Mexico including Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Michoacán, Puebla and Oaxaca.

Mezcal is made from the harvested core of the agave plant, otherwise known as the piña. It is cooked inside earthen pits that are lined with lava rocks and filled with wood and charcoal before being distilled in clay pots. This is the source of where mezcal gets its earthy and smoky flavor profile. The smokiness of mezcal seemed like a perfect match for the earthy nature of watermelon and using Bai Kula Watermelon made this mezcalito turn out delicious.

Frozen Watermelon Habanero Hibiscus Mezcalito, makes one serving

1 1/2 oz. Mezcal (I used Banhez Espadin)

1/2 oz. Cointreau or triple sec

1 oz. Bai Kula Watermelon

1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

3/4 oz. hibiscus habanero syrup

4 pieces fresh watermelon, cubed

watermelon slice, for garnish

smoked salt, for rimming

Hibiscus Habanero Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers

3 habanero peppers, cut lengthwise

First, make your syrup. Add sugar, water, dried hibiscus flowers, and habanero peppers to a saucepan and let simmer over low-medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain out the hibiscus flowers and peppers. Let completely cool and store in a bottle or jar in the refrigerator.

Next, rim your glassware with smoked salt by running a lime around the rim and then dipping it into the salt. To make your cocktail add Bai Kula Watermelon, fresh lime juice, hibiscus habanero syrup, Cointreau, mezcal, and cubed watermelon to your blender pitcher with 6-8 oz. of ice. Blend on high or smoothie setting if you have one, and then pour into your glassware. Garnish with a slice of watermelon. Drink umbrella optional but always encouraged. If you’re not in the mood for something frozen you can easily muddle the fresh watermelon and shake the drink and serve over ice instead.

If you’re thinking, these are a lot of flavors to combine, I promise it is not. I wanted to add a spicy element to this mezcalito but I also love watermelon and hibiscus together. Watermelon is earthy and sweet, while hibiscus is rich and floral, and habanero adds a delightful spice. The mezcal adds a hint of smoke and finishing the drink with salt adds a savory element.

I hope whatever you’re doing today that you’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo right. That is: with a margarita (or mezcalito) in hand accompanied by chips, guacamole, and your favorite taco. You know what I’ll be doing. Cheers to Cinco de Mayo! xo

Sunny Side Up Fizz

October 28, 2016 by Natalie Leave a Comment

Hey Everyone! I’m currently up in the sky en route home from my Disney vacation with mom. I loved Disney so much I’m already planning my next trip back. I meant to write this post while I was away but the long days got to me, and honestly I was snoozing around 9pm every night. It’s safe to say my schedule will be pretty messed up for the next week. Excuse me if I fall asleep while making your drinks.

Recently I partnered with Time Out New York and Herradura Tequila for their “Meet the Bartender” series. I was asked to create a drink based on a place in the NYC area that felt like home to me. I picked an old soda fountain/luncheonette my Grandpa and I use to stop at from time to time. I was inspired by the location but also by the types of food and drink you enjoy at luncheonettes, like breakfast, coffee, milkshakes and egg creams.

I decided that the drink was going to be a fizz, but I wanted to use a whole egg to add more of a creamy texture to the drink. I wanted to incorporate coffee not only because it’s something associated with breakfast and something I enjoy there often but because my Grandfather worked at Maxwell House Coffee, which was located a very short distance from the luncheonette in Hoboken, NJ. I picked the Reposado expression of Herradura because of its notes of vanilla and warm brown spice elements. I knew it would go along with the flavor profile of the drink and add a lot of depth. Cinnamon ties the drink all together, an ingredient that goes so well with coffee, cream, and the flavors of the Reposado. Lastly the drink gets topped off with soda for the fizz element with a dash of cayenne pepper to add some spice.

Sunny Side Up Fizz

1 1/2 oz. Herradura Reposado Tequila

3/4 oz. Coffee Liqueur

1/2 oz. Cinnamon Syrup

1 whole egg

Soda

Cayenne Pepper

Crack egg into the larger side of your tin. In smaller side build tequila, coffee liqueur, and cinnamon. Pour smaller tin into larger tin, close shaker, and dry shake for about 15 seconds. Open tin, add ice, and shake on ice. Strain into serving vessel, top with soda, and dust with cayenne on top.

On Thursday November 3rd from 5-8pm I will be hosting a Happy Hour Event at The Archer in Jersey City, NJ where I will be making the Sunny Side Up Fizz. You can purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tequila-herraduras-meet-the-bartender-happy-hour-series-tickets-28695512049 . After the Happy Hour you can vote for my cocktail online and at the finale event that will be held in NYC on Sunday November 20th from 4-7pm. Tickets available for the finale event here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-the-bartender-finale-event-tickets-28709282236 . Hope to see some of you there and check out the video for the series below!

Don’t forget to vote for me!

spicy

Green Garden, makes one serving

Green Bell Pepper Syrup, makes 1 cup

Frozen Watermelon Habanero Hibiscus Mezcalito, makes one serving

Hibiscus Habanero Syrup

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