margarita verde

I love tequila. Butterball (my late-night alter ego) loves tequila even more. Most people shy away from drinks they've perhaps overly indulged in during long nights, and regretted during even longer mornings. The magic of tequila, for me, is that a margarita is almost never unpalatable, even after a couple of college spring break trips to Mexico. My margarita love has been mixed, muddled and tested before, here and here), but to me, it never gets old. This variety sports my favorite color, and some refreshing summer flavors to boot: cucumber, jalapeno and cilantro jazz up that classic tart lime flavor. Most people would serve this over a hearty amount of ice, since it's pretty potent, but as I had no ice on hand and even less patience, I just went for it (read: aggressive, but great). Steeping the tequila with flavor is the best way to build a cocktail with layers of depth and flavor.

Margarita Verde
(Makes 2 cocktails... or one really big one)

• 4 oz. tequila (in this case blanco)
• 2 oz. Cointreau
• 4 oz. fresh lime juice
• 1 small jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced
• Handful of cilantro sprigs
• Kosher salt for rim, if desired 

1. In a small bowl (or mortar and pestle if you're all fancy), muddle cucumbers and jalapenos with a fork or spoon. Reserve a few cucumber  and jalapeno slices un-muddled for garnish. Add tequila and a few sprigs of cilantro, and allow mixture to steep for several days... ideally. If you really can't wait, just mix it all up and use it that day.

2. When tequila is rich with fresh n' spicy flavor, strain tequila into cocktail glasses. I reused some of the jalapeno bits by scooping them into the cocktail itself. Add Cointreau, lime juice, and ice. 

3. Add reserved cucumber slices, jalapeno, and cilantro to the cocktail, and on the rim for garnish, if desired.