Peppercorn Jammy Beergaritas with Exotico Tequila

Apr 19

This post sponsored by Exotico Tequila. Please drink responsibly.

I love my margaritas fresh and shaken. But there is just something nostalgic about a slushy, blended-looking marg--especially when you're throwing a Cinco de Mayo party and you need something easy and super festive to serve up. Chickens in ponchos aren't easy. Beergaritas should be easy.

Nope. I am clearly not above dressing my chickens up to drive home a theme. I've done it before and I'll do it again. THIS IS ART.

I digress.

No matter the style of margarita--don't you dare skimp on your tequila! Do you hear me?!!! Exotico Tequila's 100% blue agave Blanco is a pretty perfect choice for this little Beergarita, and any other fruity marg, IMO. It's got a clean, peppery, kicky vibe that, quite frankly, is great on it's own, but extra-extra great in a cocktail.

This recipe gets its sweetness from jam--specifically a fun mango-guava-passionfruit jam. But the beauty of using jam in a cocktail is that you can easily switch up the flavor to suit your tastes--or, if you're doing a party, have several flavors available for your guests to pick and choose. Even hot pepper jam works great in a marg. TRUE STORY.

Let's make these drinks before the ponchos start coming off.

P E P P E R C O R N J A M M Y B E E R G A R I T A S

Makes one serving.

1.5 oz. Exotico Tequila Blanco
1 oz. mango pale ale (or fruity pale ale of your choice)
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1 tbs. mango-guava-passionfruit jam (or jam flavor of your choice)
Pinch of ground peppercorn blend
Pinch of kosher salt
1 tbs. salt blended with 1 tsp. ground exotic peppercorn blend plus lime wedge for rim
Nasturtium blooms for garnish
Shaved, crushed, or blended ice

If you happen to have a shaved ice maker, I highly recommend using shaved ice for this. It makes for a really fun, slushy drink. So if you've got it, go ahead and make your shaved ice. Otherwise, you can just used crushed ice, or put all of the (non-beer) ingredients in a blender and blend with ice.

Start by prepping your glass. Mix 1 tbs. kosher salt with 1 teaspoon ground peppercorn mix and spread evenly on a small dish. Run a lime wedge around the rim of your glass and roll the glass around in your mix until evenly coated. Fill your glass with shaved or crushed ice.

In a shaker with ice, combine tequila, lime juice, jam, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Shake until chilled, then strain over ice (or, if using a blender, put all of these ingredients in with about a cup of ice and blend until smooth). Add the beer and give everything a quick stir. Top off with ice if need be, and dust with ground pink peppercorn. Garnish with nasturtium blooms and drink up. But slowly. Because: brain freeze.