Deadly Lemon Bandito

In between packing for a short trip to San Francisco and watching the Hawks play Cincinnati I felt the urge to share this very eclectic Cocktail recipe I got from one of my colleagues and experimented with last night. I am not a big Tequila fan but one of my friends left a bottle of Tequila behind plus I have an abundance of Jalapenos and Rosemary at hand, so I thought I will give this very intriguing recipe a shot. And I am glad I tried out this recipe, you would think it tastes really “herby”, weird and strong but nothing like that at all, its one of those tiny wonders where you mix a bunch of stuff you never thought would go together but surprisingly each ingredient pairs up perfectly with the other. This is a really fresh, elegant and absolutely unique cocktail. I love the hint of jalapeno which I learned to appreciate many years ago in a Seattle bar called Zoey’s where the bar tender would make a very unique version of a Sidecar cocktail with a slight hint of Jalapeno, so I knew that this would make for a great taste experience.

I “girlyfied” the drink by shaking it over ice and then pouring it into a sugar rimmed Martini glass, for a more “manly” look just poor the drink into a tall glass filled with ice. And for those who don’t like Tequila, just switch it out for Vodka.

Deadly Lemon Bandido (courtesy of JJ Murray):

Ingredients: Make 4 civilized cocktails

2 lemons
6oz Hornitos Plata
2oz Ginger Liquer or Ginger Syrup
2oz Limoncello
2oz Triple Sec
1 can gingerale
4 springs of Fresh Rosemary
½ fresh jalapeno, seed and membrane removed

Directions:

Juice the lemons into a cocktail shaker
Tear 2 sprigs of Rosemary into pieces, drop in and muddle vigorously for about 30 seconds
Add the jalapeno – if you like heat, muddle some more, if you don’t want it hot, don’t muddle it
Add Tequila, Ginger Liquer, Limoncello and Triple Sec, shake well and let it stand for a minute
Fill 4 12oz glasses with ice and fill each about half way with gingerale
Pour over the tequila mix and stir once or twice, float half a rosemary sprig on top, add a slice or two of Jalapenos and serve with a smile, Optional garnish – lemon

Prost!