The best tequila is worth sipping straight or on the rocks. But the margarita is the classic tequila mixed drink — cool and refreshing, showcasing the flavor of tropical lime.
Most cocktail recipe books explain how to make a margarita using tequila, triple sec, and a commercial margarita mix or some form of lime juice and bartenders' simple syrup. And most commercial margarita mixes are made from corn syrup and lime flavorings.
Don't get Old Bear wrong. Corn is a blessing of nature (see my picture to the right) and corn syrup sweeteners have their place in cooking. Simple
syrup is made from cane sugar desolved at high concentration in water.
And it too has it's place behind the bar.
Although margaritas made from syrup or mix can be tasty and refreshing, there
is nothing that compares to the perfect margarita made with fresh
squeezed lime juice. This is a supreme truth which was revealed to Old Bear
in a vision while visiting Cancun.
Here is Old Bear's recipe for the perfect margarita:
| 4.5 | ounces | tequila |
| 1.5 | ounces | triple sec |
| 4.5 | ounces | fresh squeezed lime juice |
| 2 | teaspoons | agave syrup (see note) |
| 2/3 | cup | crushed ice |
| more crushed ice for the glass |
Measure the first five ingredients into a shaker. Shake well and strain into one or more salt-rimmed glasses which have been filled half-way with crushed ice.
The ice in the shaker is an important part of the recipe. It's function is not just to chill the ingedients as they are mixed, but also to melt and provide water for dispersing the flavors and moderating the concentration of the drink. The result will be an icy-cold drink when it is poured into the glasses -- which themselves will have been chilled by their own crushed ice. That means that the remaining crushed ice in the glass will be there just to maintain the already cold temperatue and will melt very slowly and keep further dilution of your drink to a minimum as you enjoy it.
| Note: Although you could use bartenders' simple syrup as a sweenter, Old Bear suggests that you seek out Blue Agave Nectar which is a syrup made from the same Agave plant that is used to make tequila. There are several brands available. Old Bear has been pleased with the dark Organic Raw Blue Agave Nectar from Wholesome Sweeteners, Inc. You can find it at many organic food retailers or order it online through Amazon or MyBrands.com. |
Here is an interesting video of how the agave are harvested and turned into syrup:
And you can read more about this process here.