Tequila Once, Tequila Twice… Just Go for It!
We have an important holiday today, everyone – it’s National Tequila Day. That’s right up there with the national holidays for wine (each varietal), rum, bourbon, and so on. But I digress, so let’s get to the margaritas. Here are recipes from some notable local restaurants, along with tips for the home bartender, and some quality tequila companies worth pursuing.
Recipes
Spicy Watermelon Margarita
City Cellar, 700 S. Rosemary Ave., West Palm Beach; 561/366-0071; https://www.citycellarwpb.com/ Combat the heat with a little heat and a lotta margarita here, where the Spicy Watermelon Margarita ($14) has Cincoro Blanco Tequila, Cointreau, fresh watermelon juice, housemade jalapeño simple syrup, muddled jalapeños, fresh lime juice, and a salted rim.
Chill a tall glass, then rub its rim with lime juice and dip it in coarse salt. In a cocktail shaker, combine tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, simple syrup, lime juice, and ice. Shake and then strain into the glass over ice. Garnish with a lime and jalapeño.
Louie Bossi’s Cinque Terre
Louie Bossi’s, all locations: At the restaurant, this is made with Louie Bossi’s Tequila, which is made by the restaurant’s sommelier. This is a citrusy sipper with a bit of heat for a nice summer refreshment.
- 2 ounces tequila mix
- 1 ounce lemon and lime juice
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- 0.5 ounce orange juice
- Tequila mix:
- One bottle of 750ml tequila blanco
- 1 whole pineapple sliced in circles
- 3 whole oranges slice in wheels
- 10 Fresno or jalapeño peppers sliced
All ingredients need to sit in a container and infuse for 3 days for best results. Infuse in a dark temperature control environment.
To make the Cinque Terre: Shake drink ingredients garnish with an orange and lime wedge.
Perfect Patron Cucumber Margarita
Bonefish Grill, all locations: Here’s the recipe for the restaurant’s popular margarita, which, they point out, is only 230 calories!
Ingredients:
- Your Favorite Silver Tequila – 1.25 oz
- St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur – .25 oz
- Fresh Lime Simple Syrup – 1 oz
- English Cucumber Slices 1” wide – 3 each
Procedure: In a mixing glass, combine all ingredients with ice packed to the rim. Shake with a martini shaker and then pour all ingredients into a rimmed margarita glass.
Garnish: Our signature margarita rim for this cucumber flavored cocktail is black pepper & salt, but feel free to use just salt if you want to keep a traditional margarita rim.
A couple notes:
- To make the rimmer, just combine equal parts salt and pepper, then rim. To keep sodium down, only use ½ or ¼ of the rim for garnish.
- Fresh Lime Simple Syrup is 60% fresh squeezed lime juice to 40% pure cane syrup. The balance of acidity from the lime and sweet from the sugar is what will make your margarita taste deliciously balanced.
- For a little added flavor, feel free to add fresh mint, basil or even cilantro to your margarita.
Spicy Jalapeno Margarita
- 1 slice – red jalapeno or chili pepper
- 3 sprig (inches) – cilantro leaves
- 2 fl oz – La Adelita Reposado tequila
- 1/2 fl oz – syrup (agave)
- 1 fl oz – lemon juice
Muddle chilis and coriander/cilantro in a shaker, add other ingredients, shake with ice and fine strain into an ice filled old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a slice of chili pepper and salt rim.
Spicy Grapefruit Sour
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Corralejo Reposado Tequila
- 1 oz. grapefruit juice
- 1 oz. lime juice
- ½ oz. jalapenos simple syrup
- 1 egg white
Method: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake hard to chill and combine. Strain out ice and shake hard again. Strain into a glass, garnish and enjoy.
What to drink and where to drink it
- La Adelita Tequila: This is a tequila – actually, five of them – now available in the U.S. You can order them online at https://www.buylaadelita.com/. The tequilas are made from single estates in Jalisco, Mexico. The five options are: blanco, black cristalino, reposado, anejo and extra anejo.
- Corralejo Tequila: This tequila is produced in Guanajuato, Mexico, and includes silver, reposado, anejo and 1821 extra anejo. Here’s a refreshing recipe with the reposado.
- Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, all locations. Well, of course, these restaurants are highlighting this holiday. The options are to dine-in and sample new cocktails with tequila that include hibiscus, mango and passionfruit. Or you can head to the take-out option, and buy bottles of Rocco’s Tacos Margarita.
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