October 24, 2008

Margarita


This recipe comes with some background. We have been making margaritas this way for a while. It started as a Martha Stewart recipe which called for 1 oz. each of tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice, and 1 teaspoon of sugar, but we decided it was better with simple syrup, slightly more tequila, and slightly less lime juice. We also had decided that Sauza Hornitos was our favorite kind of tequila after a waiter at Margaritas awakened us to the fact that Jose Cuervo was not the only option. Anyway, recently we were almost out of Hornitos and Gordie went to buy more, and he was drawn to an only slightly more expensive variety called Sauza Anejo that had an interesting description, so he bought that instead. We decided we needed to taste test a margarita with each of the tequilas. The Anejo was much darker in color, and the bottle said it was aged in oak. Well, it had an oaky taste that made me think of a buttery chardonnay. It was kind of odd, and we decided we will stick with Hornitos. But our tasting was not finished. Next we wanted to find out which orange liquor was best in a margarita. So we made one each with Grand Marnier, Cointreau, and triple sec. The first was way too much-- the Grand Marnier was overpowering and I think would have been better sipped all by itself. The triple sec was fine but had essentially no flavor. And the Cointreau provided the perfect balance. So, to follow is our favorite margarita to date.

1 1/2 oz. (full shot glass) Sauza Hornitos tequila
1 oz. Cointreau or Triple Sec
2/3 shot glass lime juice
1/3 shot glass simple syrup
1 1/2 oz. cold water

Stir. Serve over ice.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, quite the scientific analysis of margarita ingredients. We did something similar with G&Ts a while ago and determined that we prefer Sapphire to Tanqueray or Gordon's or Beefeater. We read somewhere (airplane magazine?) about making your own tonic, but to date we stick with the cheap-o store brand (in cans though to stay carbonated). Maybe moving up to Schweppes or something would offer further improvements. Liberal lemon squeezes a must.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, you certainly made us a delicious gin and tonic when we visited in April, so whatever you're doing obviously works. My mom gave Cassidy a seltzer maker for his birthday recently. It has these carbon dioxide cartridges and it carbonates water really quickly. He makes lots of drinks with sparkling water, in addition to liking it all by itself, so he's been loving it.

    ReplyDelete