Asha's Pineapple Mezcalitas with Sumac & Chilli

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Sweet, tangy, smoky and a lil spicy, these pineapple mezcalitas have it all! The recipe is easily cut in half if you're hanging out with a friend, or easily doubled if you are imbibing with a group (psst, you can batch these out ahead of time, keep in the fridge and shake up when your guests arrive). Don't skip the serrano mace syrup—the serrano gives a mild fresh, green chilli heat, while the mace enhances and rounds out the sweetness of the pineapple juice.

The rim is inspired by Tamborines—a Mexican tamarind candy, spiced with chillies—with bright, tangy Wild Heimang standing in for the tamarind. This mix would also be delightful sprinkled over fruit like wedges of pineapple (go figure, right?), mango, cucumber and honeydew melon.

Ingredients

For the serrano mace syrup

1/4 cup mild honey
1/4 cup water
3–4 blade Anamalai Mace, lightly smashed
1 serrano chilli, sliced in 4 pieces on the bias

For the pineapple mezcalitas

6 ounces pineapple juice
4 ounces mezcal
2 ounces orange liqueur, such as Cointreau
2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
1 ounce Serrano Mace Syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Ice
1 lime, 1/2 juiced & the other halve cut into 4 wedges

For the sumac chilli rim

1 1/2 teaspoons Wild Heimang Sumac
1 teaspoon powdered Guntur Sannam Chillies
1/2 teaspoon coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or flaky salt

Methods

For the serrano mace syrup

Combine the honey, water, mace and serrano chilli in a small saucepan and heat over medium high heat until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook for another 4 minutes at a gentle simmer (this allows the serrano and mace to infuse in the syrup). Remove from the heat, let come to room temperature, strain and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the pineapple mezcalitas

Combine the pineapple juice, mezcal, orange liqueur, lime juice, serrano mace syrup and salt into a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
In a shallow bowl or on a small plate, mix the sumac, chilli powder, coconut sugar and salt. Pour the juice of 1/2 a lime into a second shallow bowl or plate. Taking one glass at a time, dip the rim of a glass in the lime juice and then in the sumac chilli mixture. Add ice to each glass, divide the shaken mezcalitas into the glasses and garnish each with a lime wedge. Cheers!