Pickle Brine Margarita

Ever felt as if your margarita was missing something? Take some inspiration from Heather Rush, a co-owner and bartender at Pine Box Rock Shop, who adds pickle brine for a salty-sweet combination that’s hard to resist and delightfully umami-forward. (The bar, based in a former coffin factory in Bushwick, Brooklyn, keeps the brine on hand for another local classic: the pickleback, a shot of whiskey chased with a shot of brine.) There are plenty of ways to customize your pickle brine margarita, including a dash of habanero hot sauce or by substituting mezcal for tequila, but stick with brine from classic dill pickles, as bread and butter pickles lean too sweet. Just go easy on the salt rim; this cocktail is plenty salty on its own. For those interested in making a batch of pickle brine margaritas, see Tip.

Ingredients

• Ice
• 1.5 ounces reposado tequila or tequila blanco
• 1 ounce pickle brine (preferably from classic dill pickles), plus pickle chips or a pickle spear to garnish
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice, plus 1 lime wedge
• 0.75 ounce triple sec (preferably Cointreau)
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 to 3 dashes habanero hot sauce (preferably El Yucateco), optional
• Coarse salt, optional

Steps

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. 
2. Add tequila, pickle brine, lime juice, triple sec, granulated sugar and hot sauce, if using. Shake until combined and foamy.
3. If you’d like a salted rim for your glass, moisten the rim of a rocks glass with a lime wedge then dip it in salt to coat. Fill your glass with ice.
4. Strain margarita into the ice-filled glass, garnish with pickle chips or a pickle spear, and serve immediately.