Limoncello, coconut oil and tequila combine for a margarita with tropical notes

The classic margarita from my book “Freezer Door Cocktails” calls for four things — tequila, orange liqueur, sugar and lime. This variation, inspired by a cocktail at Bitter & Twisted in Phoenix, keeps the key flavors, but gets to the finish line a little differently.

Italian limoncello — a sweet, boldly lemony Italian liqueur — provides most of the sugar and all of the citrus. To give the cocktail creamy tropical notes that play perfectly with the limoncello, we use coconut oil to fat-wash the tequila. The result is wildly refreshing and tropical.

Starting with a full bottle of tequila? Pour off 7½ ounces (225 ml), use the remaining for this recipe, and store the final product in the tequila bottle.

Makes: 5 to 7 Cocktails

17 ½ ounces (525 mL) blanco tequila

2 ounces (60 mL) coconut oil, melted

5 ¼ ounces (158 mL) limoncello

1 ounce (30 mL) agave or simple syrup

Crushed ice, to serve

In a liquid measuring cup with at least a 4-cup (1-quart or 1-liter) capacity, stir together the tequila and coconut oil. Let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes, stirring often. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined mesh strainer into a 750-milliliter bottle; discard the solids. Add the limoncello and syrup. Cap the bottle securely, then shake well to mix. Store in the freezer. To serve, pour into a coupe filled halfway with crushed ice.

J.M. Hirsch is the James Beard Award-winning food and travel writer and former editorial director of Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. He is the former food editor at The AP. His previous books include “Shake Strain Done” and “Pour Me Another.”

Excerpted from “Freezer Door Cocktails” by J.M. Hirsch. Copyright (copyright) 2024 by J.M. Hirsch. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.

This image released by Voracious shows "Freezer Door Cocktails: 75 Cocktails That Are Ready When You Are" by J. M. Hirsch. (Voracious via AP)

This image released by Voracious shows an Amalfi lemon margarita, a recipe from "Freezer Door Cocktails: 75 Cocktails That Are Ready When You Are" by J. M. Hirsch. (Yuliya Razukevichus/Voracious via AP)

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FILE - A BP fuel sign is seen, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, in Marietta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, file)