- Â You can use any type of glass you have on hand; good options are a margarita glass (of course!), an old fashioned glass (aka "rocks" glass), coupe glass, or cocktail glass.Â
- Â When salting the rim, I like to use this tip I learned from Serious Eats, to salt only the outside top edge of the glass, rather than the top rim itself. This helps keep excess salt from entering the drink. Also, there will be some salt mixture left over, since it's hard to get a good adhesion of salt with a very tiny amount. You can use the leftovers to make another drink!
- Â If you don't have agave syrup, you can substitute simple syrup.
-  You can customize the heat level of the drink by adding more or less jalapeño. To really reduce the heat level, you can even remove the seeds and ribs of the jalapeño. To amp up the spice level, you could even try adding a small slice of serrano pepper, which is 3 - 9 times hotter than jalapeño!
Hot pepper safety tips:
If you have sensitive skin or are working with very hot peppers (or, just want to be cautious), wear disposable gloves when handling the peppers.
If you choose not to wear gloves, wash your hands well immediately after handling the peppers (no one wants hot pepper in their eyes!).
Don't look down into the glass while muddling the peppers! You don't want to get splashed in the eye with a drop of pepper juice.