The Quay Gang Cookbook Cocktail Recipe: The Hot Margarita

The Hot Margarita

    I ran across a version of this cocktail that I though could be improved.  It called for tabasco Sauce.  While I love Tabasco on my hash browns, eggs, home fries, etc, it does not seem like it would go well with lime, Cointreau, and tequila.  With all due haste, I concocted a version using a hot sauce that would compliment the lime: Yuzu.  

    Yuzu is an asian fruit, of which the peel is usually used in cahoots with a chile pepper of some sort.  Two notable versions are the Trader Joe's, and From Japan.  If you use the From Japan version, add an equal amount of simple syrup.

    The recipe:

• 1 oz lime juice (always fresh)
• 1/2 oz Cointreau
• 1 1/2 oz Tequila (substitute Mezcal for a smoky flavor)
• 1/2 tsp From Japan Hot Yuzu Sauce
• 1/2 tsp simple syrup (omit if you are using the Trader Joe's version).

Shake with ice.
Serve in a salted rim cocktail glass.

The Impatient Chef Cocktail Concoction: The Modified Moscow Mule

The Moscow Mule is all the rage these days, and I have to admit that I like them.  The problem is that I suck them down way too fast.  They go down like, well, ginger ale.  A local Distillery, one that I have no problem shamelessly plugging every chance I get, called New Deal Distillery, that resides in Portland, Oregon, has a Ginger Liqueur, and a fine vodka.  Now, I have no use for vodka in anything other than the Moscow Mule and pie crust, but it's okay in the Mule.  New Deal puts a Moscow Mule recipe on its bottle, and it consists of lime squeezin's, vodka, Ginger Liqueur, and soda water.  You can find the recipe here, or buy a bottle to get it (preferred).  I started thinking about how to make this into a cocktail rather than a fizz.  Here's what I came up with:

Ingredients:

2 oz Vodka (New Deal Portland Vodka works well)
2 oz New Deal Ginger Liqueur
1 oz fresh lime juice
raw sugar + boiling water (see directions), or 1/2 to 3/4 oz simple syrup (depending on your taste)

Directions:

In a measured shot glass, add raw sugar to the 1/2 oz mark.  If it is coarse raw sugar, fill it slightly higher.  Fill with water to the 1 oz mark.  Microwave for about 20 seconds.  Less may be necessary.  You just want it to be warm enough to dissolve the sugar.  Stir to dissolve.  Set aside while making the rest.
In a cocktail shaker, add the lime juice, vodka, and Ginger Liqueur.  Add ice.  Then add the sugar water.
Shake until the shaker is frosted.
Serve in a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a twist of lime.

Tasting notes.
This is not a sweet cocktail.  The New Deal Ginger Liqueur packs a whollop.  The sugar mellows it a little.  It's a sipping cocktail like I wanted.  It's a little puckery because of the lime, and the ginger is real, and pronounced.  It passed my wife's "Oh my God, it's good" test.

Enjoy.