Cocktail recipe: Spicy Muscarita
IYKYK. Grace bar + eatery mix the best Spicy Margarita in North East Victoria. And we’d know - we’ve drunk A LOT of spicy margs in our days.
Grace's Spicy Marg is almost like a meal in itself, all down to the love the team puts into the chilli simple syrup, which has real depth to it.
What's a Spicy Muscarita though? Well, it's a little riff on the spicy marg, designed in cahoots with our friends at Grace.
It heroes Scion's Muscat X, which we substitute in place of triple sec. The reason the Muscat X works so well is due to its flavour profile (orange peel, apricot, wild honey), clean acidity and gentle sweetness, all particular to our new-wave style of fortified muscat.
Spoiler alert: The simple syrup recipe here is not exactly Grace's secret super-power recipe but it's a darn good starting point to start building your own well-rounded chilli syrup. Play around - a bay leaf here, a warm spice there - and have fun!
RECIPE: SPICY MUSCARITA
INGREDIENTS
Muscarita (makes 2 cocktails)
90ml tequila blanco
90ml Scion Muscat X
90ml fresh lime juice
60ml chilli simple syrup
Chilli simple syrup (makes 16 servings of 30ml)
300g white sugar (1.5 cups)
300ml water (1.25 cups)
4 - 5 jalapenos or long red chillis (about 100 - 125g)
herbs/spices, to taste
Chilli salt rim
1 cup salt flakes
1 tbsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp aleppo pepper flakes
1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
wedge of lime
METHOD
Chilli simple syrup
Cut the chillis into thick rounds/slices.
Place the sugar, water and chillis in a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat, while frequently stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Bring the syrup to a boil, then lower heat to a gentle simmer for about 10-15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse, stirring occasionally.
Allow the syrup to cool, before straining to remove the chillis.
Pour the syrup into a bottle or air-tight container. The syrup should last 3-4 weeks in the fridge.
Tips: Additional spices/herbs such a bay leaves and chilli flakes can be added at the same time as the chillis to build more flavour complexity. For a stronger/spicier syrup, steep the syrup on the benchtop for a couple of hours or even overnight if you can, before straining.
Chilli salt
Combine all ingredients, except for lime.
Can be made ahead of time and stored in an air-tight container for months.
Muscarita
Run lime wedge around outside rim of cocktail glasses, then dip rim of glasses into shallow bowl containing chilli salt and give a little twist.
Add ice cubes to glasses.
Add ice and all liquids to cocktail shaker and shake.
Strain into glasses and serve!
Keen to try this at home?
