It was during a trip in Palms Springs that I realized Starbucks drinks are really just caffeinated cocktail mixes. It happened by the pool as I reached for some wine stuffed in my bag. As my fingers clasped around the bottle, my friend Anjelica shoved an iced chai latte in my face and smirked, "Drink this."

I protested, thinking it was your standard Starbucks in a cup, until she finally convinced me to take a sip. Oh, how I was so terribly terribly wrong. First was the unexpected hit of tequila, then came the warm aroma of the chai tea -- cinnamon, cloves and sweet milk. The tequila served as more of a enhancement to the drink and wasn't offensive to the palate at all.

My friend happily informed me that she had poured 2 entire shots of tequila into the medium-sized drink.

Again, this is Starbucks I'm talking about here, not some mixology frou frou. The best part is that you can easily tote this drink around in public and sticklers will be none the wiser . Not that we condone that. Of course not.

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Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte Tequila Hack

Ingredients

• Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte
• 1 Pump of Caramel
• Shot of Tequila (we used Dobel)  -- The amount varies according to drink size: 1 shot for a small, 2 for a medium, 3 for a large.

Here's How to Make It

Order. Pour. Drink.

P.S Kudos to the barista for spelling my name right. That never happens, ever.

Photography by Dominique Zamora