The Spicy Tequila Cocktail With A 'Glass' You Can Eat After The Last Sip

Tequila is undoubtedly the spirit of the summer. It's bold, spicy, and versatile, especially when combined with complementary ingredients. You can even use tequila in cocktails where it doesn't normally appear, like in The Botanist. This cocktail usually calls for floral gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and St. Germain, but Tasting Table's recipe gives it a facelift — in more ways than one, including an edible glass. 

Besides swapping out the gin for reposado tequila and the lemon juice for lime juice, this cocktail is unique because it does away with the traditional glassware and uses a hollowed-out red pepper instead. Kind of like how cookie shot glasses were all the rage not too long ago, this recipe plays more on the garden-inspired flavors. To prepare your glass, you'll want to chop off the rim of the pepper and carefully remove the seeds and the placenta (yes, that is the actual name for the pithy center of the pepper). For added spice, the recipe calls for dipping the rim into a cumin and salt rim, which will complement not only the tequila but also the jalapeños and cilantro that are muddled into the drink. Besides getting to have a tequila-flavored snack with your drink, you also won't have to worry about washing yet another glass when you're done.

What we love about this variation of The Botanist is that you can easily apply the concept to other drinks. Since the beverage is served in a pepper, you're going to want to think along the lines of garden- and veggie-friendly cocktails, or ones that lean savory. Our minds immediately go to a tried-and-true bloody mary, which gets its savory composition from ingredients like tomato juice, vodka, and Tabasco. Plus, any outlandish garnishes — including a whole shrimp, slice of bacon, or celery stick — would make for excellent munching alongside your pepper. 

Another excellent cocktail to try in a hollowed-out red pepper is our spicy tomatini. This savory spin on a martini calls for a salt and chili rim, muddled fresh cherry tomatoes, lime juice, simple syrup, hot sauce, and, of course, good-quality vodka. It's surely less flashy than a bloody mary, but it allows you to better focus on the fresh flavors — including those in your choice of "glassware."