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Retox Cocktail

By Sother Teague

5.0

(2)

Photo of 2 tequila cocktails retox cocktail and margarita cocktail
The Retox Cocktail (left), shown with a classic Margarita.Eric Medsker Photography

A popular fad known as the Detox Cleanse requires its devotees to drink a mixture of lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. I'd prefer to see an actual doctor and visit the gym rather than subject myself to such lengths. But the detox mixture was so close in nature to a simple sour that I felt compelled to use it as a riff on the classic Margarita. Fresh jalapeños stand in for the cayenne pepper for a brighter, more vegetal flavor, and the richness of maple syrup combined with the tart lemon juice beckons you back for more. 

Ingredients

2 or 3 slices fresh jalapeño
¾ oz. grade B maple syrup
½ oz. fresh lemon juice
2 oz. reposado tequila
Kosher salt for rim

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Rim half of a rocks glass with kosher salt. Muddle jalapeño in base of cocktail shaker. Add maple syrup, lemon, and tequila. Shake vigorously with ice.

    Step 2

    Fill rimmed glass with fresh ice. Double strain cocktail (to remove any pepper bits) into prepared glass. Garnish with lemon slice.

Cover of Sother Teague's I'm Just Here for the Drinks cocktail book.
From I'm Just Here for the Drinks: A Guide to Spirits, Drinking and More Than 100 Extraordinary Cocktails. Copyright © 2018 by Sother Teague. Reprinted with permission from Media Lab Books. Order the full book from Amazon.
TagsCocktailAlcoholBeveragesTequilaJalapeñoChileVegetableCookbooks

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