I used to subscribe to Bon Appetit Magazine, and on the last page of each issue they’d usually have a celebrity sketch something out on a napkin (like this one by Aziz Ansari). At some point, Justin Timberlake shared the recipe for his favorite cocktail, the Pepino (Spanish for “cucumber”). It’s a mix of tequila, Cointreau, basil, pineapple juice, agave, and cucumber that was cooked up by a New York mixologist named Junior Merino. It’s a good cocktail, and one I should definitely make for the blog at some point. But I don’t often have pineapple juice on hand, which is how I came across this recipe for the simpler Pepino’s Revenge. It was created by Lee Hefter, an executive chef at Wolfgang Puck. It omits the pineapple juice and the Cointreau, giving top billing to tequila and the fresh flavors of cucumber and basil.
One evening, my husband (henceforth “GarnishGuy”) asked if I could make him a Pepino’s Revenge, but I was out of basil. So I subbed in cilantro, which I thought would go even better with the lime and tequila. (I mean, is cilantro bad in anything? I’d probably eat cilantro ice cream.) We both really liked the result, which I have christened Pepino’s Vengeance to distinguish it from the original version. It’s citrusy and refreshing, but still very spirit-forward. A great alternative to a Margarita.
Pepino’s Vengeance
4 half-inch thick slices of cucumber
Handful of cilantro
2 oz. silver tequila
1/2 oz. lime juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup
Muddle cucumber and cilantro in a shaker. Add remaining ingredients and ice. Shake until well chilled. Double strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cucumber slice and cilantro leaves.
Recipe adapted from Food & Wine.