National Margarita Day | 22nd February 2019

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The Margarita, one of the worlds best known and loved cocktails!

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We all know that Tequila is one of the most versatile spirits out there and the amount of possibilities with a Margarita are endless! On the rocks, frozen, flavoured, twists, tommy’s, jello shots, ice lollies… but where did it all start?? A simple question with many possible answers involving Marjorie King unable to drink anything but Tequila and a cocktail being created for her, others around Margarita Sames, a socialite who created the drink for her friends and one of whom popped it on the bar menu at one of his hotels (Hilton)…

In my opinion, the most likely origin is the classic Daisy cocktail, not only does the name translate to Margarita in Spanish but also the ingredients are: A base spirit, sugar or sweetener and a sour component. Sound familiar?

Let’s all celebrate National Margarita Day with homemade Margaritas and experiment with our own recipes!

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The Classic Margarita:

50ml 100% agave Tequila Blanco

25ml Fresh lime juice

20ml Orange liqueur

Tools: Cocktail shaker and strainer

Glass: Ideally a champagne coupette

Garnish: lime wheel and salt

Method: Prepare your (chilled) glassware by rimming it with salt. Add all ingredients to the shaker add cubed ice and start shaking. Strain the liquid in to your glass, add the lime garnish and enjoy!

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Simple right?!

Let’s now ‘shake it up a bit’ and have a look at a hugely popular variant of the classic:

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The Tommy’s Margarita:

50ml 100% agave Tequila Blanco

25ml Fresh lime juice

20ml Agave syrup

Tools: Cocktail shaker and strainer

Glass: Rocks

Garnish: lime wheel

Method: Fill your glass with cubed ice. Add all ingredients to the shaker add cubed ice and start shaking. Strain the liquid in to your glass, add the lime garnish and enjoy!

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Now we know the basics you can experiment and create some yummy Margaritas yourselves!

Try substituting the sweet ingredient to start with. I.e. try different types of orange liqueurs; or instead of an orange liqueur, try a watermelon liqueur, a strawberry liqueur, etc

Then you could perhaps change the base to a 100% Reposado or Anejo Tequila OR use a different agave spirit like Mezcal or Raicilla!

You can even change the way you actually make the drink:  Blend it up with ice and have it frozen, pop it in the freezer and have a sorbet, add agar agar and have it as jelly… the methods are endless…

Switch out the lime perhaps with fresh grapefruit or fresh orange juice. Freshly squeezed is key!

After that perhaps experiment with the garnish! You’ll be surprised at how much of a difference that can make: whether a lime wedge or lime peel, orange zest or a spritz of absinthe… anything goes and will delicately change your experience

You don’t need to use salt to rim your glass, if you prefer a sweet strawberry Margarita then maybe try with a brown sugar rim, or if you enjoy spice rim your glass with a chilli, or perhaps even some Sal de Gusano (worm salt) or Tajin (lime, chilli, salt)

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The most important rule is to enjoy, don’t over complicate and always remember: No one will ever be able to beat The Classic Margarita!

Salud!

Jen