For Labor Day, Make a Big Batch of Aleppo Pepper Pineapple Margaritas

A spicy, gently tropical Margarita you can put in a large-format liquor bottle.

Happy Labor Day, folks. To celebrate this long weekend, let’s try not to work too hard. 

One of the easiest ways to reduce the labor involved in making cocktails is to make them in batches. Batches can take a little bit of advance prep time, but once they are done, all you have to do is pour and serve.

Ideally, you don’t even have to do it yourself. Batched drinks can be poured by guests, leaving you to do other things — or better yet, to do nothing at all. The work is already done, so you can relax. 

So as the summer closes out, we are going to return to the drink we started with: the Margarita.

This time, however, we are going to make a modified batched Margarita. Specifically, we’re going to make an Aleppo Pepper Pineapple Margarita that is designed to fit inside an empty 1.75 liter bottle — the standard size for a large-format liquor bottle that is sometimes referred to as a “handle.” 

Why a handle? Partly because much of the challenge of batching drinks is figuring out what vessel you’re going to put them in. Partly because if you are the sort of person who enjoys making cocktails at home, you probably either have or will at some point have an empty handle — whereas I have no idea what size pitchers you might have access to. And partly because a 1.75 liter handle translates to just shy of 60 ounces, which turns out to be almost exactly the right amount of Margarita for a lazy evening and a group of eight to 10 people. (And if it’s not enough, well, you can always make more.) 

Does It Scale?

When scaling up a cocktail recipe for batching, you can usually just take the single-serve recipe and multiply it by however many drinks you want to make or ounces you want to fill.

But one of the benefits of batching is that it creates “microspace” inside cocktail formulas, allowing you to make small adjustments to the structure of a drink that would be difficult when working in a standard three- or four-ounce portion. 

So for this big batch of Margaritas, we are going to slightly alter the proportions, making it a little juicier, a little sweeter, and a little less spiritous. The result won’t quite be a low-ABV session Margarita, but it’s designed to hit you a little bit more softly. It’s a thirst quencher designed to be consumed outdoors on a warm day. 

One thing that will stay the same, however, is that we’ll split the sweetener portion between the relatively thin-bodied orange liqueur Cointreau and agave syrup, which will boost the drink’s viscosity. 

And because we’re making it in a big batch, all at once, we are also going to dress it up a little bit in a way that would be difficult in a single serving. To the usual mix, we’ll add some spice and heat from a small amount of Aleppo pepper (you can use an alternative red pepper if you don’t have Aleppo pepper around the house) and a bit of tropical flair from fresh pineapple. A Margarita is always a vacation drink, but this one really feels like it’s taking the day off. 

The two non-traditional elements add complexity but don’t dominate the flavor: The pineapple chunks are removed before you pour the drink, and the amount of Aleppo pepper is really quite small (although you will notice it). Fundamentally, this is still a pretty traditional Margarita. But the hint of pineapple-pepper gives it a little more of an easygoing, spicy-tropical character. 

Fresh Juice & Good Tequila

As always, I cannot stress enough that it is important to use fresh, fine-strained lime juice. For 18 ounces of fine strained lime juice, you will probably need to juice somewhere between 30-40 limes. This can take a bit of time, but I promise it’s worth it. 

Since this was designed for a 1.75 liter “handle,” it comes in around 58 ounces — just shy of a full bottle. You can obviously store and serve this from another vessel if you like, but if you are using a handle, make sure to rinse and clean it before use. You may need to remove the plastic pour top from the spout; you can do this by using a fork as a lever and popping it out. 

There’s no dilution built into this drink. Instead, it’s designed to be served over ice. You don’t need to be precious about the ice here: Smaller pieces or even refrigerator ice should work fine. You don’t need a giant clear cube or anything like that. This is designed to be an easy, no-frills drink.

Total prep time should be no more than 10 minutes, plus an hour or so of waiting to let the mix rest and infuse. If you’re having guests over at 5 p.m., you can start this around 3 or 4 p.m. and then not have to make any more drinks in the evening. It’s Labor Day! Take a break.

Aleppo Pepper Pineapple Margarita

• 1 pineapple wheel with the rind removed and the fruit cut into chunks

• 2 teaspoons salt

• ¼ teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or other red pepper flake)

• 8 ounces agave syrup

• 18 ounces fresh squeezed and strained lime juice

• 10 ounces Cointreau  

• 22 ounces blanco tequila (I used Olmeca Altos Plata, but any 100% agave tequila should work here)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut a wheel from a pineapple. The wheel should be about 1 finger thick. Slice off the rough outer edges so that all you have left is the inner fruit. Slice the fruit into several chunks, about the size you would pick up with a spoon. (After slicing off the wheel, you’ll have most of a pineapple left over. I strongly recommend juicing the remaining fruit and making a Jungle Bird or a Coffee Bird.)

2. Combine pineapple chunks, salt, Aleppo pepper, and agave syrup in a large bowl. 

3. Gently muddle the pineapple chunks into the syrup/salt/spice mix. You don’t need to be too aggressive.

4. Now add the remaining ingredients — lime juice, Cointreau, and tequila — to the bowl. Stir to integrate so that the salt is mixed throughout and the heavier ingredients don’t sink to the bottom.

5. Let the mixture sit for at least an hour (on the counter is fine), then strain out the pineapple chunks using a fine mesh strainer. 

6. Using a plastic funnel, bottle the strained mixture in an empty 1.75-liter liquor bottle. 

7. Serve by pouring 3-5 ounces into a small glass over ice. If you have any left at the end of the night, you can store it chilled in the fridge. It should be fine the next day. But you really shouldn’t have any left over. 

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