Turn up the heat in your kitchen with this Spicy Margarita recipe, a classic margarita with a kick of jalapeno peppers.

We love margaritas in our house! I am always playing around with different flavors - adding fruit such as passion fruit or pineapple, blending with ice for frozen margaritas - or going spicy like this recipe.

This recipe for spicy margaritas is really just a classic margarita with a fiery twist - freshly sliced jalapeno peppers!

It's amazing the difference a couple of slices of these chiles makes to the flavor of the margarita.

How spicy can you drink yours?

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Ingredients

This jalapeno margarita recipe uses the following ingredients. For exact quantities, see the recipe at the bottom of the post.

Tequila - for the best spicy margarita (or any margarita) you need to use good quality tequila. Most margarita recipes recommend a blanco tequila made from 100% agave, as it is more pure in flavor. If you prefer something a bit more mellow, opt for a reposado, which has been aged in oak. Avoid gold tequila, which has added colors and caramel. Read more here.
Cointreau - or other orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or Triple Sec.
Lime juice - from a freshly squeezed lime.
Jalapeno pepper - This needs to be a fresh jalapeno, not out of a jar. I recommend using two or three slices of jalapeno. We use three in our house for a good kick, but I would recommend starting with two and see how you go.
Sugar Syrup or Agave Syrup - optional, if you prefer a sweeter margarita. I recommend tasting the cocktail first before adding this, until you work out how you like it.
Salt - to salt the rim of the cocktail glass. I prefer coarsely ground salt.
Ice cubes - for shaking in the shaker and for serving your margarita 'on the rocks'.

You will need

To make a spicy margarita, you will need the following equipment:

Cocktail Shaker
Cocktail Measure - my cocktail shaker comes with a 1-oz measure on top of its lid. You can also use a purpose bought cocktail measure, shot glass or anything of a similar size.
Citrus juicer - a proper citrus juicer is the easiest and most efficient way to get lime juice out of limes. I have one like this but one like this also works well for cocktails.
Margarita glass - I prefer my margarita served on the rocks and so I use a lowball/Old Fashioned glass. However you could also use a classic Margarita glass like these fun Cactus ones.
Shallow plate or bowl - for salting the rim of your margarita glass.

How to make a Spicy Margarita

First you need to prepare your glass by salting the rim.

To do this:

Coarsely grind some salt onto a plate or shallow bowl
Brush the rim of the glass with lime juice (you can use a quarter of lime, or just use the shell of the lime you just squeezed for lime juice).
Dip the rim of the glass into the salt, rotating as you go, until it is fully coated.

Now you are ready to make the margarita. Measure the tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice into the cocktail shaker.

Next slice the jalapeno pepper into discs and remove the seeds (or don't if you want it spicier). Add two or three discs (depending on how spicy you like it, we usually go with three in our house for a good kick) into the cocktail shaker.

Half fill the shaker with ice. Now put the lid on and give it a good shake for around 10 seconds. Raise it high above your shoulder as you shake so you look like a pro!

Now fill your prepared glass with ice and strain the margarita over the ice. Garnish with a slice of lime and a slice of jalapeno pepper.

A note about cocktail measures

Most cocktail recipes come with measurements in ounces or ml, some will use shots and others will use parts.

For reference:

1 oz = 30ml
1 shot = 1.5 fl oz or 45ml

At the end of the day, cocktails are about getting the proportions correct rather than exact measurements.

As long as you use the same measuring device for all the ingredients, it shouldn't matter whether you use a proper cocktail measure, a shot glass or even an eggcup! This is why you often see recipes using 'parts' in place of exact measurements.