Cabo Green Margaritas

Photo by Vicki Arkoff at Cocina Del Mar at Esperanza, an Auberge Resort

The fixings

-2 oz Silver Tequila (100% blue agave such as Chinaco Blanco)

-1 oz Pineapple Juice -4 slices Cucumber -7 leaves of fresh Cilantro -½ oz fresh-squeezed Lime Juice -½ oz Agave Honey or Simple Syrup Ice -1 teaspoon Powder Pepper (AKA “Tajin,” a seasoning mix of chili pepper, lime & salt powder) (optional)

1 ½ slices Cucumber for Decoration Tequila is the national drink of mexico, so it’s simply smart international diplomacy to drink margaritas. Not surprisingly, some of mexico’s best tequila sommeliers ply their trade at Baja’s southernmost tip in los Cabos where stunning OCean-side sunsets demand a good drink in hand.

Baja’s margarita recipes are endlessly creative, as with this colorful cooler created as the welcome drink for five-star Esperanza, Auberge Resort’s deluxe celebrity magnet on the cliffs where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez. For a verdant taste of paradise at home, try this recipe and make your friends green with envy.

Place the 4 slices of cucumber, cilantro and tequila in a shaker, mash with a pestle and strain. Add the rest of ingredients in the shaker (except Tajin powder), fill the shaker with ice and shake it for 10 seconds; serve it in margarita or whisky glass rimmed with Tajin. Float a cucumber slice on top, and hang half of a cuke slice on the rim.

For the frozen version, add all the ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth. Serve in a Tajin-rimmed glass.