Plot Twist in a Glass: The Tequila Mockingbird

If you are a reader who also drinks, and if you're here, I'm going to assume yes on both counts, this cocktail was practically invented for you.

If you go looking for this recipe online there are versions everywhere, and some of them have gone completely off the rails. Blue curaçao? Crème de menthe? We are not doing that. We're doing the version from Greg Seider, a New York bartender who also wrote Alchemy in a Glass, which means he has both the credentials and the vocabulary to be trusted.

His Tequila Mockingbird is a spicy margarita riff built around something we don't use nearly enough in cocktails: watermelon. And I know, watermelon sounds like it should be easy, but it's actually a bit of a diva. Too little and you can't taste it. Too much and it waters everything down. Get it right, though, and you have something bright and juicy and just a little dangerous.

The good news is you don't need a blender. Just a muddler, some fresh watermelon, a jalapeño (yes, trust me), blanco tequila, fresh lime juice, and agave syrup.

Muddle the watermelon and jalapeño together first, shake everything up, fine-strain it into your glass, and what you're holding is this gorgeous, fragrant, fire-engine red cocktail that goes down embarrassingly fast.

Consider it emergency preparedness for hot weather. Or a Tuesday. No judgment here.

INGREDIENTS

1 slice jalapeño

3 watermelon cubes (each about 1 inch cubed)

2 ounces blanco tequila

3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed

3/4 ounce agave syrup

DIRECTIONS

Muddle the jalapeño slice and watermelon cubes in a shaker to extract the juices.

Add tequila, lime juice, agave syrup and ice, and shake until well-chilled.

Fine-strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.

GARNISH

Garnish: sweet mint spring or lime wheel

this recipe from liquor.com