This Fruity Cocktail Rim Adds The Subtle Sweetness You've Been Looking For

Adding a salt or sugar rim is a common way to boost the flavor of your favorite cocktails and mocktails, particularly for drinks such as margaritas, micheladas, and bloody Marys. As you sip, the sweetness or saltiness of the rim blends seamlessly with the sugary, sour, or savory contents of the drink. For a fun spin on a sweet rim, why not take things up a notch with a fruit puree instead of using plain sugar? While fairly simple to execute, there are a few helpful tips you might want to follow to ensure you don't end up with a sticky mess on the outside of your glass.

In an exclusive conversation with Chowhound, Kaitlyn Stewart, author of "Three Cheers — Cocktails Three Ways: Classics, Riffs, and Zero-Proof Sips," provided some expert advice for adding a fruit puree rim to your cocktail. One of the most important tips is to be mindful of the consistency. According to Stewart, "some purees are far too [liquidy] and will make more of a mess than it's worth." Fruit puree is simply cooked fruit that is blended or mashed until it has a smooth consistency, though water and sugar might be added to help blend and sweeten it. Whether homemade or store-bought, some purees have a thinner consistency than others, often due to added liquid. For your unique cocktail rim, steer clear of watery purees and opt for one with a thicker consistency to avoid it dripping down your glass.

What's the best type of fruit puree to use on the rim of your mixed drink? According to Kaitlyn Stewart, "Chamoy is the GOAT [sic] fruit puree to rim a cocktail with. Great for micheladas and margaritas." Chamoy is a sweet, sour, spicy fruit-based sauce. Ingredients in this popular Mexican condiment include dehydrated fruit for sweetness, such as apricots, plums, and mangos, lime juice for acidity, and dried chiles for spiciness. In addition to being a creative margarita rim, it's commonly used as a marinade for grilled pork, as a dip for fruit and veggies, and drizzled over nachos. You can even make your own chamoy pickles at home.

For her drink rim, Stewart likes to combine chamoy with Tajín, a popular Mexican seasoning made with chili peppers, lime, and sea salt. The salty seasoning adds a kick to the sweet-and-sour puree that works perfectly with citrusy drinks, including margaritas, micheladas, and palomas. Besides chamoy, Stewart also likes to use marmalade as a fruity cocktail rimmer, combining it with salt for the perfect balance of sweet and savory on a margarita glass. In addition to adding fresh, fruity, citrusy flavor to your drink, marmalades and jams have sticky consistencies that help the sugar or salt adhere to the glass. If using jam, Stewart recommends having "a damp cloth handy to tidy up the application" since no one wants to hold a sticky margarita glass.