Margaritas!

You’ve been to Cabo and had the Margaritas.  You live in Cabo and love the Margaritas.  Now it’s time to step out and bring that part of Cabo home!  Every host has that one signature cocktail. Well, 2019 is the year to make the Margarita your signature cocktail.  You’ll have your friends excited to wrap their lips around the salted rim of one of your frosty margaritas.  Whether your crowd is nibblin’ on Chips and Pico De Gallo or a platter of nachos, you will be toting the frozen concoction of everybody’s dreams.

Margarita History

It’s hard to believe, but there is nobody to thank for this classic Mexican cocktail. Yes, there are plenty of people that want the credit, but nobody is quite sure which one of them is the creator. Back in the mid-1930s a bartender named Willie, from Matamoros, Mexico, was smitten with one of the bar’s regular customers. Her name was Marguerite Hemery. Legend has it that Willie concocted the first margarita in Hemery’s honor. But, if that’s so, why don’t we drink marguerites? Then there was Danny Negrete, a bar owner who created the margarita as a wedding gift to his future sister-in-law. Another tale is that he made it for his girlfriend, who was fond of salt in her drinks.  Bastante Gutierrez is said to have created the margarita to honor his favorite actress: Margarita Cansino, whom we know as Rita Hayworth.  Finally, we have Francisco “Pancho” Morales, to whom the Mexican press gives credit for inventing the margarita. Seems a customer ordered a drink he’d never heard of. Rather than asking the lady what was in it, he created his own concoction. She loved it and it became the margarita.

Tequila!  What you need to know!

At one time only wine and scotch had snooty aficionados. Today, tequila has joined those ranks.  No longer is Tequila left to be a shooter with lime, salt and that face you make afterward.  Tequila is so much more now.  There are two main types of tequila: 100 percent blue agave and blends (called Mixto), which are usually at least 51 percent blue agave and other stuff – which varies according to the manufacturer. These two types are further broken down into:

• Silver tequila, also known as Blanco, White, and Platinum. This is pure blue agave; it’s clear but not aged.
• Gold tequila is typically a mixed type of tequila, although there are exceptions. It’s also generally less expensive than the pure forms of tequila.
• Reposado tequila is a slightly aged agave – usually stored for between two and 11 months. Sometimes stored in wood barrels, the tequila may take on the flavor of the type of wood and yellow color.
• Añejo tequila is agave tequila that is aged for at least a year. Before pure agave tequila can bear the Añejo label it must be aged in barrels that hold a maximum of 600 liters. Añejo is a darker yellow almost brown colored tequila.
• Extra Añejo tequila.  If it’s aged more than three years it can be called Extra Añejo, for “ultra aged.” Barrel capacity requirements are the same as for añejo. After aging, the tequila is quite dark in color and extremely smooth. This is definitely a sippin’ tequila.

The Cabo Margarita

Known to pack a wallop, the Cabo Margarita is served in a few different variations.  From the Tequila Sunrise Margarita in Todos Santos to the bright Azul Waborita at the Cabo Wabo Cantina.  They all happen to share the same basic ingredients:

• 2 oz. tequila – your choice, the better the tequila, the more repeat business
• 1 oz. Damiana Liqueur
• 1 oz. Controy Orange Liqueur – or substitute like Triple Sec
• 1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice – key limes if you have them!
• ice, lots of ice

Preparation:

• Pour tequila, Damiana, Controy (or orange liqueur alternative), and lime juice in a shaker and fill with ice
• Shake it up until ice cold
• Pour into a chilled, salt-rimmed margarita glass – or hell whatever kind of glass you want!
• If you want to Wabo it up, finish with a splash of blue curacao.

Sin City Top Shelf Margarita

Courtesy of an ace bartender at a famed Las Vegas nightclub. This recipe is for one cocktail so you’ll need to multiply the ingredients by the number of margaritas you want to make.

• 3 oz. sweet & sour
• 1 oz. añejo tequila
• ¾ oz simple syrup
• ½ oz Grand Marnier
• fresh lime juice from ½ lime

Shake all the ingredients except the lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Squeeze the lime over the top before serving.

All Day Long Margaritas

This margarita mix for the masses and mass consumption.

• 6 cups of your favorite tequila
• 5 cups triple sec
• 5 cups fresh lime juice
• 5 cups fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups simple syrup

Mix ingredients together in a gallon container – such as a clean one-gallon milk or water container. Keep it refrigerated until the party. Makes 20 margaritas.  By the way, you’ll need two 750 ML bottles of tequila and you’ll have a bit left over after you measure out the 6 cups. You’ll need one 750 ML bottle of the triple sec.  

Simple Syrup

Bring 2 cups of water to a full boil.  Slowly pour in 2 cups of granulated sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is clear.  Allow the syrup to cool and then pour it into a bottle. Or,  if you’re in Cabo, go to Costco, premixed simple syrup is called Jarabe.  Same stuff without the effort.    

Damiana

The traditional Mexican liquor “Guaycura Liquor de Damiana” is sometimes used instead of triple sec in margaritas or in addition to Triple Sec!   Damiana liquor is derived from Damiana plant and both the liquor and plant are known to be aphrodisiac and relaxant. Damiana has an earthy taste and is best served in the Cabo Margarita.