First off, a happy New Year’s Eve to you all!! I wish you all the best in 2014 and hope your goodbye to 2013 is a splendid one. I had hoped to get this post up yesterday so it would be of more use as a New Year’s cocktail, but settling back into the groove of things after being a layabout back home for a week was a bit of a struggle. Nevertheless, I present to you this deliciously sweet, tangy, and spicy beverage (which you still have time to make before the new year if you do a short infusion of the tequila outlined in the instructions). I’ve been a longtime fan of slightly spicy cocktails. Bloody Marys are the most common kind (and also at the top of my list of favorite beverages), but there’s a whole world of flavor aside from that tomatoey beverage, especially when it comes to hot pepper infused booze.
This was my first time infusing liquor with pepper, and I decided to go with a jalapeño because I’d had mango jalapeño salsa before and really loved the combination of the two in that dish. So I cut the jalapeño in half, scooped out the seeds and pulp, and let it sit in some tequila overnight. The next day I gave it a taste and could definitely taste the jalapeño, but it was pleasantly subtle. That was when I made the cocktail, but then I went up to Oregon for a week and forgot to take the jalapeño out of the bottle before I left, so when I returned I gave it another taste, and while the jalapeño flavor was definitely stronger, it didn’t seem a whole lot spicier to me. So if you leave it overnight versus a week, the flavor of the actual pepper will intensify, but not the heat of the beverage.
I muddled some raspberries at the bottom of the serving glass before pouring in the mango juice and the jalapeño tequila and giving it all a good stir. Then I let it sit for about 5 minutes to let the raspberries settle slightly towards the bottom before serving. The result was a latin paradise of a beverage. Sweet, tangy, fresh, and slightly spicy, the tequila went splendidly with the mango juice and the jalapeños added very mild heat to the drink that only came through as a warm aftertaste. I loved the colors that the muddled raspberries added to the drink, too, almost a lava-y effect to it.
I attempted doing an overnight time lapse for this video to show the tequila infusing overnight, but because I didn’t have anything casting a strong shadow in frame it ended up just looking like the shot faded to black, unfortunately. But that just means I have to brainstorm another recipe that will involve liquid resting for a long period of time. Perhaps cayenne infusions? Or chipotle? I’ve been wanting to make a habanero-infused rum for a while now, this may just be the perfect excuse….
Jalapeño Infused Tequila with Mango Juice & Muddled Raspberries
Ingredients
Jalapeño Infused Tequila
- 1 Jalapeño
- 2 cups quality tequila my favorite brand is Espalon Reposado
The Mars Water
- 3/4 cup mango juice chilled
- 1-3 shots jalapeño infused tequila depending on how strong you'd like it
- 6 raspberries
Instructions
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First, infuse the tequila. Cut the cap off the jalapeño and discard it. Cut the jalapeño in half length-wise and scrape out the seeds and white pith with a small metal spoon. Discard the seeds and pith. Place the jalapeños in a sterile glass container and add the tequila. Seal the container and allow to rest for four hours or overnight in a cool dark place. If you're doing a short 4-hour infusion, vigorously shake the container every 30 minutes for about 10 seconds. If you're infusing it overnight, you don't need to shake it. You can allow it to infuse for up to 1 week, keeping in mind that the heat will not increase much between the overnight infusion and the weeklong infusion, but the flavor of the jalapeño pepper itself will. Once the desired flavor intensity is reached, remove the jalapeño from the container and discard it.
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To prepare the cocktail, drop the raspberries into the bottom of the serving vessel. Muddle them until thoroughly crushed, then add the mango juice and jalapeño infused tequila and stir until combined. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Oh this looks incredible and love that I can serve this for a Mexican themed brunch drink too {we host a lot of those}.
Oh fun! Yes this would be perfect for a Mexican brunch, and what a good idea! I love Mexican breakfast food, should start making it more on the regular 🙂
Yay, another video! This drink has such a great combination of ingredients. And I love the story behind the name. It may be cliche, but watching strawberries (or something else red or brightly colored) infuse into vodka with a time-lapse camera would be pretty cool. Your clever brain can definitely find a way to make it work! Kevin got a GoPro for Christmas, and he really wants to time-lapse some food. I was thinking we could try it with cookies in the oven. I hope you had a great New Year's! I took a nap between 11 pm and midnight, then stayed up until 1:30 reading a new cookbook. Exciting!
Thanks friend! Yeah I am hoping to figure out the time lapse eventually, I think the main issue was I started it like and hour and a half before sunset so there wasn't a lot of time for the sun to move. Next time I'll start it like 4 hours before sunset to get more of the actual movement of the sun. And GoPro!!! Those are AWESOME. Me and Jeremy have been wanting one for a while, it would be especially fun to use when you're traveling or hiking or working out in the field with the bees. Could get some really crazy/awesome footage of the bees 😀 Our new Year's was pretty nice, went over to a friend's house who was having a party, I was the DD between the two of us but still had a really nice time. We brought our pup since our friends had a dog and the two played like crazy all night. Now she's all tuckered out and actually slept in until 9:30 this morning (YESSSSS!) so I think there will be more playdates for her in the near future 🙂
I'm not sure if I want to see anything tequila or spicy this morning, but I'm definitely pinning this for later.
Hahaha, I think many people are feeling the exact same right now, my husband included 😉 Hope you do give it a try later, it's a really tasty beverage!
Where did you find those fantastic straws?!?
I got them at Paper Source a couple months ago. They're the coolest little paper straws ever, I just love them!!
Happy New Year Eva! I love this drink – totally unique (like all your stuff) and absolutely awesome looking! xx
Happy New Year Katrina! And thank you! 🙂
Love the video, beautiful! Happy new year Eva!
I am so glad you enjoyed it! Happy new year to you as well!!
Yum yum!! I love jalapeno tequila, but bet it's even better with mango and raspberry!
Sues
Thanks so much ladies!!
the video is so nicely done 🙂 Happy New Years to you. I am not much of a tequila person but with mango and spices, sounds delicious on a hot summer day!
Awww thank you Dixya!! Happy new year to you, too!!
i'm SO picky about my cocktails, but this has just about everything i could ever desire. brilliant creation, eva, and happy 2014!
Thank you, Grace! Happy new year!!
Gorgeous. I would drink this for sure and I don't drink much. I love the glassware- any more info on it? Happy New Year and re-settling into the groove:)
Thank you Wendy!! I actually got it as a wedding gift (non-registry) from someone and don't have the box it came in anymore so I can't be of much help 🙁 They make the liquid look like it's floating in a tube though, if that helps with the google searching.
This is beautiful! Do you think I could make this drink in advance and store it in a bottle for 1 day to give to someone as gift?
Hi Nicole! Definitely, just make sure to keep it refrigerated up until you give it to them 🙂
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