My beginnings as a bartender began at a gimmicky corporate Mexican restaurant. I'll let you figure out which establishment it was (hint: the company, Avado, filed for "holy-shit-we're-going-bankrupt" protection more than 5 years ago). The first cocktail that I was ever formally trained to make was the Margarita. I was then trained to make every godforesaken promotional variation on the Margarita (por ejemplo, the Margajito, the Low-carb Margarita, etc). But as time went on I honed in on the original way this cocktail was made. Entonces, a classic Margarita recipe:
The Margarita
- 2 oz of tequila (I used Patron Silver)
- 1 oz of orange liqueur/curacao (I used Gran Marnier)
- 3/4 oz of fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 oz of sweetner (simple syrup or agave syrup)
- 1 lime wedge
Glassware: cocktail glass or margarita glass
Pour 2 oz of tequila, 1 oz of orange curacao, 3/4 oz of fresh squeezed lime juice and 1/2 oz of simple syrup into a pint glass. Add ice. Cover with a Boston shaker and shake. Moisten the outside lip of a margarita glass with the lime wedge and rim it with course salt. Pour the contents of the shaker into the margarita glass. Garnish with a lime wedge. Salude!
But the world's most popular tequila drink as we know it evolved from other drinks. Many people believe the Tequila Daisy is direct predecessor to the Margarita. There's some compelling evidence for this (did you know the word "margarita" means "daisy" in Spanish?) I won't rehash the various theories. Pero this Cinco De Mayo I opted to recreate the Tequila Daisy. This particular recipe was plucked from Imbibe magazine online.
The Tequila Daisy
- 2 oz of Patron Silver Tequila
- 1 oz of fresh squeezed citrus (lemon or lime juice)
- 1 tsp of simple syrup
- 1 tsp of grenadine (I used home-made grenadine)
- 2-3 oz of soda water
Glassware: cocktail glass or margarita glass
Pour 2 oz of Patron into a pint glass. Add 1 oz of fresh squeezed lemon juice. Add 1 tsp of simple syrup and 1 tsp of grenadine. Shake the ingredients together in a shaker. Pour the contents into a cocktail glass. Top with club soda. Garnish with fresh citrus; I used a slice of lemon rind.
Originally, I wanted to create a light margarita foam to go on top of the Tequila Daisy. I guess I just wanted to unite the present with the past. But, alas, my iSi whip dispenser is malfunctioning and I'll have to reserve this experiment for another day. Que lastima!
Anway, I hope everyone enjoyed this Cinco De Mayo. Try not to get too carried away with the tequila. It's a "school night" after all.
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