The Margarita

We’ve been experimenting with cocktails for quite some time now here at Cocktail Hacker.  We have over a dozen drinks under our belt and not one of them has included tequila.  Which, as I’m sure some of you would be quick to point out, is wholly unacceptable.  So, in that spirit, this week we’re going to feature the cocktail that has become synonymous with Tequila, the Margarita.  You might be wondering why we haven’t covered any tequila drinks up to this point and the short answer is I don’t much like the stuff.  I have over 80 spirits in my collection and only one of those is tequila, and Cuervo Gold at that.  Which, near as I can figure, is as close as a living person can get to drinking pure death.  But, I’m willing and eager to change my mind on this spirit and I can think of no better cocktail with which to start my explorations than the Margarita.

We’ve all had Margaritas at some point in our lives.  I’d even be willing to bet that serious teetotallers could tell you what’s in one.  But have you ever had the true, original Margarita?  I know I sure haven’t.  Like the Daiquiri, the original Margarita is a simple affair and there are many currently implemented variants, but unlike the Daiquiri the Margarita you’re likely familiar with bears a fair bit of resemblance to the original.  There are a veritable pantheon of stories about the origin of this iconic drink.  I won’t repeat them here, but take a look, it’s interesting to see all the variations.  In addition to these reading materials Robert Hess’ Cocktail Spirit episode on the drink is also quite good, although the sound is a bit low.  In fact, I’m going to start my explorations with Robert’s recipe.

The Margarita - Robert Hess' Recipe

[Ingredients]

2 oz Silver Tequila
1 1/3 oz Cointreau
2/3 oz Lime Juice

[Directions]

1) Combine ingredients in a shaker
2) Shake to chill
3) Strain into a chilled cocktail glass with a salted rim
4) Garnish with a lime wedge

Astute readers should note the huge similarity between this cocktail and the Sidecar.  In fact, some of the recipes I’ve come across call for lemon juice rather than lime which would bring it even closer in.  I think you could possibly do a Tequila Sidecar with a nicely aged Anejo Tequila but that will have to wait for a later exploration.