Margaritaville

How could I post about salsa last week and leave it’s poor friend the Margarita left out!! So here it is, and since it's the Labor Day weekend enjoy this recipe at the last party of the summer season.

The Margarita’s origin is "officially" unknown and everyone wants to take credit for it. Looking at the drink closely you can see the ultimate progression of how this drink was made and that eventually someone would have come up with it.  The margarita seems to stem from the Sour of the 80s (the 1880s that is). The sour gave birth to the Sidecar, then the Daisy and these 3 beverages show the signs of the Margarita’s origin.

Sour = Liquor, water, sugar, lemon

Sidecar = Liquor, orange liqueur, lemon with a sugar rim

Daisy = Liquor, orange liquor, water, sugar, lemon

Margarita = Tequila, orange liqueur, water, sugar, lemon, lime, salt rim

So basically the Margarita is sort of a Tequila Sour Sidecar Daisy that swapped it’s sugar and lemon rim for lime and salt. And boy is it tasty!  I should also mention that the Spanish word for daisy is margarita so it stands to reason that the daisy is the margarita's namesake.

The Margarita is the most popular Tequila based beverage in the United States but in Mexico, the Paloma is the household favorite. The Paloma is a Margarita made with grapefruit soda as opposed to a lemon and lime sweet and sour mix.  The Margarita has endless variations and depending the produce available, MiddleBar has been known to offer varieties with orange, mango, strawberry, etc.  The current favorite is the Margarita and Paloma twist, "The Daisy & Rita." The Daisy & Rita is made from scratch with homemade sweet & sour, simple syrup, fresh squeezed grapefruit, and fresh strawberry puree. {Due to the sugar content of all retail fruit juice and mixers substitutions will drastically effect the taste of this drink so if you're following this recipe don't cut corners} 

Glassware:

Rocks glass, salt & sugar rim (optional lime or strawberry garnish)

Ingredients:

1 oz Top Shelf Silver Tequila

½ oz triple sec

1 oz sweet & sour

½ oz simple syrup

½ oz strawberry puree

4 oz fresh grapefruit juice

Shake well and strain over ice.

The sugar and salt rim does make a difference. The sugar accents the sweetness of the strawberries and the salt plays on the lemon and lime notes.  If grapefruit is not available 3 oz of sweet and sour and 1 oz of sparkling water is a nice twist.  The Daisy & Rita should always be shaken over ice, NEVER blended. Because at MiddleBar, the blender is always broken.

Salud Ya’ll