In an effort to remain unbiased during National Tequila Week (here at Tequila Aficionado, every day is Tequila Day, but our nation only gives it a single holiday), Tequila Aficionado is featuring all margaritas until we run out of mixers! It’s Margarita Madness!
It’s our quinceanera and we’ll mix if we want to.
For recommendations on what Mike and Alex believe are the best tequilas for both sipping and mixing, take a look at our YouTube playlists for the Brands of Promise nominees of 2013 and 2014. All of the nominees are excellent products. Do yourself a favor and try them all!
Of course we recommend sipping, but if you must mix, we have some great margarita mixes coming up for you.
Stay tuned for our first review – and feel free to mix a few of these while you wait!
While tequila may be Mexico’s national spirit, we’re thrilled to see its popularity recently skyrocket in the United States. From Margaritas and Bloody Marias to Palomas and Sunrises, tequila cocktails are being served up with regularity at thousands of bars, restaurants and homes across the country.
In honor of National Tequila Day on July 24th, Don Julio recommends celebrating this Mexican elixir with a refreshing (and spicy!) twist on the classic Margarita.
[Tweet “Cool Off with the Don Julio Cucumber Mint Margarita”]
Cucumber Mint Margarita
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped cucumber, peeled and seeded
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup key lime juice
1/4 cup chopped mint
1/3 cup Don Julio Tequila Blanco
2 tablespoons orange liqueur
1/8 teaspoon Tabasco brand Original Red Sauce
6 ice cubes
Garnish:
Salt to rim glasses
2 cucumber slices
Preparation:
Blend ingredients in a blender for one minute. Divide between two 6-ounce salt-rimmed glasses. Garnish each glass with a cucumber slice.
About Tequila Don Julio Blanco:
Tequila Don Julio Blanco is the base from which all of our other variants are derived. Commonly referred to as “silver” tequila, its crisp agave flavor and hints of citrus make it an essential component to a variety of innovative drinks including margaritas. It can also be enjoyed neat or on the rocks.
Alternative Margaritas Make the Lime Shortage a Non-Issue
With the ongoing lime shortage and resulting high prices in fresh limes, people will need to get a bit more creative about their standard Memorial Day Weekend fare. We’ve decided to dedicate this week to helping you make the most of your tequila this coming holiday weekend.
Some Great Alternatives
Today we’ll show you some tasty alternatives to the traditional margarita that few will turn down at your Memorial Day Barbeque! Click on any of the images for recipes:
Creamsicle Margarita
The Creamsicle Margarita, courtesy of Shine Beautifully (where you can also find recipes for tequila based body scrubs and other decadent ways to pamper your skin). [Tweet “Creamsicle Margarita: Orange, Ice Cream and #Tequila. You want this!”]
Coconut Creamsicle Margarita
If you just can’t get enough of rich creamsicle flavors, try this Coconut Creamsicle Margarita, courtesy of Eat, Drink, & Be Tracy. [Tweet “Coconut Creamsicle Margarita: You’ll think you’re in the tropics!”]
Spicy Grapefruit Margarita
This Spicy Grapefruit Margarita is easy and inexpensive with all those pink Texas grapefruits out in markets now! This recipe is courtesy of The Life Styled, by Catherine Sheppard. [Tweet “Spicy Grapefruit Margarita: Grapefruits are bigger in Texas!”]
Meyer Lemon Margarita
This Meyer Lemon Margarita, courtesy of Rick Bayless and the Latin Kitchen, takes old fashioned lemonade up several notches and never asks for lime. [Tweet “Meyer Lemon Margarita: We don’t need no stinkin’ limes!”] Lastly, one of our favorites (and the topic of an upcoming article) is the Hibiscus Margarita. Here’s the recipe:
Photo Courtesy of Wild Hibiscus Pyramid Salt Flakes. Recipe Courtesy of Emilio Tiburcio.
Wild Hibiscus Margarita
Created by mixologist Emilio Tiburico
2 part tequila silver or blanco
1 part orange liqueur
1 part lime juice
1 part syrup from jar of Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup
Garnish: Rim glass with lime juice and dip rim of glass in into Wild Hibiscus Flower Pyramid Salt Flakes
Garnish with a lime wedge and a Wild Hibiscus Flower.
[Tweet “Hibiscus Margarita: Give your love a flower & #Tequila!”]
Another Fruity Delight
This Tequila Lime Fruit Salad, courtesy of Taste of Home, can be made simply and without lime by simply substituting 1/4 cup Hornitos Lime Shot for the tequila and lime called for in the recipe. [Tweet “Forget the Lime Shortage: Hornitos Lime Shot picks up the slack!”] Plan accordingly and you could have a fantastic Memorial Day Barbeque at a fraction of the price those lime-traficantes would have you pay! Salud!
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Learn all about tequila from field to glass and then get paid to share your love of agave spirits with others! Buy Them Both Now!
