Pimp Your Margarita
There’s a time to put away childish things. When we’re talking about Margaritas that means finally ditching the store-bought mix and shaking up a batch of everyone’s favorite south of the border cocktail completely from scratch.
I remember making that transition for the first time at some point post-college. It was intimidating — I didn’t want my friends to think I couldn’t make a drink that, for most people, involves mixing tequila with lime-flavored sugar water out of a plastic jug. It seemed scary, anyways, until I figured out just how easy it is to make Margaritas the old fashioned way.
There are three ingredients in a classic Margarita. That’s all folks, just three: tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice. Shake those up over ice, pour it into a salt-rimmed glass, and you have yourself a fine Mexican food-ready cocktail.
Having mastered the basics I was recently wondering how I could take this cocktail to the next level. How could I tweak the Margarita to make it splashier, spicier, sexier, while staying true to the original? What I wanted to know was, could I pimp my Margarita?
To maintain Margarita integrity, I would stick to the holy trinity — tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice — and modify the quantities ever so slightly to compliment the additional flavors. Most Margaritas call for silver tequila, the mildest, unaged variety. Since I planned on adding bolder flavors to this cocktail, I decided to stick with the silver, rather than risk clashing flavors with the richer, aged reposado or añejo tequilas.
The orange liqueur adds sweetness and a bit of orange flavor. Depending on the sugar content of the additional ingredients, I could adjust the quantity of liqueur up or down as needed.
This left the quintessential citrus element of a classic Margarita: lime juice. I still wanted lime in my jazzed up cocktail, but I would cut down the quantity and combine it with other types of citrus I thought might pair nicely with tequila. Grapefruit, fresh squeezed orange juice, and in-season blood oranges all seemed like good candidates.
My made-over Margarita was going to need a kick if it was going to stand out in a crowd and what better way to make it unforgettable than with a jolt of spice from fresh chilies.
Tequila and orange liqueur at the ready and a bowl full of citrus and chilies in front of me, I started mixing and shaking. To complement the already sweet orange juice, I used less of the orange liqueur, then tossed in a pinch of minced jalapeño and a bit of cilantro. Tart pink grapefruit harmonized in the shaker with Serrano chili and a touch of honey. And for the decadently dark blood orange, a little chopped chipotle mixed in made for a Margarita at once sweet and tart, smoky and spicy. A little salt from the glass with each sip, that was one smoking hot cocktail. Being a grown up never tasted so good.
Blood Orange-Chipotle Margarita
(Makes 1 cocktail)
2 ounces blanco tequila
1/2 ounce orange liqueur
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce blood orange juice
1/2 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chili in adobo
Garnish: blood orange slice and lime wedge
Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, and shake. Strain into a salt-rimmed rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a blood orange slice and a lime wedge.
Orange-Honey-Serrano Margarita
(Makes 1 cocktail)
2 ounces blanco tequila
3/4 ounce orange liqueur
1/2 ounce lime juice
3/4 ounce grapefruit juice
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon minced Serrano chili, seeds and ribs removed
Garnish: whole Serrano chili and lime wedge
Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously to corporate honey. Add ice, and shake again. Strain into a salt-rimmed rocks glass filled with ice. Cut a slice in the Serrano chili from the tip halfway up the length. Slip the Serrano chili on the edge of the glass so it straddles both sides. Add a lime wedge to the rim and serve.
Orange-Cilantro-Jalapeño Margarita
(Makes 1 cocktail)
2 ounces blanco tequila
1/2 ounce orange liqueur
1/2 ounce fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 ounce lime juice
2 teaspoons minced cilantro
1/2 teaspoon minced jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed
Garnish: lime wedge and jalapeño slice
Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously, and strain into a salt-rimmed rocks glass filled with ice. Take a lengthwise slice of jalapeño, and cut a slit on one end. Fit the jalapeño on the rim of the glass with a lime wedge and serve.