There’s a new cocktail trend this summer and it burns. It’s already hot outside, but these cocktails aren’t hot in temperature, they are hot in flavor. Spicy cocktails are burning up glasses from Bangor to Tacoma. “Spicy cocktails have the same appeal as spicy food,” says Jason Percival, Beverage Manager at Post 390 in Boston.
The reason spicy cocktails work during the summer is because the heat of the spices stimulates the appetite, which for many people isn’t as strong in warmer weather. “As in food, spice balances sweetness so these kinds of cocktails often feature sweeter fruits (again, more often found in the summer).” Spice can also be more subtle, with warm spices rather than peppery ones.
A spicy or smoky profile of a cocktail adds an interesting dynamic to any drink. “I feel as we associate cocktails as being mostly sweet or bitter, however, with a smokey spirit like Mezcal or a peated Scotch we have found a new dimension to cocktail creation,” says Jacob Kress, bartender at Grill 23 & Bar in Boston. “It’s like spicy food, people like it. Spicy drinks are in style,” says Julio Carbrera, mixologist at Regent Cocktail Club in Miami.
As with any cocktail, balance is the most important element. “Spice by itself needn’t be a strange or off-putting element in a cocktail, so long as it’s balanced with acid and sweetness to mellow what could easily be too much heat,” says Percival. As long as the golden rule of balance is headed, a few chili peppers can go a long way into adding a pretty cool and different dimension to existing standards.
Spice Up Your Summer With These Hot Cocktails
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Mango Chili Martini
From Tao Downtown in New York City - By Beverage Director Keith Nelson
Ingredients
- 1 part TAO Sour Mix, made with kalamansi lime and agave
- 1 part Spiced Mango Puree
- 1 part Maestro Dobel extra anejo tequila
Method
- Add all ingredients to shaker with ice and shake well to mix
- Strain into a Coupe glass
- Serve up with a cilantro leaf and 3 drops of chili oil
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Spicy Island Turtle
From Four Seasons Resort Nevis - By Kendie Williams, Mixologist
Ingredients
- 2 ½ oz Naked Turtle Rum
- 1 oz Mango puree
- ½ Lemon, squeezed
- 1 oz Sugar cane syrup
- 2 drip Mango Pepper Hot Sauce
- 6 leaves Rosemary, muddled
- Caribbean Jerk Spice
- Brown sugar
- Fresh mango wedge
- Fresh Rosemary
Method
- Rim martini glass with brown sugar and half with Caribbean Jerk spice.
- Muddle the Rosemary.
- Combine rum, mango puree, lemon, sugar cane syrup, mango pepper hot sauce, the muddled Rosemary & ice in a cocktail shaker.
- Shake until cold.
- Strain in to the brown sugar & Jerk rimmed martini glass.
- Garnish with fresh wedge of mango & fresh rosemary.
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Spicy Michelada
From Los Chingones in Denver
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Michelada Mix (recipe below)
- .5 oz fresh lime juice
- Mexican lager (i.e. Modelo Especial)
- Chili spiced salt
Michelada Mix - makes 1 quart
- 2 oz Los Chingones house made habanero salsa*
- 14 oz Los Chingones house salsa (charred tomato-based salsa)*
- 14 oz tomato juice
- 2 oz fresh lime juice
- .25 oz kosher salt
- .25 oz freshly ground black pepper
- 1 oz Worcestershire sauce
- *Can use high quality store-bought salsas
Method
Serve Michelada mix and fresh lime juice over ice and pour your favorite Mexican lager (we use Modelo Especial) with a chili spiced salt rim.
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Smoke Stack
From Odys + Penelope in LA - Recipe by Beverage Director Matthew Rogel
Ingredients
- 2 oz chipotle tequila*
- 1/2 oz agave syrup **
- 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
- Smoked salt rim (apple wood smoked salt is ideal)
- Lime wedge for garnish
Method
Shake ingredients and pour over fresh rocks in smoked salt-rimmed glass. Garnish with lime wedge.
*For the chipotle pepper tequila infusion - add 3-4 medium sized dried chipotle peppers to a bottle of silver tequila and let it macerate overnight. It should turn the color of the tequila brown.
**For the agave syrup - combine equal parts agave nectar and hot water and stir until dissolved.
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Babo Fuego
From Los Chingonese in Denver
Ingredients
- 2 oz of Cabrito Blanco Tequila
- 1.5 oz house-made fresh squeezed Margarita Mix (equal parts of lime juice, orange juice and simple syrup)
- Muddled jalapeño slices to taste
- Strawberry Fanta to top
- Li Hing Mui rim*
Method
Muddle the jalapeño slices in a glass. Add ice, tequila and margarita mix. Shake and strain over ice and stop with Fanta.
*The Li Hing Mui powder is a Japanese candied plum that is a little sweet and salty and can be found in specialty Asian markets. Although there is a quite distinctive flavor profile in the Li Hing Mui that you will not be able to substitute, a mix of both salt and sugar will suffice in place of the Li Hing Mui to achieve the sweet and salty flavor.
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Jalapeno-Ginger Margarita
From Delicatessen in New York City
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Jalapeno Infused Teq.
- .75 oz ginger syrup
- .5 oz lime juice
Method
Lime wedge garnish, Cayenne Sugar Rim. Serve in a rocks glass.
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Al Pachilli
From Mamo in New York City
Ingredients
- Passion fruit juice 2 dashes
- Pineapple juice 2 dashes
- Grenadine 1 dash
- Y Chilli Liqueur ½ oz.
- Belvedere Wild Berry 1 ½ oz.
Glassware: coupe
Method
Add all ingredients into the mixing glass; shake really well to form the foam on top of the drink.
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El Santo
From The Regent Cocktail Club in Miami - By Beverage Director Julio Cabrera
Ingredients
- 2 oz Avion Silver tequila
- 0.75 oz Lime Juice
- 0.75 oz Simple Syrup
- 0.75 oz Mango Puree
- 1 Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
Method
- Add tequila, lime juice, simple syrup and mango puree and stir to combine.
- Add mixture to Tiki mug with crushed ice.
- Add canned mango dices, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Garnish with lime wheel, cherry, and umbrella.
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Empire of the Sun
From The Lobby Bar at Four Seasons Resort Orlando - By Bartender Anna Mitchell
Ingredients
- 2 oz elit Vodka
- .5oz Benedictine
- 1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
- 1 oz Blood Orange
- Fresno Chili Saccharum
- 3 dashes Hellfire Habanero Bitters
- 1dash of Edible Gold Dust
Method
Shake to chill and fine strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with Blood Orange ring on Zest and a flower.
