Mississippi Margarita Recipe

Rim the glass

Run a lime wedge around the rim of a rocks or coupe glass. Dip the rim into coarse salt or Tajín until evenly coated. Set the glass aside to dry while you build the cocktail.

Muddle mint and cucumber

In a cocktail shaker, place the 6 fresh mint leaves and the 0.5 oz cucumber juice (or 3–4 slices/quarter-inch pieces of cucumber if using muddling). Gently muddle 6–8 times — press to release aroma and juice without shredding the mint (to avoid bitterness).

Add liquids

Add 2 oz Hornitos Reposado tequila, 1 oz tangerine liqueur, 1 oz fresh lime juice, 0.5 oz fresh tangerine juice and 0.5 oz simple syrup to the shaker.

Shake with ice

Fill the shaker with about 1 cup of ice. Shake vigorously for 12–15 seconds until the shaker is well-chilled and slightly frosty on the outside.

Double strain

Double-strain the cocktail (use a Hawthorne and a fine mesh strainer) into the prepared rimmed glass over fresh ice if serving rocks style, or into the glass without ice if serving neat/coupe. Double straining removes small mint fragments and cucumber solids for a clean texture.

Thread a cucumber ribbon, tangerine wedge and small mint sprig on a pick or place them together on the rim. Float a lime wheel on top or attach it to the rim. Express (twist) a small piece of tangerine peel over the drink to release oils, then discard or drop into the cocktail.

Serve immediately. Encourage the drinker to stir gently once to integrate the garnish oils. Sip and enjoy the balance of bright lime, sweet tangerine, cooling cucumber and mint alongside the oak and agave notes from the Hornitos.