life on the rocks (or blended)

When I think of margaritas I think of my Mamaw. She loves margs. But she’d only order one if we were at the Chili’s the next town over and if anyone from church walked in, she’d push her marg in front of me instead. As if allowing her underage granddaughter an alcoholic beverage was less scandalous than drinking one herself. 

On this Margarita Day, I want to encourage you to OWN your marg. I want you to be proud of your sweet and sour concoction. Therefore, my husband Matt and I tested out THREE different recipes...in the name of research. 

*Disclaimer: Matt is the true mixologist in the family; he did all the drink-making, I did all the drink-testing. 
**Disclaimer to the Disclaimer: Matt also did some drink-testing. 

Photo Credit: Unsplash @derickray

The Classic Margarita OR Don’t Mess w/ a Good Thing
*Makes 2 drinks

2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
2 oz Cointreau
4 oz Casamigos Añejo

Shake all ingredients with ice and pour over ice into a glass of your choice with a lime salted rim. Add a slice of lime as garnish. 
For a touch of class, we poured our classic marg over an ice sphere. 
We chose Casamigos Añejo tequila because it’s sweeter than average, therefore we didn’t need to add any extra sugar. (Although you certainly can.) 
You really can’t go wrong with the Classic. This drink makes its point so quickly; we had to pause for a little tequila siesta before moving on to the next recipe. 

The Strawberry Marg OR Berry the Lead 
*Makes 2 drinks

First make the limeade and strawberry syrup: 

LIMEADE
1 key lime or 1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp water
6 oz ice
Blend together

STRAWBERRY SYRUP
4 ripe strawberries or 2 oz
4 tbsp sugar
4 oz ice
3 tbsp water
Blend together

Now you can make the drink...

THE MARGARITA
4 oz Tequila - Casamigos Anejo 
1 oz Cointreau 
4 oz Strawberry in syrup 
4 oz Limeade 
8 oz ice 
Blend together and serve in a salt-rimmed glass with strawberry garnish. 

This drink was so damn good I quickly forgot there was tequila in it. (Hence the Bee-anointed name: Berry the Lead.) Also, I’m not usually into salted-rims, but that’s really what made the drink...the combo of sweet and salty….*exclaims in tequila.* 

The Spicy Marg OR The Rita Hayworth OR….
*Makes 2 drinks

4 oz Tequila - Casamigos Anejo 
2 Cointreau
4 oz Limeade (see Limeade recipe above)
4 oz champagne 
1 avocado
1 Poblano pepper (boiled until soft)
4 oz ice
Blend and serve in Tajìn salted rim glasses. 

Okay, look. We got a little carried away with this one. At first we thought the champagne would balance the spice...and then we thought the avocado would give it a similar texture as the strawberry margarita which we loved...but the truth is that at this point there were maybe too many tipsy cooks in the kitchen. Matt wanted to call it the “Rita Hayworth” because it’s smooth and spicy. However, I think “GoT Season 8” would be more accurate: full of promise but ultimately disappointing. The avocado is where we went wrong, and I truly never thought I would say that about an avocado. 

I’m crowning Berry the Lead as this year’s Margarita Day champion; a drink so good that even Mamaw might be seen in public with it. 

Cheers, friends.