Experiments with Tequila

These aren’t your average margaritas. Actually, they aren’t margaritas at all.

I was watching Alice in Wonderland while concocting these drinks. Please pardon the multiple references.

Also, special thanks to The Burrito Company and Mini Bar: Tequila by Mittie Hellmich for introducing me to the art of tequila infusion.

I’m a bit of a tequila novice and an extremely loyal consumer of Jose Cuervo Silver. Other un-aged tequilas will also do the trick.

Down the Rabbit Hole
This is sort of a gateway drug. Think of it as an introduction to all of the cool things you can do with tequila. Basic ingredients, easy to make, extremely delicious.

Handful of blueberries
1 ½ oz Jose Cuervo Silver Tequila
4 oz Minute Maid Lemonade

Muddle blueberries in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add ice, tequila, and lemonade. Shake and strain into a highball glass over fresh ice. Add a straw and a few fresh blueberries for garnish.

The Curious Oyster
“ ‘The time has come,’ the Walrus said/ ‘To talk of other things/ Of shoes and ships and ceiling wax/ Of cabbages and kings/ And why the sea is boiling hot/ And whether pigs have wings’”
Unless you’ve watched Alice in Wonderland very recently, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. But, anyway, that’s off topic.

I had my first ever oyster shooter about two weeks ago at the Providence Oyster Bar. I have to say, I’m a fan. Here is my own spiced-up version with homemade pepper-infused tequila.

1 raw oyster
Dash of horseradish
1 oz pepper-infused tequila*
1 oz tomato juice

Place oyster in the bottom of a shot glass. Combine horseradish, tequila, and tomato juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigourously and strain into shot glass. Keep shooter on ice until ready to serve. Chase with a lemon wedge.

*To infuse tequila with pepper, place a few chile peppers in a bottle of silver tequila and let stand for 2 – 5 days.

Golden Afternoon

1 strawberry, hulled and sliced
1 kiwi slice, cubed
1 ½ oz Jose Cuervo Silver Tequila
2 oz pineapple juice
Champagne to fill

Muddle strawberry and kiwi pieces in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add tequila, ice, and pineapple juice. Shake and strain into champagne flute and top off with champagne. Garnish with a fresh strawberry.

The Cheshire Cat
I’m actually extremely proud of this recipe. It’s part Burrito Company, part La Laiterie, and a little Guy Fieri. The results are sure to make you grin.

1 strawberry, hulled and sliced
3 slices fresh rhubarb
1 ½ oz Jose Cuervo Silver Tequila
2 oz fresh watermelon juice*
2 oz Riesling

Muddle strawberry and rhubarb in a cocktail shaker. Add tequila and ice. Shake and strain into a white wine glass over fresh ice. Add watermelon juice and top off with Riesling. For garnish, alternate three watermelon balls and two strawberry slices on a cocktail skewer.

*To make watermelon juice, simply blend fresh, cubed seedless watermelon with ice. Strain out pulp and chill until ready to serve.

Mad Tea Party
For an Alice in Wonderland themed entry, this one’s obvious. I first saw tea combined with tequila on an episode of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. His guest, mixologist Jim Meehan from the East Village’s Please Don’t Tell, made a Tea-quila highball with elderflower cordial and agave syrup. My hot tea cocktail is both traditional and refreshing.

1 strawberry, hulled and sliced
4 fresh mint leaves
1 ½ oz Jose Cuervo Silver Tequila
4 oz Twinings Earl Gray tea
Lemon and honey to taste

Muddle strawberry and mint in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add tequila and a little ice. Shake briefly and strain into a tea cup. (The goal isn’t to chill the tequila, just infuse it with strawberry and mint flavors.) Add freshly prepared hot tea and lemon/honey as necessary.

Painting the Roses Red
1 oz vanilla infused tequila*
1 oz Malibu Coconut Rum
1 ½ oz pineapple juice
½ oz grenadine

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

*To infuse tequila with vanilla, place some long vanilla beans in a bottle of silver tequila and let stand for at least a week.