I don’t think I had ever tried passion fruit juice before. Sharmila picked some up from a local Indian store, and after tasting just a few drops, I loved it. Not sure why I hadn’t tried it earlier.

Since the juice is quite sweet, I thought adding a bit of spice and a touch of salt would balance it nicely.

I used Sharmila’s Indian dry chili powder, Tajin salt, “S” vodka from Punjab, and passion fruit juice to create the drink.

I named it “Aztec Gold” in a nod to the origins of chili peppers and Tajin seasoning, with “Gold” reflecting the rich color of the passion fruit.