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A Mean Margarita
July 11, 2007 | 29 Comments
Limes – Regular and Persian
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.
- Author Unknown
One day, as we were lazing around after dinner, a tiny voice chirped:
“A margarita makes me come alive. A warm tequila embrace moves me to the core of my being.”
It was the lime on our counter. Who are we to thwart someone’s calling in life? Since then, every three or four weeks, we go to Costco and get a bag of 20 giant limes. We squeeze them into two squirt bottles. One goes in the freezer, the other goes in the fridge.
We squirt lime on anything that stands still.
And we make sure to have margaritas often, prodding the lime on, with each squirt, towards self-actualisation.
Mixology – the art of mixing cocktails involves ‘shaking’, ‘mixing’, ‘rolling’, and ‘muddling’. All very befuddling.
One thing we can make is a decent margarita, because anyone who can walk and chew gum at the same time can make this.
The basic margarita has three ingredients:
Tequila, lime juice, orange liqueur.
For a wonderful exposition on the components of a margarita and how it’s made, check out this article.
The author asks us to experiment with various types of tequilas and orange liqueurs in various proportions until you MEET YOUR MARGARITA.
Well, here’s our margarita and we’d like you to meet it. We like ours strong and sour.
Margaritas can either be ‘frozen‘ or ‘straight up‘. The frozen ones are blended with ice to make a form of slush, resulting in a more dilute flavour. The ‘straight up’ margarita is shaken with some coarsely crushed ice cubes and strained, with a stronger flavour.
The original margarita shown here is a ‘straight up’, while the watermelon margarita is ‘frozen’.
ORIGINAL MARGARITA
Serves 2
Mix 1/3 cup tequila
There are four basic types.
White or silver (blanco), which is colourless and straight from the still;
Gold, which is coloured with caramel but not aged;
Reposado, or “rested” in oak barrels for two to 12 months; and
Anejo, which is aged for more than a year.
Anejo is mosty sipped on its own, and is far too complex to be used in a mixed drink with other strong flavours. We prefer either the reposado or regular tequila. Make sure the label says “100% agave”. We like the Gold and Blanco equally. For this one, we used Gold. Choosing a tequila.
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
Cointreau is our second choice.
For a fruity margarita, use the lighter (and less expensive) Triple Sec, ‘cos the orange liqueur flavour is likely to be drowned out by the fruit flavour.
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice.
Take two glasses, rub the rim with some cut lime, and dunk the rim in a plate containing kosher salt.
Put 12 or so icecubes into a plastic bag and crack them a bit with a rolling pin (or add them to a mortar and crack them with a pestle). Put the the cracked icecubes to a cocktail shaker or a tightly-lidded jar and add half the cocktail to it. Shake for 15 seconds. Strain it into the the glass. Add the second half. Shake for 15 seconds. Strain it into the first half. Serve with a lime wheel.
The idea is to dilute the mix a bit with the ice.
Optional additions: a pinch of salt, a dash of sugar. Or add rum, as they do in Texas. Adjust the lime and liqueur to taste.
WATERMELON MARGARITA
Blend watermelon into a puree and freeze in an icecube tray. Crush the watermelon icecubes in a blender.
Or make a watermelon granita.
Add some lime juice, sugar and orange liqueur to the puree. Put the watermelon puree in a flat container in the freezer, cover and set for a couple of hours. Scrape the watermelon crystals with a fork to loosen them up, put it back in the freezer, wait another hour, repeat, and repeat for the fourth time.
Watermelon Granita
The granita can be served as a dessert in its own right.
Put 2 tablespoons of granita or crushed watermelon icecubes in a salt-rimmed glass. Shake and strain margarita into the glass. We like to add a tad more lime to fruit margaritas.
One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. – George Carlin
Our body burns alcohol at a rate of roughly 30ml (1oz) an hour, so enjoy your drink slowly.
Filed Under: cointreau, grand-marnier, Lemon/Lime, margarita, orange-liqueur, tequila, triple-sec, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes, Watermelon
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29 Comments
Margaritas look delicious
cannot wait to try making these….
Out of curiosity, whats the thing in which you’ve kept the limes in the first picture??
it’s a thing in which you keep and slice baguettes. – b.
now, thats my kinda recipe
.. 1 oz/hr burn rate…. wow, thats news for me… I better slow it wayyyyyyyy down…
Very interesting recipes. Looks yummy and delicious too. Thanks for sharing.
“One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.
- George Carlin”
Is that like Lou Reed’s “Power of Positive Drinking”?
I can’t touch tequila, but the margaritas surely look good.
A thing for slicing baguettes? How lazy can one get
we in seattle could use all your versions right about now.. so delicious looking and sounding and cooling! I want the watermelon one! NOW, pretty please.
That’s what I meant by limeade
I am with you totally – Lime Margaritas (straight up) are my all-time most fav drink! And I drink it s-l-o-w-l-y
That’s where my limes are ending…s-l-o-w-l-y.
Oh yes! Now all I need is an invitation to join you for a drink or tow or hic three!
Nice post! And just the way I like ‘em!
I totally agree with saving the Anejo for enjoying straight (between Margaritas).
Cool Pics!
How can we preserve extracted lime juice for later use?Mine always turn bitter within no time. Thank you.
in the freezer, maybe? ours remains fine in the fridge or freezer, but we use it up very quickly. – b.
Not the margarita recipes but the pictures drove me crazy especially the baguette holder. The wood look old and well used.
You take such great pics, you write so well, you have real good recipes, your blog is updated daily… how do you do it all?
Oh, did I forget to metion that I just looooooooooooove ur blog?!!
a tiny voice chirped:
“A margarita makes me come alive. A warm tequila embrace moves me to the core of my being.â€
That was cute
Step by step margarita lesson, huh?
can i come over for a few of those tantalizing drinks you guys are laying out?? just looking at the pics got me smiling like i do only when i am a few down!!
hic hic, the margaritas and the granita are super refreshing in this heat ! i luv the watermelon cocktails given the fact that the market is flooded with those juicy treats!!
Hey, why don’t you and Jai come on down here in B’dos, let’s laze around on the patio, stare at the lawn, let the breeze caress us and sip those maragritas.
Also, I think that y’all need to put a warning on those drinks – people are going to go crazy margarita making and drinking, I know I am
YUMMY! Love the Watermelon Margarita!Granita looks great too.
We call those small limes are called “Key Limes” here and makes a great Florida Key lime pie which is famous pie from Florida Keys!:))
Thanks Jai and Bee for both of your great comments and wishes, appreciate it!Hugs.
And, BTW, is it time to sing Happy Birthday to Jai?
not yet. – b.
I should show this to my husband. He makes good margaritas. I guess we have all the required ingredients. I have no knowledge about those …
Best margharitas here are at a tavern called Jose Tejas and if u are passing by, u have to try that!frozen or straight up, both are good.love the granita margherita!!
george carlin, that guy is funny
his list of people “he” can do away with, cracks me up 
nice drinks!
Only if I hadn’t gone overboard with margaritas and tequila shots in grad school, I’d be “enjoying” these now..!
Your pictures remind me of a Texas Martini — Margarita’s served in a Martini glass with olives. Wow two delicious lime posts in succession, and my favorites. Can I come over?
Kanchana
watermelon margarita? really? i cam’t wait to try it!
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