The Story Behind The The FONDA Rosalita Margarita
The next time you find yourself wandering through the shops and galleries of Tribeca, be sure to stop by FONDA on Duane Street, the newest outpost of a local Mexican restaurant and bar chain beloved for its traditionally made comfort food. The dimly lit space serves up everything from enchiladas de mole negro to taquitos and ceviche, and, lucky for drinks lovers, the spot is also home to a stellar drinks list. Among its many cervezas, Palomas, and Margs is the Rosalita Margarita, a sip made with silver tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, and housemade hibiscus syrup. The drink comes from chef Roberto Santibañez’s cookbook, “Tacos, Tortas and Tamales” and is tart, floral, and vibrantly pink. The latter makes it visually appealing and undeniably ripe for summer sipping — following a larger trend around hibiscus that is taking drinks aisles and bars across the country by storm.
As delicious as this cocktail is, the highlight of the sip may be what’s on the outside of the glass. “I love Margaritas rimmed with salt, which brings out the saline notes in tequila, or Tajin brand chile seasoning, which you can pick up at nearly any Mexican market,” Santibañez writes. This version incorporates dried hibiscus flowers into the salt mixture for an extra hit of tartness.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons silver tequila
- Scant ½ cup Cointreau
- Scant ½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- Hibiscus syrup (recipe follows)
- Salt
- Dried hibiscus flowers, ground
Directions
- Combine the tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, all of the syrup, and 2 cups of ice in a pitcher and stir very well, at least 1 minute. It’s important to stir for a full minute so some of the ice dissolves.
- Squeeze enough lime juice onto a small plate, and scatter a similar layer of kosher salt and ground hibiscus on another.
- One by one, turn the glasses so the outside of the rim is wet with lime juice, then place in the salt, turning each glass to ensure an even coating.
- Pour the mixture into 6 ice-filled glasses and serve immediately.
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Hibiscus Syrup Ingredients
- 1 cup dried hibiscus flowers
- ½ cup sugar
Hibiscus Syrup Directions
- Rinse the flowers under running water.
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small pot or saucepan.
- Add the hibiscus flowers and sugar, lower the heat to medium, and simmer steadily until the sugar dissolves and the syrup has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Strain the mixture through a sieve, discarding the solids, and let it cool. It makes about 1 ½ cups of syrup and keeps up to a week in the fridge.
