Makes 8 drinks

Ingredients

1 cup Honey
4 Jalapeñnos
1 1/2 cups Lime Juice (approx. 12 limes.)
1 lime (for garnish)
3 tbsp Kosher or Margarita Salt
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
12 oz Mezcal
6 oz Triple Sec*
Ice

Equipment

8-10 oz Rocks Glasses
Shaker
Strainer

Jalapeñno Honey-Lime Syrup

Remove the stems and chop the jalapeñnos into small pieces, including the seeds. Stir together the jalapeñno, honey, and lime juice. Wait 30 minutes, then strain out the jalapeno pieces and seeds.

Garnish and Rim

Cut the lime into wedges for garnish. Here's one technique.

Mix together the chiplotle chile powder and salt. Spread in a thin layer in a small plate or sauce just a little bigger than your serving glasses.

Mixing the Drink

This procedure makes 2 drinks at a time, which is just right for most regular sized shakers.

Prepare 2 serving glasses by running lime wedges around the rim and dipping the rims in the chipotle chile salt.

In a shaker, combine 5 oz of the Jalapeñno Honey-Lime Syrup, 3 oz Mezcal, and 1.5 oz Triple Sec. Fill the shaker to about 2/3 with ice, close, and shake vigorously for 20 seconds.

Fill each of the rimmed rocks glasses with Ice and strain the cocktail from the shaker into the glasses. Garnish with the lime wedges.

Notes

You can experiment with other chiles. I've had good luck with serrano peppers as well.

Monte Alban Mezcal is cheap and has a great smoky taste. You can also get away with most tequilas in this recipe.

I use Luxardo triple sec, as it seems to have a good balance of sweetness and orange flavor at a decent price. Cointreau or Grand Marnier would work fine, but are generally overkill here. The cheaper, more common triple secs (DeKuyper, etc.) tend to be too sweet for my taste.