Sesame-Chili Oil Is the Secret Ingredient to This Spicy Sake Margarita

The Spicy Sake Margarita is what happens when a classic Margarita walks into a Japanese pantry. On the menu at Makoto Vail, a Colorado-based sushi restaurant, beverage director Eduardo Dingler calls this sweet, tart, and spicy drink the Dansu.

“Dansu is the Japanese word for dance,” says Dingler. “This cocktail was created to blend two cultures, Japanese and Mexican. It’s spicy, easy drinking and refreshing.”

At Makoto Vail, Dingler and his team make a simple syrup infused with shichimi togarashi, a spicy, nutty, and sour Japanese spice blend, to bring the heat in this drink. To cut down on prep time, Dingler suggests rimming a glass with shichimi togarashi and using a combination of pantry-staple sweeteners. 

What makes the Spicy Sake Margarita work

A classic Margarita loosely follows the bartender’s golden ratio of 2 parts spirit, 1 part sweetener, and 1 part sour. With this as a template, liqueurs and other ingredients can bring added dimension to the drink by playing off the standard sour template. Unlike a classic Margarita, which utilizes orange liqueur for sweetness, the Spicy Sake Margarita leans on sake to create floral, subtle flavor profile. 

Here, the combination of agave and simple syrup replace other elements of sweetness that would typically come from orange liqueur. The agave also adds earthy depth that plays off the warming notes of reposado tequila. If you can find sudachi fruits or sudachi juice, the tiny Japanese citrus has a gorgeous aroma and pop of sour — but lime juice works great too. A fresh and affordable Junmai sake seamlessly blends with the other flavor-forward ingredients in this drink. 

A rim of shichimi togarashi spice reflects the flavors within the cocktail itself and adds a lovely dimension to the drink as a whole. Floating a few drops of sesame-chili oil on top of the cocktail brings the whole drink together and a beautiful visual effect.