I’m thinking back to a night in July. Fleeing Midtown West, I made my way over to Adrienne’s apartment in the East Village with avocados in hand. The apartment’s avocado-to-people ratio was 9:4, and I liked those odds. Come on, baby, bring on those healthy fats you’ve been telling me so much about. With the nine, we created your classic guac. We chopped the red onion, the cilantro, the jalapeños and the juicy tomatoes, piling it all into a bowl and mashing it into coalescence. Wringing a lime over the top, all that was left was dunking in chip after chip—after chip.
But, you see, Adrienne loves spice, so the singe reached beyond the guacamole and into her alcohol. Spiking tequila with fresh, formidable jalapeños for weeks, Adrienne mixed me up a simple drink of the heated tequila, just-squeezed lime juice and homemade simple syrup. As I took a sip, I felt like I did something bad. My chest was burning. My throat was tickling. Then, I stopped being such a drama queen and recognized this heat for what it was: a cocktail that I could drink on repeat. And I did just that, for the rest of the summer, each time I would head over to Adrienne’s.
Now that we’re tucking into the cooler weather, I’d do anything for a hot day with a hotter drink.
Adrienne’s Heated Tequila
The Shopping List
+ 1 liter quality tequila
+ 4-5 fresh jalapeño peppers, pith and seeds removed
+ Large, clean pitcher
Place the peppers into the pitcher with the tequila. Give it a good stir and let sit for fifteen minutes. Taste. For more heat, let it sit a bit longer. Once the desired spice is reached, strain out the peppers and stir into your favorite tequila drinks.
