marigold ofrenda

2 oz Espolón Tequila Reposado
1 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Curacao or Triple Sec (Cointreau)
1/2 oz Light Agave Nectar
4 oz Cantaloupe (peeled, chopped)
1/8 tsp Chile de Arbol Powder (Ancho Chili Powder)

Muddle cantaloupe, agave nectar, and orange liqueur. Add rest of ingredients and ice, shake, and double strain into cocktail glass (rocks glass). Garnish with an edible marigold flower.

Since today is Cinco de Mayo and the rest of the world is buzzing about tequila drinks, I figured that we should do our part. Instead of the Cinco de Mayo recipes that we were sent by Espolón (we did make the Bebida de Puebla from that collection), we backtracked to one we left off of their Day of the Dead list. Since cantaloupes were on sale, I wanted to make the Marigold Ofrenda created by Christopher Bostick of Varnish in Los Angeles. Probably a better time to make this drink would be in August when ripe, locally harvested melons and marigold flowers are available. On the other hand, the melons we found at Harvest Co-op in Central Square were aromatic and we had a bottle of the Espolón reposado that they sent us a few months ago, so wrong holiday or not, it was time to make this drink.
Since we lacked a marigold as garnish, the drink smelled of tequila, melon, and hot pepper and lacked some possible floral notes; moreover, Andrea commented that it had a very fresh, rainlike aroma to her. The fruit notes came across in the sip as a pleasing melon and citrus flavor, while the tequila and slight heat from the pepper appeared on the swallow. Note that we used a smokey ancho chili powder for we lacked chile de arbol which I believe is a bit spicier; however, a slight bit of heat when coupled with alcohol goes a long way for me. Finally, I was quite surprised at how soft the swallow ended; perhaps it was the agave nectar and the cantaloupe juice that mellowed the Marigold Ofrenda into a really easy drinking Margarita variation.