spiced tamarind margarita

This spiced tamarind margarita combines the sweet-sour, plum flavor of tamarind with tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau for a flavorful spin on a margarita.

Tamarind is an oddball ingredient, I'll give you that. Most likely, you don't have any in your fridge, and you probably don't feel like tracking it down just for a margarita. But hear me out. Tamarind is such a fun ingredient. It's sweet, tart, plummy, and if you buy the concentrate form, it's super easy to use.

You don't have to spend time preparing the block of pulp anymore, and incorporating tamarind into your cooking couldn't be more simple.

Aside from the obvious use in pad thai, tamarind concentrate can be used in marinades, salad dressings, or in this case, simple syrups and drinks. Anywhere you find something sweet and sour, tamarind is a natural substitute! And that brings us to the margarita-- arguably the most popular sweet-sour drink.

Here, I made a spiced tamarind simple syrup with warming ginger notes and a hint of cayenne. The sweet-sour, plum-like flavor tamarind is combined with earthy tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau for a flavorful and unique spin on the classic cocktail.

notes on the spiced tamarind margarita:

• the recipe is written for tamarind concentrate, but no worries if you only have tamarind paste available— you’ll just use less. Start with 1 tbsp of the paste, taste the simple syrup, and add more if needed to make a tart and flavorful syrup.

more tequila and margarita recipes to try!

mango margarita

hibiscus margarita

blood orange margarita

cucumber mint margarita

mezcal sour with strawberries and ginger

mezcal negroni

mexican mule (tequila ginger beer cocktail)

spicy margarita

cantarito

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