Blackberry Peach Serrano Tequila Cocktail

Tart blackberries, sweet peaches, tequila, and a spicy serrano pepper simple syrup create an unmistakably unique and delicious drink that's packed with well-balanced flavor. This is one of our all-time favorite summer cocktails!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of ADM for Edelman. All opinions are 100% mine.

Jump to:

• 🍑 Why We Love This Recipe
• 🌶 Ingredients
• 📋 Ingredient Notes
• 🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
• 💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
• 🍽 Related Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

🍑 Why We Love This Recipe

• Sweet and spicy: If your usual rotation of cocktails is getting boring, this is a great way to shake things up, as the sweetness of the peaches and blackberries and the spice of the serrano pepper creates an amazing sweet and spicy contrast. We also add in both lime and lemon juice for refreshing tartness, so every sip is perfectly balanced!
• Serrano-infused simple syrup: Infusing simple syrup with an herb or spice is one of our favorite ways to boost the flavor profile of a cocktail. Since serrano peppers have such a strong flavor, the syrup infuses quickly (only 15 minutes!) but still adds a strong kick of spice.
• Seasonal ingredients: This is a great cocktail to make all summer long, when peaches, blackberries, and peppers are all fresh and in season. The ripest possible produce makes for the best cocktail!

Thanks to ADM for inspiring this recipe! ADM is a global expert in identifying flavor and ingredient trends, and this year, serrano peppers are among this summer’s top trends. We can't help but agree – they're such a versatile pepper and have so much depth of flavor.

For 120 years, ADM has been providing ingredients from nature to make foods more nutritious and delicious. During the last year more than ever before, they've been highlighting the importance of health and nutrition as it relates to using various ingredients in your daily diet.

With more people working from home and paying closer attention to health and nutrition, now's the time to expand your culinary horizons and try new ingredients and techniques. Something as simple as this serrano-infused simple syrup is such a great way to try something new without needing special materials or professional culinary experience.

We absolutely love playing around with new (to us) and exciting ingredients, and we're thrilled to be partnering with ADM to inspire you to do so as well! And in case you were wondering, a few more ingredients you should keep on your radar this summer include cape gooseberries, honey fermented garlic and mastiha – a tree resin with a licorice-like flavor.

🌶 Ingredients

Here's everything you'll need to make this blackberry peach serrano cocktail:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Serrano peppers: If you're unfamiliar with serranos, they're green like jalapeños but are thinner than their more famous cousin. As with most peppers, the smaller they are, the spicier they'll be, and the serrano is no exception. It's about 3 times spicier than a jalapeño. Most grocery stores keep these in stock right next to the jalapeños. Serrano peppers are super versatile and they add SO much flavor to this cocktail. It's just not the same without them!

• Tequila: We used a silver tequila in this cocktail, but we imagine other varieties (like añejo) or even mezcal would be equally delicious.
• Fresh fruit: Using the freshest, most ripe peaches and blackberries you can find will go a long way towards making the most flavorful cocktail possible. You can also sub out peaches for nectarines in this recipe.
• Lime and lemon juice: don't skip freshly squeezed here – it makes a huge difference in homemade cocktails!

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

(1) Add sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium heat. Add in serrano peppers and lime zest and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, until sugar is dissolved, then remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.

(2) Strain the simple syrup to remove the serrano slices and lime zest and let cool.

(3) Add peaches, blackberries, simple syrup, lemon juice, and lime juice to a large glass measuring cup and muddle well. Press mixture through a small fine mesh sieve into a liquid measuring cup, removing as much juice as possible.

(4) Add 1 tablespoon of chopped peaches and 2-3 blackberries to each cocktail glass and muddle. Fill each glass halfway with ice.

(5) Fill the cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Pour the blackberry peach mixture back into the cocktail shaker and add tequila. Shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds, then strain into cocktail glass. Top with sparkling water and enjoy

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• Just the right amount of spice: In this recipe, the serrano simple syrup on its own definitely has a strong kick, but it's tamed by the other ingredients in the cocktail. As someone with a moderate tolerance for spice, it was perfect for me.
• Controlling the spice level: If you want to cut down on the spice level, you can entirely remove the pith and seeds from the inside of the pepper, which contains most of the heat. If you want your cocktail to be spicier (which I would suggest for those that like super spicy food), add an extra serrano to the simple syrup, or add an extra ½ oz of simple syrup to the cocktail.
• Wash your hands after cutting the pepper: Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after cutting the serrano pepper. Most of all, make sure not to touch your face before you wash your hands, especially if you're super sensitive to spice.
• Make sure your peaches are super ripe, otherwise you won’t be able to get enough juice out of them. You can also sub out the peaches for nectarines.
• How to use up leftover syrup: you can use the leftover serrano simple syrup to spice up plenty of other cocktails, like these frozen watermelon margaritas, bourbon peach smash, or this refreshing cucumber gin cocktail.

🍽 Related Recipes

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📖 Recipe