The Spirits #128: The Caper Margarita
A better class of filth
~ THE CAPER MARGARITA ~
Salt (plus chilli flakes?)
A teaspoon of capers and brine
60ml tequila blanco
15ml lime juice
15ml agave syrup
First prepare your glass. Prepare a rimming compound - salt, plus maybe some chilli flakes and lime zest? - then wet the rim of a cocktail glass with a smear of lime and roll it in the salt etc so that it adheres. Now freeze this vessel.
You must now make the cocktail. Take a good briny spoonful of capers, i.e. plenty of juice, and muddle in the shaker with the tequila, lime and agave. Add plenty of ice and give it a really good shake. Now fine strain (through a fine mesh strainer) into the prepared glass. No additional garnish required - though come to think of it, a caperberry would be grand if you’ve got one.
Some Caper Margarita notes:
1) I know right?
2) Full credit for this recipe goes to Anna Jones, the excellent cookery writer, who extolled the virtues of capers (along with peanut butter, miso, gherkins and other delicious things) in Guardian Feast the other week. You can see why I have thought of little else ever since:
Capers are a constant in my kitchen. They bring salt, acidity and umami, with a perky, almost mustardy, note. They also ask little of me and sit in my fridge for months. In vegetarian cooking, they create a rounded, savoury base that stands in for the anchovies I choose not to eat. The brine is a gift, to splash over a focaccia before baking, or for using pastas, gratins and caponata. Even chocolate ice-cream is made better by a caper; think about what salt does to caramel and you will have a sense of what capers do to chocolate. At the moment, I love capers most in caper brine margaritas, which I make most weekends - Anna Jones
3) This was enough for me to improvise a Caper Margarita of my own! Only to discover that the full recipe is in her new book, Easy Wins, which I heartily recommend. As it turned out the main difference was that I had upped the caper content.
4) It’s not such an outlandish combination, if you think about it. Tequila is the most savoury-friendly of all the spirits; salt is already present in the classic Margarita; the vinegar complements the lime while ending a pleasing element of filth. We already have the Mexican Martini (a Margarita w/ olive brine…) and the Dirty Margarita (a Margarita w/ jalapeno brine…). But capers mark an improvement on both, in my opinion.
5) I actually used the cult Mexican seasoning TAJIN as my rimming agent. This is a combination of chilli, salt, lime and citric acid that brings an acidic zing to just about anything you shake it on, notably avocados. Available in the UK from the essential importer, Mexgrocer.
🖊️I am Richard Godwin.
🧋My instructions for sugar syrup, ice, grenadine, orgeat, etc are here.
🧑🏫 My 10 RULES FOR MAKING COCKTAILS are here.
⚗️ My bottle recommendations are here.
📃 The full A-Z recipe archive is here.
➡️ Please find a round up of organisations helping Ukrainians here.
🏥 And here is a list of trusted charities who are helping people in Gaza.
No Coleridgean essay this week; I have been hard at work adding new ingredients to the Cabinet. Last week, we had Pisco. This week, I wrote down every drink it is possible to make with Elderflower Liqueur, aka Bartender’s Ketchup. You’ll find everything here from the Hugo Spritz to the Maximillian Affair via the Necromancer and about 10 more. Including one of my absolute favourites, the SPRING GREEN (above), which is extremely suited to this time of year, I feel.
CABINET POSTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
🌿Green Chartreuse
🍒 Maraschino
🍑 Apricot Brandy
🍫 Crème de Cacao
🌷Cynar
🏝️ Falernum
🌵 Mezcal
🐂 Sherry
🧡 Aperol
🍌 Crème de Banane
🐻 Kümmel
🕊️ Bénédictine
🦅Fernet-Branca
❄️Brancamenta
🐿️Amaretto
NEXT TIME: Ancho Reyes Chilli Liqueur 🌶️
THE PLAYLIST
The sun has at last decided to bless England with its light and warmth. I have composed a seasonal playlist in its honour. It’s more of a mood than a theme but I hope you will find it quite transporting.
NB: This playlist (ideally) updates with fresh songs each week, rather in the manner of Spotify’s ‘Discover Weekly’ list. But this is personally curated by me. Save/download and you should have a fresh supply of cool music in perpetuity. I store all the archive lists in one long megaplaylists, which you can find here.
SHOPPING LIST
Dark rum, light rum, lemon juice, passion fruit syrup (or fresh passion fruit + sugar syrup).
🍹
You and Anna are absolutely right that a margarita just cries out for something savoury. Must try this one once I get bored of making them with sriracha (https://www.instagram.com/p/C6yIY2GoSJx/) - you can taste the garlic in the sauce... but it's good and makes an excellent aperitif.
And you can also find Tajin in the international aisle of larger Sainsbury's!