There is no solid proof who invented the Margarita.[5]
One of the earliest stories is of the Margarita being invented in 1938 at the Rancho La Gloria Hotel, halfway between Tijuana and Rosarito, Mexico, by Carlos “Danny” Herrera, for a former Ziegfeld dancer named Marjorie King.[6][7] This story was related by Herrera and also by bartender Albert Hernandez, who is acknowledged for popularizing a Margarita in San Diego after 1947, at the La Plaza restaurant in La Jolla.[8] Hernandez claimed the owner of La Plaza, Morris Locke, knew Herrera and visited Mexico often.
Hussong’s Cantina in Ensenada, Mexico is also reputedly the place where the Margarita was created in October, 1941 by bartender Don Carlos Orozco.[9] He concocted a mixture of equal parts tequila, Damiana (Cointreau is used now) and lime, served over ice in a salt-rimmed glass for Margarita Henkel, daughter of the German Ambassador to Mexico.
There are also claims that the popular drink to have been first mixed in the El Paso–Juárez area at Tommy’s Place Bar on July 4, 1942 by Francisco “Pancho” Morales.[6] Morales originally left bartending in Mexico to become a US citizen. He is listed in the Texas Almanac’s Sesquicentennial Edition (1857–2007, under M) Obituaries of famous Texans. His story is best captured in an October 1973 Texas Monthly article “The Man Who Invented the Margarita” by Brad Cooper, and later in his obituary in the Washington Post on January 2, 1997.
Another story is that of Vern Under in 1945, a man who was the first importer of Jose Cuervo to the United States with the advertisement: “Margarita: It’s More Than a Girl’s Name”.[6]
At a 1948 Christmas party in Acapulco, Mexico, “one of the most widely accepted accounts” is the story that the Dallas socialite Margarita Sames invented the drink. Tommy Hilton reportedly attended, bringing the drink back to the Hilton chain of hotels.[6]
Another common origin tale begins the cocktail’s history at the legendary Balinese Room in Galveston, Texas where, in 1948, head bartender Santos Cruz created the Margarita for singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee. He supposedly named it after the Spanish version of her name, Margarita, and it’s been a hit ever since.[10]
A later story is that the Margarita was invented in October 1961, at a party in Houston, TX, by party goer Robert James “Rusty” Thomson while acting as bartender. He concocted a mixture of equal parts tequila, orange liqueur, lime, and crushed ice in a salt-rimmed glass.[11] However, Thomson’s recipe was made with Damiana Liqueur, not Cointreau orange liqueur. It is said that the idea was an experiment after running out of rum while making frozen daiquiris.
Another explanation, however, is that the Margarita is merely a popular American drink, the Daisy, remade with tequila instead of brandy, which became popular during Prohibition as people drifted over the border for alcohol. There is an account from 1936 of Iowa newspaper editor James Graham finding such a cocktail in Tijuana, years before any of the other Margarita “creation myths”.[12] Margarita is Spanish for Daisy, which is a nickname for Margaret.
“The Skinni Margarita is a better choice than a traditional margarita because of its fresh ingredients,” says Cathy Shyne, executive chef at Tortilla Republic. “By mixing and squeezing a whole lime and fresh agave nectar with Corzo Blanco tequila and Cointreau, you get a fresh taste thats makes you feel like you are sipping a true margarita from Mexico, not a prepackaged artificial beverage.”
2 ounces Corzo Blanco tequila
1 whole lime
3/4 ounce fresh agave nectar
1/2 ounce cointreau
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Learn all about tequila from field to glass and then get paid to share your love of agave spirits with others! Buy Them Both Now!
Consider these interesting twists on the classic Margarita when you plan your weekend celebrations for National Margarita Day!
Spicy Sage Margarita
2 oz. Avión Silver
3/4 oz. Jalapeño-Infused Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz. Orange Juice
1/4 oz. Lemon Juice
1/2 oz. Lime Juice
3/4 oz. Simple Syrup
3 Sage Leaves
1 Sage Leaf and Salt for garnish
Muddle sage in a shaker. Add all ingredients. Shake. Double strain. Pour over ice in salt-rimmed glass. Garnish with sage leaf. Created by Justin Dano, Pounds & Ounces, NYC
Elevated Margarita
2 parts Avión Silver or Reposado
1 part Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 part Agave Nectar
Combine ingredients in shaker with ice, and shake vigorously. Fine strain over fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Rita Rioja
1 1/2 oz. Tequila Avión Reposado
3/4 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
3/4 oz. Simple Syrup (equal parts sugar and water)
Fresh Red Pepper
Cilantro
Muddle a fresh red pepper and a few leaves of cilantro in a cocktail shaker. Add Tequila Avión Reposado, fresh lime juice and simple syrup. Fill cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a salt rimmed cocktail glass.
Chamomile Daisy Margarita
2 parts Avión Reposado
1 part Fresh lemon Juice
1/2 part Chamomile Apple Agave
Add all ingredients to a shaker, shake & serve over ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.
In an effort to remain unbiased during National Tequila Week (here at Tequila Aficionado, every day is Tequila Day, but our nation only gives it a single holiday), Tequila Aficionado is featuring all margaritas until we run out of mixers! It’s Margarita Madness!
Meyer Lemon Margarita
