Grasshoppers | La Tuna Te Toca
Courtesy H. Joseph Ehrmann, proprietor, Elixir, San Francisco
In Oaxaca, chapulines (grasshoppers) are sold, cooked and coated with a little lime juice and sliced or powdered chili peppers. This drink, essentially a grasshopper-infused mezcal margarita, starts with muddled chapulines for a toasty flavor and adds a sal de gusano (agave worm salt) rim. Interestingly, the tuna listed below is not the fish—it refers to sweet-tart prickly pear juice from the opuntia plant, a species of cactus. Because tuna fish in a cocktail? Now that would be gross.
- Sal de gusano, to rim glass
- 1 lime wedge, for rim
- 3–4 chapulines (grasshoppers)
- 1½ ounces Del Maguey Crema de Mezcal
- 1 ounce Prickly Pear (tuna) juice
- 1 ounce lime juice
- ½ ounce agave nectar
- ½ ounce Maraschino liqueur
- Lime peel, for garnish
Place sal de gusano in a small dish. Moisten the rim of a coupe glass with the lime wedge. Roll the edge of the glass in the salt mix. Place the glass in a freezer to chill.In the bottom of a mixing glass, muddle the chapulines. Add remaining ingredients, except garnish, with ice. Shake well, and double strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with lime peel.
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