THE MARGARITA
revisited with
Sriracha Margarita and Watermelon Margarita
So remember when we first started this blog? No you don't, because we actually started it on Xanga in like 2005, but you might remember when we migrated the whole thing to Blogger when we got bored one decade. If you do (and we're pretty sure you still don't), then you might know that our very first drink we presented to you was the Margarita. No, not one of those frozen bowls of nastyness or some artificially flavored soda syrup out of a plastic bottle, but a real proper margarita.
In honor of the upcoming holiday of Cinco de Mayo, we are once again revisiting the margarita, as our methods have evolved. And we'll also be bringing you two more variants, including a sriracha and watermelon version, to make you popular with all the hipsters in your life. So let's get started.
Now we don't want to come over all "Fox News" about this, but it's obvious that there is some little fucker out there trying to cancel fun because they got hurt in the feels. Yep, an American college student named Daniela Hernandez thinks it's somehow wrong for anyone who isn't Mexican to celebrate cinco de mayo and so she canceled it. Well, here at Pinky Mixology, we hate anyone who tries to cancel fun, so while we sit here and silently hope that Daniela Hernandez gets hit by a bus, we want you to go out and have as much Mexican themed revelry that you can!
Camarena Tequila is all in all an ok one to use for cocktails. It's not the tippy-top shelf stuff that will cost you a fortune, but it's a good one to have if you're going to be mixing a lot of sweet drinks of different types, as we are about to do here. It also comes in a pretty bottle.
We're gonna be ripping on Daniela for a while, because deep down, we think she's awful for canceling a charity fundraiser over some sort of butt-hurt. However, the more important part, is to ditch the orange liqueur. The only reason it's in there in the first place, is most likely the margarita started out as some alternate version of the side-car, and that did need orange stuff in it. That's not to say that the margarita doesn't benefit from orange notes, and so that's where using orange zest to make an infusion comes in. This works wonders and is seriously the only way to go when doing a margarita.
Just shell out for the goddam limes.
Citrus press juicers are extremely handy and no home bar is complete without one.
The amber agave nectar can darken a drink to the point where it looks weird. The lighter stuff doesn't do that as much, and of course simple syrup doesn't do that at all. It all comes down to what your own personal tastes are. Just avoid using the pre-sweetened lime juice that's out there, because it's absolute crap.
We're done with mason jars and other drink weirdness. We're coming back to the basics.
The whole trick of assembling the ingredients in the same glass you're going to serve it in, means that you'll never end up making too much or not enough to fill it up just right. As you can see, the amber agave nectar has darkened up the drink a bit, but not to the point where it looks actually bad or anything.
We promise not to go sriracha-crazy and start putting it in everything, but seriously, this kind of thing is totally perfect for it.
The color can lead people to think that it's a fruit based drink rather than a spicy one, and so having a chili pepper hanging off the glass sends a clear message about what to expect.
You can check out our other watermelon margarita recipe, which is meant for big groups, as it produces a large amount of punch style beverage. This one is for individual servings.
It really is weird but watermelon juice really is kind of bland, and nowhere near as satisfying as actually chowing down on watermelon itself. That being said, a little sugar and tiny bit of salt (yes you need that), will fix that situation.
We think she may be murdering puppies at this very moment.
If you don't know who Antonio Aguilar is, then you are missing out on life.
Most people already know this, but Cinco de Mayo is much more of an American holiday than a Mexican one (it's very regional, and only significantly celebrated in Puebla in Mexico). So as long as you're not going to be a total asshole to people, go have fun. Frat-boy types are always going to use anything as an excuse to get fall down drunk... take away Cinco de Mayo and St. Patrick's Day and you'll just end up with drunken keggers on Arbor day and shit.
The orange can overpower the tequila a bit if you use a lot and leave it in there for a long time. But 3 days to a week is perfect for this.
We're back, pants-less cautionary tales and all! We're also going to be coming to you twice a month now, because ...why the hell not, right?
