There’s a certain beauty in standing at the edge of a field of blue weber agave at sunrise, the low morning mist rising like a ghostly tide among the spiked plants. In Guanajuato, at Hacienda Corralejo — the first estate in Mexico to produce tequila commercially — this is not just scenery. It’s the cradle of a revolution in spirit, the same land where Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla once gathered his resolve to ignite Mexico’s independence.
That rebellious spark still pulses through Corralejo’s bottles today. Founded at this historic hacienda, Tequila Corralejo stands apart, not just in lineage but in geography. While most tequilas hail from Jalisco, Corralejo is one of the few houses legally permitted to distill outside it. That freedom, some might say, tastes like sun-warmed oak, peppery vanilla, and caramel—notes you’ll find in their Reposado, which spends months resting in American oak barrels to gather character.
For more than 250 years, Corralejo has trusted traditional methods, crafting tequila from 100% estate-grown blue weber agave and using custom glass bottles blown in-house. Each vessel is as singular as the liquid it cradles, a bright jewel echoing the hacienda’s stained glass and the soul of Guanajuato itself.
It’s no wonder, then, that this tequila forms the backbone of a cocktail as vibrant and daring as the land it comes from: the Spicy Pomegranate Margarita. This is no saccharine vacation margarita; this is a drink that crackles with jalapeño heat, kissed by the sweet-tart embrace of pomegranate. It sits right at the intersection of two of 2025’s biggest cocktail trends — the hunger for bold, spice-forward flavors and the unwavering love for fruit-driven, colorful profiles.
When you hold a Spicy Pomegranate Margarita, you’re holding a glassful of story: the old hacienda arches, the morning call of birds, the bright sting of lime and salt against your tongue. It’s a drink meant to be enjoyed with friends, maybe outdoors under a string of lights as music floats into the night.
Spicy Pomegranate Margarita Recipe
- 1.5 oz Tequila Corralejo Reposado
- 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz orange liqueur
- 0.5 oz pomegranate syrup
- 2 slices fresh jalapeño
Start by muddling the jalapeño slices in a shaker — feel the oils come alive under your muddler, that green, vegetal hit rising sharp in the air. Add the tequila, lime juice, orange liqueur, and pomegranate syrup. Fill the shaker with ice, close it, and give it a vigorous shake, imagining the heat and fruit swirling into a single, unified brightness.
Strain into an ice-filled glass. For the final flourish, garnish with a lime wheel and a slice of jalapeño — a little nod to the fields and the fire.
This is not just a cocktail. It’s a meeting place between the old and the new, the cool of pomegranate and the sting of jalapeño, the sweet warmth of oak-aged tequila and the sharp rush of lime. It’s an invitation to taste a piece of Guanajuato’s living spirit, one sip at a time.
