A jalapeño tea gives this Margarita riff big colour and flavour at Stratton Bar & Kitchen

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At Stratton Bar & Kitchen in the Brisbane suburb of Newstead, you’ll find two large world war two era hangars playing home to flavour-forward drinks and eats.

Like their spicy riff on the Tommy’s Margarita made with Herradura Reposado Tequila, which we have highlighted here. Made with a jalapeño tea instead of a straight up infusion in spirit, this gives the drink more of that fresh jalapeño flavour in addition to the chilli heat.

Dress the drink up with a black salt rim and contrasting colours, and you’ll see why — as venue manager Abigail Stavrow explains in the video and interview below — they’ve had a number of guests call this their favourite spicy Margarita riff.

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BOOTHBY: Abigail, what’s your role here — where are we?

ABIGAIL STAVROW: I’m the venue manager here at Stratton Bar & Kitchen.

BOOTHBY: What’s Stratton Bar & Kitchen all about?

ABIGAIL STAVROW: So we have quite a great offering. So we aren’t just a cocktail bar, we aren’t just a restaurant, we’re a mix of the two. You can come in and you can have a nice dinner or you can come later at night and grab a cocktail at the bar. So we’re quite lucky. We’ve got a DJ booth that overlooks it all.

BOOTHBY: How would you describe this place? Because it looks like an airplane hangar.

ABIGAIL STAVROW: Yeah, so it’s a world war two hangar. The owners have done an amazing job with this venue. They’ve recreated it and we’ve got an atrium just over here, two sides of the hanger. It’s a bar in the middle. It’s quite beautiful.

BOOTHBY: Can you tell us about the Heradurra drink you’ve made?

ABIGAIL STAVROW: I’ve made a classic Tommy’s Margarita with a bit of a twist. So in this one, we have a jalapeno tea. I find the flavour of the jalapeno is quite bright and citrusy and it really complements the Margarita.

Our jalapeno tea here is a blend of water and jalapeno and it creates this beautiful colour, which is why we’ve used a black salt to complement the green, garnished with a jalapeno.

BOOTHBY: I can imagine there’d be a few spicy Margs sold here.

ABIGAIL STAVROW: Spicy Margs are one of our most popular cocktails, definitely. And so far, the feedback on this drink has been really good. Most people use red chilies for their cocktail, and I think it’s blown people out of the water — a few people have said it’s one of their favorite spicy Margs they’ve had.

BOOTHBY: You’ve got a different flavour profile with the tea.

ABIGAIL STAVROW: Typically, I’ve seen a lot of jalapeno-infused tequilas. This tea actually brings the fresh flavour from jalapeno, as opposed to just absorbing the spice.

BOOTHBY: Yeah, right that chilli heat. But do you still get the heat?

ABIGAIL STAVROW: You still get the heat. We do actually de-seed a few of them, otherwise it might be a little bit diabolical. But it brings in the flavour as well as a tiny bit of heat. We actually put aside an extra spicy concoction for the spice lovers.

BOOTHBY: Right, so there’s like a secret off menu addition?

ABIGAIL STAVROW: If someone says it’s not spicy enough, put bit of that in and then they’ll definitely not be complaining.

BOOTHBY: The nuclear option, that’s great. How long have you been in hospitality, in bartending?

ABIGAIL STAVROW: I’ve been in the industry 15 years, worked in many different establishments, cocktail bars alike, did some years in Press Club.

BOOTHBY: Ah, the old Press Club! Excellent. What’s the best time to come to Stratton Bar & Kitchen?

ABIGAIL STAVROW: Definitely Saturday night. Or even Saturday afternoon, we get a really nice golden glow through those windows. And it’s quite blissful, although bring your sunnies if you want to look that way, because you will be blinded.

Stratton’s Jalapeño Tommy’s Margarita

Ingredients

60ml Herradura Reposado
30ml lime juice
15ml agave syrup
20ml jalapeño tea*

Method

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice.
Shake hard and strain over block ice in a glass rimmed with black salt.
Garnish with a jalapeño.

For the jalapeño tea:

De-seed 400g per 1kg of jalapeño.
Put the de-seeded and seeded jalapeño into a blender with 700ml of water.
Let rest for 10 minutes, then fine strain.
Reserve 100ml of jalapeño tea, and blend with the discarded seeds, to create an extra spicy tea.

Recipe by Abigail Stavrow at Stratton Bar & Kitchen, Newstead.

Founded in 1870, in the small town of Amatitán in Jalisco, Casa Herradura is the last tequila-producing Hacienda in the world. Tequila Herradura tells an over 150-year story of exceptional Tequila and vivid innovation. Tequila Herradura is an extraordinary fusion of the terroir and the process, expert skill and ancient tradition.

Learn more