md or bust

Here’s a fundamental mistake many American tequila tipplers make when approaching this blue agave-based spirit: downing it with a salt and lime chaser.

“That’s really bad,” says Elek. “The lime kills all the flavor and it’s bad for your stomach. And the salt? That has nothing to do with anything.”

Instead, if you want to drink a shot of tequila like a local, she says, chase it with an orange slice sprinkled with cinnamon or sip it straight with a side of sangrita (a mix of orange, lime, pomegranate and/or tomato juice, with chile powder).