The human tongue can perceive four distinct tastes– Sweet, Sour, Salty, and Bitter. This drink manages to capture the first three, and  invents a new fourth: AWESOME!!

Sorrel is a naturally sour drink that is tempered by the sweetness of cane sugar, and a variety of heady, island spices, including nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. In this recipe, I wanted to turn up the volume of the tartness in the sorrel, and punch up its overall citrus undertones. Both of these flavors naturally compliment the unprocessed oceanic taste of the sea salt. 

And so a Margarita-Star was born.

The perfect marriage of pure, scarlet, island-sorrel; and verdant, freshly squeezed, lime juice. This drink will make about five individual servings, depending on the size of your glass.

This is deceptively sweet drink. As a result, it camouflages the sometimes-harshness of the tequila by tucking it behind the mellowed Cointreau and Sorrel.

Instead of using ordinary white coarse salt, I used black Hawaiian lava sea salt to rim each glass. The flavor of this artisanal sea-salt adds a slightly smokey dimension to this already unusual elixir. 

Ingredients

3 Cups of prepared Sorrel Drink (See: Contessa Honey Sorrel)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup (local Crucian) honey

3/4 cup Tequila

1/2 cup Cointreau

Mix all of the ingredients in a medium pitcher and whisk vigorously to incorporate. Rub a lime wedge around the rim of the margarita glass and roll the glass in the bowl of course sea-salt. Fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a slice of lime.