Mexican Razor Blade Recipe
A cucumber tequila sour: cool and green on the palate, with a dusting of ground chile on the garnish that gives the name its edge.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 17%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Blanco tequila60 ml (2 oz)
- Fresh lime juice30 ml (1 oz)
- Simple syrup22.5 ml (0.8 oz)
- Cucumber2 piece
How to Make It
- Add the tequila, lime juice, simple syrup and cucumber slices to a shaker with ice.
- Shake hard so the ice breaks up the cucumber.
- Double-strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with a cucumber slice dusted with piquín, cayenne or other ground chile.
Garnish
Cucumber slice dusted with ground chile
What it tastes like
The citrus acidity leads, there is a spiced warmth to it and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Blanco tequila
- Unaged tequila — the rawest form of agave flavour. If the label does not say "100% de agave", it contains cane spirit as well, and the drink will not taste the way it should.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
- Simple syrup
- One part sugar to one part water, stirred until it dissolves — no need to boil it. Keeps a month in the fridge. No syrup? Use the same amount of honey, loosened with a little water.
- Cucumber
- The skin can be bitter, so thin slices work best; dropping slices into the shaker gives a cleaner flavour than muddling them.
The Story
A modern take on the simple tequila sour from the American craft cocktail revival, where cucumber and chile became a favourite pairing for agave spirits.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Mexican Razor Blade mixed?
- It is shaken and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Mexican Razor Blade?
- Roughly 17% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Mexican Razor Blade be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Mexican Razor Blade hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.