Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner, and we here at Gastro HQ are already planning our margaritas! I've been selected as a featured blogger for the One Week, Five Margaritas campaign in Instagram with Fresh Direct, so follow their instagram account to see all the margs!

This year, I'm craving opinionated margaritas made with smoky mezcal and sweetened with pineapple juice. Mezcal is one of those amazing spirits that mixes well with sweet and savory ingredients thanks to the umami flavor notes of the spirit. You can either use Pineapple juice from a the grocery or you can juice your own. If you have a juicer and want to take this cocktail to the next level, grill the pieces of pineapple before juicing to caramelize the sugars of the fruit, adding another layer of smoky sweetness to the cocktail.

The spice in this cocktail comes from Ancho Reyes, a liqueur made from Ancho Chiles, and a few dashes of Fire and Damnation Bitters made by Bad Dog Barcraft - one of my favorite cocktail ingredients! I used El Silencio Mezcal for this cocktail, it's a gorgeous single agave Mezcal that has a bold flavor of agave, a nice salinity, and that ever-so-addictive smoky flavor that is almost waxy in texture. It's smooth, yet full of flavor, and mixes extremely well in cocktails, especially those with fruit.

Enjoy!

Spicy Mezcal Pineapple Margarita
Created by Gastronomista

2.5 oz El Silencio Espadín Mezcal
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Ancho Reyes
1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
2/3 oz Agave
1/3 oz Water
2 dashes Fire and Damnation Bitters

Salt the rim of a low-ball cocktail glass, and fill with large cubes of ice. Shake the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, and strain into the salted cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime slice and a dried chili pepper.