~

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!

 ~

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!

~

Simple right?!

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

~

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!

~

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)

~

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

The post National Margarita Day | 22nd February 2019 appeared first on Casa Agave.

We are celebrating National Tequila Day in the UK on the 24th July and in honour of this marvellous spirit I would like to show you a few great ways to drink it!

Here are some great ideas and cocktails that you might like to try for your very own National Tequila Day party!

Verdita y Sangrita

A very traditional way of enjoying a Tequila in Mexico is accompanied with a small glass of Sangrita or ‘little blood’. These are wonderful palate cleansers and come in many different forms and recipes. Here’s our recipe for a batch of Sangrita and also a Verdita ‘little green’ simply blend all the ingredients up, strain them and serve with your tequila of choice!

Verdita 200g Mint, 100ml lime juice, 50g coriander, 3 jalapenos and 1l pineapple juice

Sangrita 400ml Tomato juice, 100ml orange juice, 2 red chilies, 2 pinches black pepper, 3 drops tabasco, 50ml lemon juice

Classic Margarita

The most popular way of drinking Tequila in a cocktail all around the world and No. 1 of favourite cocktails in America

40ml 30-30 Blanco Tequila

20ml Cointreau

20ml Fresh lime juice

1 tsp sea salt

Method Add all ingredients apart from the salt in a tin shaker, add ice cubes and get shaking! Rim a chilled Margarita glass with sea salt and double strain the cocktail into the glass. Enjoy!

Hot Basilita

A creation of the guys and gals at 400 Rabbits Nottingham, spicy and fresh and absolutely yum!

30ml Creencias Blanco Tequila infused with jalapenos

10ml Green Chartreuse

10ml Ancho Reyes Verde

50ml Apple juice

2 dashes Ms Betters Bitters Miraculous foamer

10ml Agave syrup

4 basil leaves

Method Infuse 1 bottle of 30-30 Blanco with 3 halved jalapeno chilis for 2 days. In a tin shaker add the basil and muddle it up, getting all the flavours flowing. Add all the remaining ingredients and cubed ice and shake, shake, shake it up! Double strain into a coupette and for the final touch, lay a spare basil leaf on the top with a jalapeno slice resting on it. Hot!

Parmarita

A deliciously sweet and scrumptious cocktail by the Calluna gang in Nottingham! It sends your memories back to years gone by.

40ml 30-30 Blanco Tequila

10ml Violet Liqueur

20ml fresh lime juice

1 Crushed Parma Violet Candy

Method Similar to the classic Margarita: Add all ingredients apart from the crushed Parma Violet, add cubed ice and vigorously shake til cold. Rim a chilled coupette with the powdered Parma Violet and hey presto! Get it in your face!

Verde Margarita

A wonderful cocktail we got to try on our travels through Mexico by the lovely team at Baltra in Mexico City that even won the 2018 Patron Perfectionist Competition in Mexico.

30ml Patron Silver

12.5ml Patron Citronge

12.5ml Elderflower liqueur

12.5ml Fresh lime juice

5ml Fino Sherry

5ml Agave syrup

1 celery stick

Celery salt & sugar

Method Add all ingredients apart from the celery salt in a blender with crushed ice and mix until it reaches a slushy consistency. Rim a rocks glass with the celery salt and sugar and pour the cocktail in. Lush!

The post National Tequila Day 24th July 2018 appeared first on Casa Agave.