Good morning and Happy Monday, readers!

Bloody Mary. Mimosa. Bellini. What do all of these things have in common (besides being delicious)? They are perfectly acceptable to drink at breakfast time! And since we are firm believers that a Sunday brunch is not complete without a brunch cocktail, we decided to work up and sweet and savory cocktail that is perfect to add into your mid-morning breakfast rotation.

Say hello to the Spicy AM!

We think that a good breakfast cocktail straddles the sweet and savory line, and packs a punch that can stand up to pancakes and eggs — so that is just what we created!

For the Spicy AM, you will need:

• 2 oz vodka
• 2-4 dashes hot sauce (we recommend Habanero sauce)
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 2 oz orange juice
• 1 oz simple syrup
• 1/2 oz grand marnier
• salt & pepper, to rim the glass

note: you can replace the vodka and hot sauce with habanero infused vodka. We will give you more info on that in tomorrow’s post! 

Gather your ingredients, plus your fruit presses, jiggers, cocktail shaker, and tall serving glass.

First, prep your juices.

Squeeze 1/2 oz of both lemon and lime juice. This should be about 1/2 of a lemon and 1/2 of a lime. Add that to your shaker glass.

Now squeeze 2 oz of orange juice. As always, we implore you to use fresh juice, never store bought.

Now add in your 1 oz of simple syrup, and 1/2 oz Grand Marnier.

Finally, add in your 2 oz vodka, as well as your hot sauce. We leave it up to you to decide how much spice you want to add. We recommend starting with less, and then checking to see if you want to add — especially if you are using habanero, the stuff is really spicy.

Before shaking the drink, we want to add our salt & pepper rim.

Pour a bit of salt and pepper onto a small plate or bowl. Then, use a slice of lime to wet the entire rim of the glass. Carefully pat the entire exterior rim of the glass in the salt & pepper mixture so it is evenly covered. Set aside.

Now add ice to your shaker, and shake that baby for 20-30 seconds.

Add ice to your serving glass, and strain that baby in there!

And there you have it! A delicious addition to your brunch rotation.

Cheers, everyone!