Ingredients
- 1 lime wedge
- Coarse salt
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¾ ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ ounce olive brine
- 1 ounce orange liqueur
- 2 ounces añejo tequila
- Ice
- Spanish olives and lime wheel for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Run the lime wedge around the rim of a chilled martini glass and dip the rim in the salt. Set aside.
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the lime juice, orange juice, olive brine, orange liqueur, and tequila.
- Add ice and shake to chill.
- Strain into the chilled martini glass and garnish with the olives and lime wheel.
Substitutions and Variations
This is an oversized drink, so when you serve it, pour what you can in the glass and then serve the remaining cocktail in the shaker so the drink can be refreshed. Want to change it up? Try these delicious variations:
- Muddle a few jalapeño slices and or a few cilantro leaves with the orange liqueur before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Use jalapeño brine in place of the olive brine.
- Replace the lime juice with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.
- Use mezcal in place of the tequila.
Garnishes
This drink has a lot of garnish--a salt rim, a lime wheel, and olives on a cocktail pick. In true Texas fashion, the garnish creates an oversized display with plenty of visual appeal. If you're more of a minimalist, you can opt out of the extravagance by using only one or two of these garnishes instead of all of them.
About the Mexican Martini
The origin of this drink is a bit unclear--perhaps the most plausible story is that at some point, a bartender at the Cedar Door in Austin, Texas served a margarita in a martini glass, and the drink evolved from there. However it began, the Mexican martini has been popular in Austin since sometime in the 1970s, although it's unlikely to show up on drink menus elsewhere in the country. That doesn't mean you can't add it to your home repertoire, however. It's a delightfully big take on the classic margarita.
The Ultimate Tex-Mex Martini
They say everything's bigger in Texas, and certainly the Mexican martini supports this truism. It's a 5-ounce martini served with what didn't make it into the glass in a cocktail shaker so you can keep refilling until all the goodness is gone. Try this oversized martini for a true taste of a Tex-Mex original.
