Sippin' on tequila and juice (laid back, with my mind on my money and my money on my mind)

A simple pleasure tonight, sweet, tart, spicy.  Inspired by the curly tail at the Austin eatery Salty Sow, this concoction is the perfect balance of the aforementioned flavors.  Ooooooweeeee it is delicious, but not so sweet to make you think it's dessert!

I've experimented with infused vodkas (chai, tangerine, vanilla) and so far chai is my favorite, especially in a Moscow Mule (thanks Lisa, Steve and Project V Distillery!).  This summer, I have started infusing tequila with spicy peppers.  I like serranos myself, as habaneros are too high up on the scoville scale for my palate.  Anyways, the spicy tequila give standard margaritas a nice kick, and it complements and offsets the sweetness of simple or triple sec.

To infuse tequila with peppers, the seeds are key.  In fact, you can infuse it pretty quickly (20-30 minutes) if you just scrape the seeds into the tequila and let it steep.  Strain the tequila and put in your liquor cabinet.

Tonight I mixed 2 oz serrano infused tequila, 1/2 oz grand marnier but any curacou or triple sec is fine, and 2-3 oz blood orange juice.  Shake, pour over ice and enjoy!

The pepper infused tequila is also wonderful in watermelon based drinks, pineapple drinks, and pomegranate juice drinks.

Enjoy!