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May 15, 2009
Margarita break
Amid the Mahler onslaught, a friend who plays double bass in the Toledo Symphony reminded me that the cocktail recipes on this blog have been considerably less than "occasional." So with outdoor weather beckoning, and since tequila is my favorite spirit, here are some pointers on how to make a great margarita.
As one of the country’s most ubiquitous drinks, the margarita is also one of the most abused. A good one has just three ingredients: tequila, triple sec, and fresh lime and/or lemon juice. That’s it. Period. No Rose’s Lime Juice (too much sugar), no margarita mix (ditto), no frozen limeade (fine, but not for this drink). Usually the fresh juice gets somehow demoted to second-class citizenship, and it’s a shame since it’s not difficult to make. Forget a hard-to-clean electric juicer (unless you already have one); sturdy glass juicers are inexpensive and get the job done quickly.
The basic recipe for one drink:
2 oz. tequila - Try Chinaco, El Tesoro, Don Julio, El Corazón, Herradura, Patrón, or others distilled from 100% blue agave. Recently I have discovered Tezón and El Diamante del Cielo, both delicious. If you have any Cuervo Gold in the house, do yourself a favor and send it to needy spring break partiers in Cancún.
1 oz. triple sec – Bols or De Kuyper are good. Patrón makes Citronge, an 80-proof liqueur (slightly fiery) that makes a punchy cocktail if you are not rehearsing a Brian Ferneyhough score the next morning. If you want to use Grand Marnier or Cointreau, just a splash is fine (c. 1/2 teaspoon), replacing a small part of the triple sec. Otherwise the luxury casting is wasted since the result is too sweet. Replace part of the triple sec with 1/2 oz. of blue curaçao if you want to show people your tongue later.
1 oz. fresh lime (or lemon) juice – You’ll need about ½ of a lime for one drink. Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen in Santa Fe makes margaritas with fresh lemon juice, for more "year-round consistency." I’ve tried it and the result is just as delicious, so if you prefer one over the other or a blend of the two, run wild. Save the peels.
Shake all well with plenty of ice, and strain into a chilled, salt-rimmed cocktail glass. Or, strain into a salt-rimmed old-fashioned glass and drop 2-3 ice cubes into it. Garnish with one or two slices of lime or lemon.
How to salt a glass
The salt in a margarita is an integral part of the drink's balance of flavors, adapted from the custom of licking a small amount of salt off your hand with a shot of tequila. But the right way to prepare a glass ensures that the flavors remain distinct.
Use Kosher salt, available at most grocery stores, and shake about a tablespoon onto a small plate. Rub the rim of the glass thoroughly with a piece of the lime or lemon peel to coat it with the citrus oil. Now, rather than holding the glass completely upside down, hold it at an angle, rotating gently, so that only the outer edge of the glass gets coated. Any salt on the inside edge then falls inside the glass, making an overly salty liquid hit your taste buds first. (Think high-sodium Gatorade.) Even worse, as the level of liquid decreases, the remaining drink continues to get saltier, and those last few sips will be miserable.
[Photo: agave plant by David Ziser (2008)]
Originally posted by bhodgesnyc from Monotonous Forest, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on May 15, 2009 at 07:37 PM