how to make a tequila, mint + peach cocktail

Of all the types of liquor it seems like tequila has one of the worst reputations. Lots of people associate tequila with nights they can’t quite remember or frat boys on spring break in Cabo. In the past few years though tequila seems to be breaking free of its long-standing association with bad hangovers and questionable decisions and has been making its way onto cocktail lists at fancy bars. Since tequila happens to be my favorite type of liquor this makes me very happy. Bartenders are getting super creative and forgoing the classic margarita for refined unique tequila based cocktails. A few weeks ago I had a surplus of blueberries and the mint plant in my backyard needed to be pruned so I grabbed some tequila and set out to concoct a blueberry, mint and peach tequila cocktail. We served it on the rocks but you can also serve it up in a martini glass. It’s a great alternative to a margarita and perfect for these last few weeks of summer.

what to get:

-Two shots of tequila
-One shot of peach simple simple syrup (see recipe here)
-A few mint leaves
-One cup of blueberries
-Two limes
-One lemon
-Ice
-Martini shaker
-Muddler or wooden spoon
-Sieve
-Shot glass
-Knife
-Cutting board
-Two glasses of your choice
-Salt for the rim (optional)

what to do:

1. Run lemon along the rim of the glass and twirl it on a plate of nice salt. We used large flake black and Maldon salt. Then add ice to the glasses.

2. Squeeze both limes and the lemon in the shaker. 3. Put blueberries, a few mint leaves and peach simple syrup in the shaker and muddle them. (Muddling means squishing them to release the blueberry and minty goodness.)4. Add tequila and ice to the shaker and shake it like crazy.