Halloween ginger & chilli margarita picante

Method

1. In a small pan place the ginger, chillies, and sugar. Finely grate in the zest of 3 limes, then squeeze in the juice of all 6. Pour in 200ml water. Heat over a medium heat for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Once the mixture starts to steam remove from the heat.
2. Leave to cool completely to let the flavours infuse.
3. Strain the syrup through a sieve into a measuring jug, pressing the ginger and chilli against the sieve to extract extra flavour and juice. You should have 450ml, if not, add enough cold water to bring it up to the level.
4. For each cocktail, place a handful of ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Add 75ml of the syrup and 50 ml tequila. Shake until very cold, pour into a glass, adding extra ice if you like and garnish with extra lime and chilli.

TIP: remove the seeds and white membrane from the chilli for a milder cocktail. It’s worth trying a nibble of the chilli too before making them to see how spicy it is!

TIP: For a sweeter cocktail, add 2tbsp more sugar to the pan.

18+ Drink responsibly. For more information visit www.bedrinkaware.co.uk