Recipes

A Champagne Cocktail with a Tequila Twist

The surprise ingredient makes for a refreshing springtime brunch sipper

By CJ Lotz Diego
Recipe by Natalie Tapken

May 5, 2022

Illustration: TIM BOWER

Just in time for Mother’s Day brunch, Natalie Tapken, the wine and beverage director for Bluepoint Hospitality in Easton, Maryland, nods to her Texas roots—and memories of her mom—by riffing on a classic French 75. “After brunch at Fonda San Miguel in Austin, we would go home, and Mom would make us a limeade punch,” Tapken says. “What I call a Mexican 75 marries my fond childhood memories and my wine life today.” Plus tequila and bubbles. “I love putting Champagne into any beverage I work with, even if it is just a splash.”

photo: Courtesy of Bluepoint Hospitality

Ingredients

Mexican 75 (Yield: 1 cocktail)
- 1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 oz. silver tequila
- 2 tbsp. agave syrup
- Champagne Lime twist, for garnish

Preparation

In a shaker with ice, combine lime juice, tequila, and agave syrup. Shake for 15–20 seconds, then strain into a Champagne glass rimmed with salt, and fill the rest of the glass with Champagne. Garnish with lime twist.

CJ Lotz Diego is Garden & Gun’s senior editor. A staffer since 2013, she wrote G&G’s bestselling Bless Your Heart trivia game, edits the Due South travel section, and covers gardens, books, and art. Originally from Eureka, Missouri, she graduated from Indiana University and now lives in Charleston, South Carolina, where she tends a downtown pocket garden with her florist husband, Max.