3 Spicy Tequila Cocktails to Add to Your Rotation

While Chefs at Home usually focuses on food, this week's episode is all about cocktails: Ivy Mix, owner and operator of Leyenda in Brooklyn, is here to make three different spicy tequila drinks. The menu includes a Sonámbula, a Bloody Maria with Carrot-Papaya "Sangrita," and a Spicy Tequila Old-Fashioned to round it all out. Along the way, she shares plenty of tips and tells us how she got started bartending. Read on for her step-by-step method and follow along with the video above.

Drink 1: Sonámbula

First up is the Sonámbula, which is her riff on a margarita. She infuses tequila with jalapeño slices, and makes a homemade chamomile simple syrup, too (either loose chamomile or sachets will work). The cocktail includes lemon juice, the chamomile simple syrup, the jalapeño-infused tequila, "a dash or two of mole bitters," and a "few dashes" of Peychaud's bitters, which all go into a cocktail shaker with ice.

When you're shaking the drink, Mix instructs to "shake it awake," not "rock it to asleep," and shake for about eight seconds, moving the ice in the shaker in a figure eight pattern. Strain the drink into a chilled coupe and enjoy.

Drink 2: Bloody Maria with Carrot-Papaya "Sangrita"

Next, Mix prepares her take on a Bloody Maria—aka a Bloody Mary with tequila instead of vodka—with Carrot-Papaya "Sangrita." Sangrita is "traditionally used as an accompaniment to tequila," she says. In lieu of tomato juice, Mix makes her version of the Mexican drink with equal parts fresh carrot juice (you can use store-bought) and papaya purée.

To make the Sangrita, combine the carrot-papaya mixture, lime juice, orange juice (be sure to use fresh citrus juice here), ground chiles (Mix uses equal parts ancho and guajillo), and salt, mixing everything up. If you want more heat, Mix says you can add more chile. Then, for the Bloody Maria, take lime juice, two ounces of the sangrita, tequila, and ice and combine it in a drinking glass, giving it a stir. (Don't forget lime for garnish!) The finished drink, Mix says, has a "slow, low, smoky burn." You can try it with mezcal, too.

Drink 3: Spicy Tequila Old-Fashioned

Lastly, Mix makes a Spicy Tequila Old-Fashioned, stirring together maple syrup, Ancho Reyes (ancho chile liqueur), Reposado tequila (you can also use Añejo), a little bit of mezcal, aromatic bitters, and ice in a mixing glass. Pour the drink through a strainer into a glass over ice, and grab orange peel for garnish. Mix takes a disc, squeezes the oils into the drink, and also rubs the peel around the rim of the glass. After that, you're ready to drink.

Come back Monday, November 30, for our next episode of Chefs at Home featuring chef Christina Nguyen.

Buy Mix's book, Spirits of Latin America: A Celebration of Culture & Cocktails, with 100 Recipes from Leyenda & Beyond, $13 (list price $25) at amazon.com.