Hot Honey Apricot Margarita Recipe

A margarita is a thing of beauty — a cocktail that can be enjoyed as-is or customized with endless flavors. The perfect margarita recipe is a simple shaken mixture of tequila, lime juice, triple sec, and agave. Agave is used to match the tequila (which is made from the agave plant) but is very similar in taste and texture to honey. Honey can be swapped for agave, but better yet, regular honey can be swapped in for hot honey, which is infused with chile peppers. This adds a fiery, spicy dimension to the cocktail without any extra prep time.

Take the hot honey margarita one step farther in this recipe written with developer Michelle McGlinn and add apricot puree. Made from fresh, juicy apricots, this margarita strikes a balance between sweet and spicy, making it the ideal cocktail for the warmest summer evenings. With a touch of lime and a generous splash of tequila, you'll still feel the effects of a classic margarita in every sip. Make a batch for your next barbecue to pair with your tender ribs and smokey veggies and your dinner guests will leave happy (in more ways than one).

Like regular margaritas, you'll need a good tequila blanco, Cointreau or any good triple sec, and limes. From there, you'll just need about six apricots of any kind and a drizzling of hot honey. You can infuse your own hot honey by letting a few chiles sit in honey, or you can make a quick hot honey using cayenne pepper and honey. For the real deal, try the grocery store, where there are a few brands selling deeply infused, spicy hot honeys.

Add apricots to a saucepan and cover with water.

Bring to a boil then remove from heat and let sit until soft, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then remove the skins and seeds.

Blend the skinned apricots until smooth, making the apricot puree.

To make the margarita, first add ice to a cocktail shaker.

Add the tequila, 1 ounce of apricot puree, Cointreau, lime juice, and hot honey.

Shake until frothy, about 20 seconds.

Strain into a glass over ice.

Garnish with red pepper flakes to serve.

Fresh apricots are juicy, sweet, and incredibly easy to make into a puree, there's just one problem: They are a summer fruit with a short season. If you get lucky, you'll be making these margaritas between June and July and will have plump, ripe apricots to work with. Outside of that, it's unlikely you'll see apricots much at all, especially in the later winter months. What, then, are the options for a hot honey and apricot margarita craving in the dead of winter?

First, look at the freezer aisles; you may want to try specialty food stores like restaurant depots or Hispanic markets for a wider variety of fruit options. This will be the freshest option, most likely made from fresh apricots and frozen into a thick paste. Your next best option is to check the drink or liquor aisles for a bottled puree, which will be made to be shelf-stable but still sweet and flavorful. If you can't find apricot puree, try instead apricot liqueur or juice. And if all else fails, swap for peach, which has a similar flavor when ripe. With any extra puree — whether apricot or peach — freeze or store in the refrigerator and use in smoothies, on pancakes, or in a parfait (or make a few more margaritas).

To match the spice of the hot honey, we garnished the hot honey margarita with a sprinkling of red chile flakes, which just so happen to be striking against the mellow yellow of the apricot puree. For added spice, use ground Aleppo, crushed red pepper flakes, or even a sprinkling of Tajin. You can also roll the rim of the glass in red pepper flakes for an extra-spicy version.

If the hot honey is enough heat for you, go in another garnish direction and add a slice of orange, blood orange, or lime. For a more rustic approach, use dehydrated fruit slices. You can also go herby, adding a sprig of thyme or rosemary to the drink instead. Lastly, for a unique garnish that emphasizes the heat of the honey, slice a small notch into a red chile pepper and balance it on the rim of the glass. Be careful with this garnish, though — any contact with the chile's juices will make the drink unbearably spicy.