Detox while you retox sipping on an activated charcoal margarita!

This head-turning cocktail may begin appearing in craft cocktail bars around Halloween, but its intoxicating aesthetics elicit far more desire than fear. Organic charcoal powder acts as a coloring agent, giving an otherwise classic margarita a deep, dark grey hue. Bonus: it detoxifies!

Wicked and chic, we like to think of the activated charcoal margarita as a “wellness cocktail”—or what we at Milk Punch Media call boozin’ with benefits! Activated charcoal is given to overdosed patients in hospitals to trap and flush toxins, so it’s not exactly just a trending claim for a hangover cure.

In New Orleans, the weekend before All Hallow’s Eve rivals some nights in Carnival Season for the insanely creative costumes and debauchery. Here, you can sip on sultry tequila cocktails alongside skeletons and zombies, but without feeling like death!

Here’s how to make it, where we order one in New Orleans and why we’re obsessed!

Why we’re obsessed with this cocktail 

There’s 100% agave silver or blanco tequila, a “clean” spirit.
Few restaurants in New Orleans know tequila and mezcal better than Otra Vez! Pair with guac and crudité and a choose a roti (Mexican-style pizza) to share.

The name means “black death.”
It’s dark and moody for October but like a LBD, it’s chic anytime!

Boozin’ with benefits?
Activated charcoal powder detoxifies by trapping toxins and removing them from the body, making this cocktail coloring agent actively working against a hangover!

It’s technically a Tommy’s Margarita (no triple sec), so it’s skinny! 
Pro tip: margaritas just taste better shaken, so squeeze some limes and dust off that shaker!

CHEERS!