The method
How to make it
Mix a pinch of cayenne into a small pile of sea salt and rim half the glass with it. The heat lives on the rim as much as in the glass.
Shake tequila, lime juice, orange liqueur and agave with ice, hard, 12 seconds.
Add the smallest pinch of cayenne directly to the shaker. Start smaller than you think, you can always add, you can never subtract.
Strain over fresh ice in the rimmed glass.
Garnish with a lime wheel and warn exactly no one.
The serve
How to present it
The red-flecked rim tells the story before the first sip. Serve it with something rich, tacos al pastor, queso, anything the heat can cut through. Keep a pitcher of water nearby for the guest who licked the whole rim on a dare.
Make it yours
Swaps & variations
A jalapeno coin muddled in the shaker gives greener, fresher heat than cayenne's slow burn, run them together if you like layers. Mango nectar splashed in cools the fire into something tropical. Mezcal turns the whole thing into a campfire, in the best way.
Keep pouring
