There is no denying that the spicy Margarita is the drink of our times. It’s also, as Punch contributor Scott Hocker remarks, simultaneously “safe, extreme, cultured and milquetoast.” But as the call for “something spicy, with tequila” grows ever more fervent, the “spicy, with tequila” drink has risen to the occasion. For those looking to break from the norm, these modern piquant recipes—from a Chartreuse-laced cooler to a savory riff on the Oaxaca Old-Fashioned—are here to help.

At Whisler’s in Austin, Texas, The Greenbelt gets its spicy kick from an easy-to-make verdita. Typically a green juice chaser designed to follow tequila shots, here the blend of pineapple juice, jalapeños, cilantro and mint complements grassy tequila, herbal génépy and spiced falernum for a refreshing spin on a sour. In a similarly verdant take, Bobby Heugel’s aptly named Spicy With Tequila offsets the heat of a habanero tincture with fresh mint leaves and the bracing herbaceousness of green Chartreuse, for a drink that reads as simultaneously hot and cooling. (If you don’t have Chartreuse, consider an alternative.)

Habanero is the pepper of choice, too, in Grand Army’s Johnny Blaze, which gets a double dose of heat from a habanero shrub and ginger liqueur. Meanwhile, in the Mezcal Sun-Risa, a spicy take on the Tequila Sunrise, hibiscus-habanero syrup takes the place of the drink’s traditional grenadine. The spicy kick in Phil Ward’s Stone Raft—an unexpectedly savory drink, thanks to amontillado sherry and celery bitters—comes instead from jalapeño-infused tequila paired with mezcal in this distant riff on Ward’s own Oaxaca Old-Fashioned. Meanwhile, the Dirty Old Man from Barely Disfigured in New York opts for red chiles infused into Aperol.

While many hot cocktails are based on infusions, syrups and tinctures, the Lucy Liu from Brooklyn’s Sama Street takes a novel approach. By combining tequila with chile oil and dried puya and Thai chiles, bartender David Muhs creates a base spirit that offers a tingling sensation, with a rounded mouthfeel thanks to the fat wash. While Sama Street uses the dressed-up tequila in this creamy, tropical drink, it works well in Palomas or Margaritas, too.

Then there are the spicy drinks that make use of already-spicy ingredients. Ezra Star’s Ancho Problem, for example, requires no infusions or tinctures for its heat, turning instead to Ancho Reyes chile liqueur to provide smoky spice. Toby Maloney prefers green Tabasco to a homemade syrup or infusion for its consistency in drinks like the Flaming Heart, which he describes as “a great call for anyone asking for a spicy Margarita.”

But if you’re looking for something more unexpected, look no further than the Unlikely Negroni. The recipe turns the aperitivo classic on its head, swapping out gin for tequila and adding the tropical flavors of coconut, banana and pineapple, plus a dash of Thai chile tincture. According to its creator, Naren Young, “The Unlikely Negroni is exactly that: a preposterous combination of flavors that somehow works”—and it’s anything but milquetoast.