Valentine’s Day Cocktail // Spicy Lover Margarita

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Bottoms up with this Valentine’s Day cocktail recipe! The Spicy Lover Margarita is a little sweet, a little spicy, and has a secret ingredient that you’ll never expect.

Valentine's Day cocktail
Spicy Lover Margarita

Bottoms up, friends! Whether you’re planning a Galentine’s Day celebration or a cozy night in for two, I’ve got the perfect cocktail to spice up your night and get you in the mood for love.

Before you dive in, grab some other cocktail ideas from around Lovely Indeed. I particularly love the Bee’s Knees Cocktail — it’s our most popular by far! Other classics that would be perfect for Valentine’s Day are a Rose Cordial or a Blood Orange Sidecar.

Valentine’s Day Cocktail: The Spicy Lover Margarita

Meet the Spicy Lover. This Valentine’s Day cocktail has a bit of everything!

A fresh muddled blueberry margarita, infused with spicy jalapeno tequila and rimmed with pop rocks. This spicy baby packs a punch and is certainly fun to drink!

The Secret to Rimming Your Margarita Glass with Pop Rocks

The secret to getting those pop rocks to stick? It’s honey, baby!

Dip your cocktail glass rims in just a bit of honey then into your favorite flavor of Pop Rocks. Personally, I like strawberry or watermelon for this recipe but you can get creative.

Or, offer friends all sorts of flavors to chose from! You’ll feel like a kid again in no time…with a little extra tequila, of course. Cheers to a spicy Valentine’s Day!

The Best Tequila for this Valentine’s Day Cocktail

For margaritas, I usually use reposado or añejo tequila. What’s the difference?

Mostly, aging time. Reposado tequilas are aged about two months to one year in oak. It’s great for Margaritas and other mixed drinks, as the slight amount of aging softens the flavor a bit.

Añejo tequilas are aged one to three years years. Añejo can be a sipping tequila, but with its richer flavors also can be great in a cocktail as well.

Do some experimenting and see which you like the best for this Valentine’s Day cocktail!

Other Ways to Customize the Spicy Lover

While I think the Pop Rocks rim is super fun, it might not be for you! In that case, you could do a traditional salt rim – this is a simple salt rim kit that works well.

If you want to stick with a sweet flavor profile, just rim it with some sugar. You could also create a spicy sugar mixture by mixing a bit of chile powder in some sugar and rimming with that.

Fun Serving Glasses

If you’re making this Valentine’s Day cocktail to share with somebody you love, you’ve gotta serve it in something special!

You could go the traditional margarita glass route (I also love these stemless glasses, very cool!).

I think for this cocktail, though, I prefer it served in a modern rocks glass. These midcentury modern rocks glasses might actually be my favorite!

Ingredients for a Spicy Lover Margarita

Spicy Lover (Makes Two Cocktails)

1/4 cup fresh blueberries – Fresh is best, but you could use frozen in a pinch!

1 ounce fresh lime juice – Again, fresh lime juice makes the best margaritas!

4 ounces reposado or a̱ejo tequila РChoose your favorite!

1 1/2 ounces pomegranate grenadine – To switch up the flavor profile, you can use traditional cherry-flavored grenadine.

fresh jalapeños

ice – After having workshopped the recipe a few times since we shared this blog post (workshopped = basically drinking cocktails), I have to say that I prefer crushed ice for this cocktail.

honey or agave nectar for rimming the glass – Agave will have a slightly less sweet flavor than the honey but either is fine.

Pop Rocks candy for rimming the glass – Use salt if you prefer to switch up the flavor profile.

additional blueberries for garnish, optional

Spicy Lover Margarita
Spicy Lover Margarita

How to Make a Spicy Lover Valentine’s Day Cocktail

Note: to infuse your tequila with jalapeño flavor, we recommend letting it marinate overnight. This step isn’t necessary but it will give your margarita the spicy kick that we love!

  1. In a jar combine tequila and one jalapeno sliced in half lengthwise. Allow to sit tightly sealed overnight.
  2. Strain out jalapeno before using.
  3. Dip the rim of your cocktail glass in honey then in Pop Rocks.
  4. In a cocktail shaker muddle the blueberries and lime juice until the blueberries are broken up.
  5. Add the tequila and grenadine and a handful of ice to the shaker.
  6. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds, and then strain into the prepared glasses. Top with more ice and a skewer of fresh blueberries if desired. Enjoy!

More Cocktail Ideas

I hope you try this amazing Valentine’s Day cocktail! And be sure to bookmark some of our other drinks to try:

And be sure to rate our cocktail below if you try it. Cheers! xoxo

Valentine's Day cocktail
Valentine's Day cocktail
Spicy Lover Margarita

Spicy Lover Valentine's Day Cocktail

Yield: 1 cocktail
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Additional Time: 1 day
Total Time: 1 day 5 minutes

This Spicy Lover Margarita is a perfect Valentine's Day cocktail to try with your valentine or galentine!

Ingredients

  • 1/4 c fresh blueberries
  • 1 oz fresh lime juice
  • 4 oz tequila
  • 1 1/2 oz pomegranate grenadine
  • fresh jalapenos
  • ice
  • honey or agave nectar
  • Pop Rocks candy
  • additional blueberries for garnish

Instructions

    1. In a jar combine tequila and one jalapeno sliced in half lengthwise. Allow to sit tightly sealed overnight.
    2. Strain out jalapeno before using.
    3. Dip the rim of your cocktail glass in honey then in Pop Rocks.
    4. In a cocktail shaker muddle the blueberries and lime juice until the blueberries are broken up.
    5. Add the tequila and grenadine and a handful of ice to the shaker.
    6. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds, and then strain into the prepared glasses. Top with more ice and a skewer of fresh blueberries if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

If you don't prefer Pop Rocks for the rim, feel free to choose another option like traditional salt or sugar.

This post was created for Lovely Indeed by Leah of Freutcake.

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