Last year while on vacation I had a delicious and unusual cocktail. It was a margarita, but it had a few different juices including hibiscus flower, which made it a pretty pink color. However, the most interesting part was the salt. It was very spicy. I believe it may even have been habanero pepper salt but I’m not sure.  Anyway, when I saw a bag of blood oranges at the grocery store I was inspired to make a cocktail and here’s what I created.

Sweet and Spicy Blood Orange Margarita Cocktail

There’s no denying the beauty of a blood orange. Not quite as sweet as the traditional navel orange, this guy has hints of berry in it’s flavor profile.

I could have purchased a spicy salt. In fact, I looked around for some.  I notice sriracha salt was readily available however, I didn’t know if it would be quite right, so I experimented with some kosher salt and cayenne that I already  had in the pantry.

This was a great “free option” though you might want to try others. The cayenne gave the drink a nice spicy flavor that really held up nicely to the tequila and triple sec and blood orange juice.

As someone who is used to traditional margaritas, I did notice that this recipe was a little on the strong side. I believe that is because there is no added sugar. Many recipes call for simple syrup in addition to lime juice, so you could add some to this recipe, or you just might like the fact that the only sugar in this drink comes from the blood oranges.

Simple Syrup: Heat equal parts of water and sugar on the stove. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then remove from heat. Use or store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

So if you are watching your calories this recipe may be the perfect cocktail for you.

Yield: 2

Sweet and Spicy Blood Orange Margarita Cocktail with Cayenne Salt

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Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh blood orange juice, 4-6 oranges
• 1/2 cup tequila
• 2 tablespoons triple sec
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Combine salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour onto a shallow dish for rimming the glasses.
2. Using the left over orange fruit, wet the rims of your glasses and set them into the cayenne salt.
3. Into a shaker full of ice place the blood orange juice, tequila and triple sec.
4. Shake well for about one minute.
5. Pour into glasses and serve.

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