The Kitchen
Salt and Smoke Margarita
This savory margarita lives up to its name: Smoky mezcal meets bright lemon and honey, with black pepper bringing gentle heat and briny Castelvetrano olives providing the salty finish. A drop of toasted sesame oil is optional, but adds another layer of nutty, roasty complexity.
Ingredients · Servings 1
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Lemon wedge
- 2 brined green olives, such as Castelvetrano
- 1 oz. mezcal
- 1 oz. Cointreau
- 1 oz. fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp. honey
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- Toasted sesame oil, for drizzling (optional)
Method · 5 minutes
- Pour some kosher salt onto a small plate; add a few cranks of black pepper and stir to combine. Rub lemon wedge lightly over rim of a rocks glass (reserve lemon wedge for garnish). Press rim of glass into salt-and-pepper mixture. Fill glass with coarsely cracked large ice cubes. Thread olives and lemon wedge onto a skewer; set aside.
- Combine 1 oz. mezcal, 1 oz. Cointreau, 1 oz. fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp. honey, and 2 dashes orange bitters in a cocktail shaker; season with 3 cranks of black pepper. Fill shaker with ice and shake vigorously until outside of shaker is very cold and frosty, 30 seconds. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into prepared glass. Season with a crank of black pepper and drizzle with toasted sesame oil (if using). Garnish with reserved skewer.
Recipe information
- Total Time 5 minutes
- Yield Makes 1
Preparation
- Step 1Pour some kosher salt onto a small plate; add a few cranks of black pepper and stir to combine. Rub lemon wedge lightly over rim of a rocks glass (reserve lemon wedge for garnish). Press rim of glass into salt-and-pepper mixture. Fill glass with coarsely cracked large ice cubes. Thread olives and lemon wedge onto a skewer; set aside. Step 2Combine 1 oz. mezcal, 1 oz. Cointreau, 1 oz. fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp. honey, and 2 dashes orange bitters in a cocktail shaker; season with 3 cranks of black pepper. Fill shaker with ice and shake vigorously until outside of shaker is very cold and frosty, 30 seconds. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into prepared glass. Season with a crank of black pepper and drizzle with toasted sesame oil (if using). Garnish with reserved skewer.
