Margarita

A classic tequila mixed drink. There are a million recipes for this drink, but there are a few common threads:

• tequila
• lime juice
• orange liqueur (anything from triple sec to Cointreau)

From there, paths diverge, and such items as a salt-rimmed glass, margarita mix, and more may be called for.

It is also often flavored with banana, peach, Midori, strawberry, raspberry, (Thanks billh), or others.

• booze
• cheap tequila
• pitcher of margaritas

The apocryphal story goes, that there was this cocktail party in Bakersfield, California that was waning. Not that this says anything bad about Bakersfield, well maybe it does. Anyway, The host, a thoughtful man on his feet, even after a couple of drinks, quickly poured tequilla, cointreau, and lime juice into the shaker over crushed ice, shook it to chill, served it straight, and thereby saved the party. When asked the name of the drink, he christened it after his dear wife. And the rest, as they say, is history.

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I was vacationing at a lake cabin in Minnesota for a week one summer, and the aunt of my then-girlfriend mixed a blender-full of the following, a margarita recipe for afternoons to be spent floating about the lake on the pontoon boat:

One can frozen lime juice concentrate
One can cheap beer (budweiser is recommended),
A long pour of Jose Cuervo tequila,
A slug of cheap triple sec,
Blend with ice.

It was very satisfying. And cheap. Lather, rinse, repeat.

An island north Venezuela in the Caribbean, chief of the group; chief town and port Porlamar.
Area: 444 sq mi (1154 sq km)

This Margarita recipe debuted at the recent gathering in North Carolina.

For references, please contact ccunning, JaubertMoniker, and Void_Ptr. There were others, but I was drinking them too and the whole night is kind of blurry.

Ingrediants:

• Premium Tequila. I used Patron Anejo. It is expensive, but just about the best you can buy.
• Grand Marnier. This really can't be substituted. Sorry.
• 1 lime per drink. A real lime, no fake juice stuff.
• A little sugar.

While you are mixing the liquids, you can have your test subject cutting and squeezing the lime into a separate container.

Mix one part tequila(about two ounces), one part Grand Marnier, and a pinch of sugar into a martini shaker. (I'm sure a regular glass or something would work, but style counts.) When the lime juice is ready, it should come out to be about 1 part lime juice, but a little less is fine. Pour it into the mixer.

Add ice to the shaker. Shake well, then strain into a glass. Serve.

Salt: If you want to salt the rim of the glass: run a piece of the lime around the rim of the glass. Pour some salt into a small saucer. Kosher salt works best. Put the glass upside down in the salt, and move it around.

NOTE: If you were paying attention, you noticed that there is not a lot of mixer diluting the alchohol in this margarita. It is, in fact, as strong as most shots you will order in your local bar. You have been warned.

This recipe was given to me by an alcoholic pre-med student and produces some of the best frozen margaritas I've found.

In a 40 oz. blender put:

• 1 6 oz lime-aid concentrate (the small ones)
• 6 oz tequila* (your lime-aid concentrate container makes a handy measuring cup)
• 3 oz orange liquor**
• Sugar as necessary*
• Ice to the top of the blender

Blend until smooth.

Frozen margaritas may be stored in the freezer for later use. A quick dethaw (about 5 minutes on the countertop will do) may be necessary.

* The crappier the tequila the more sugar you add. If you use good tequila don't use sugar.

** Triple Sec, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier are fine examples.

This particular mixture might knock you on your ... fairly quickly and without notice because they are quite sweet.

Here's a recipe for a fairly strong margarita; it uses Tuaca, which gives it a slight flavor of honey.

• 1.5 oz tequila
• 0.5 oz triple sec
• 0.5 oz Tuaca liqueur
• 0.5 oz lime juice (Rose's Lime Juice works great)
• 3 oz sweet and sour mix
• Powdered sugar to taste

Shake with cracked ice and strain into a glass. Perfect for right after you've broken up with your boyfriend, you want to try and remain friends, and you need something to break the awkward pause.

There are a lot of people that think a good drink is made good by copious amounts of alcohol. I'm here to tell you they're wrong.

First of all let's talk ingredients. The most important thing is the tequila. Don't even think about using Cuervo. Seriously, just don't. At the very least, I use Sauza gold, but I prefer to use Sauza Hornitos it is a little bit more flavorful, yet still mellow. Think Patrón, but a lot cheaper. Although Gran Marnier is super yummy, it is also super expensive and not worth it to use in a margarita. Do not use margarita mix, it is too sweet. I like to use Limeade. It is in the freezer section as a concentrate and isn't quite as sweet as the margarita mix. Also, buy fresh limes. This is not an optional ingredient.

I usually use a 2:1:2 mixture; 2 parts tequila, 1 part orange liqueur (triple sec/cointreau/grand marnier), 2 parts Limeade and a small splash of OJ (optional).

Bottom line: Avoid the margarita mix and cheap tequila and you'll be happy.

Ingredients:

• Premium Tequila
• Orange Liqueur
• Orange Juice
• Limeade
• Fresh limes

Method for a pitcher of margaritas:

• Start with about 3-4 limes and squeeze fresh lime juice into the pitcher.


• I am lazy. I do not like to dirty up extra things in the kitchen if I do not have to. So, I typically use the can the limeade concentrate came in for measuring. Dump the frozen limeade concentrate into the pitcher and save the can.


• For each of the following, measure the amount given and then pour it into the pitcher: 1 ½ cans tequila, ¾ can full of orange liqueur, 1 ½ cans of water and a splash of OJ.


• Do not put ice in the pitcher, only add ice to the individual glasses when you serve it, other wise the first glass will be strong, and the last glass will be watery from the melted ice.


• Salt the rim of your serving glasses and garnish with lime. If you want to make your pitcher prettier for display purposes, put in a few slices of lime and orange.

This makes a very strong margarita. Some people don't like that, so you may want to add limeade to taste. Also, if you don't want it so sweet, don't add the orange liqueur. If I'm just making one for myself, I like them really tart, so I use more lime juice and less triple sec. If I'm not making a pitcher, I make this in a martini shaker (remember that 2:1:2 ratio) and drink it straight up. ENJOY!