Today, on Cinco de Mayo, it's time to salute the margarita, the cocktail that lubricates the laid-back lifestyle.
By JANET K. KEELER
Published May 5, 2004
[Times photo: Cherie Diez, props courtesy of Roco Traders]
Ever since Jimmy Buffett sang about that frozen concoction that helped him hang on in 1977 - and again and again in the years since - we've been a nation in love with margaritas.
We like them frozen and on the rocks, crunchy salt on the rim or saltless. We drink them from stubby old-fashioned glasses or out of stemmed numbers adorned with flamingoes. The sweet-tart cocktail has endured endless experimentation with cranberry juice, pureed mango and even tomato juice, among other ingredients. Can we tempt you to trade your usual Bloody Mary for an Agave Maria?
No other cocktail, except for maybe the martini, has such a strong association with a lifestyle. The martini is all business, save for trendy candy 'tinis, while margaritas are all play. Margaritas mean no shirt and no shoes, unless the shirt is Hawaiian and the shoes are flip-flops.
The tequila industry owes a lot to Buffett and his vision of Margaritaville, where there's nothin' to show but a brand-new tattoo. He helped turn a simple drink into a party staple. Dude, where's my shaker of salt?
Today, on Cinco de Mayo, we salute the margarita and other drinks made of tequila, a native of Mexico. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of the Mexicans over the French at the 1862 Battle of Puebla. It is mostly a regional holiday in Mexico but is marked all over the United States, especially in places with significant Mexican populations.
Tequila comes from the blue agave plant that grows heartily in Tequila, Mexico, and around the state of Jalisco. There are about 400 varieties of agave, including the century plant, but only blue agave is used to make tequila. Not all tequilas are all blue agave; if they are, they'll brag that they are 100 percent. The more rambunctious mezcal - the stuff with the worm floating in the bottom - also is a product of Mexico and the agave, the maguey variety.
In the new Viva Margarita, El Paso, Texas, author W. Park Kerr celebrates the margarita in colorful, near-giddy fashion. He's in love with the explosion of flavor when a squeeze of fresh lime meets a mouthful of pure agave tequila.
"There's a subtle seduction to Seniorita Margarita that inspires an endless quest for yet another fabulous concoction beginning with tequila and fresh-squeezed lime juice. (And besides, someone's got to do it)," he writes.
Kerr is a ninth-generation Texan and founder of El Paso Chile Co., a 23-year-old Southwest specialty food business. His quest for the perfect margarita led him to Mexico to distill his own Tequila Nacional.
There is some debate over the quality of tequila that should be poured for margaritas. Some people always use the best stuff, no matter the drink, and others say forget top-drawer because you'll just cover the tequila with other flavors.
Both opinions have some merit.
In margaritas and sunrises, mixers overwhelm tequila, so the quality of the mixer is paramount. Use fresh juices and other quality ingredients. Avoid Brand-X mixers and liqueurs. Orange liqueur is called for in many recipes; use Cointreau or Triple Sec.
There are dozens of tequilas on the market, all divided into three categories: blanco/silver/gold, reposado and anejo. Blanco tequila is unaged (any gold color comes from caramel) and reposado has been aged from two months to one year. Anejo is tequila aged more than one year.
For mixed drinks, use silver or gold, not an aged reposado or anejo. If you want to show off or spend up, the best silvers and golds are 100 percent agave. There are a zillion anejos for $70 or more a bottle but they are for sipping, not mixed drinks. The main reliable call brands are still Sauza, Cuervo and Patron.
Use coarse kosher salt to rim glasses rather than table (too fine) or sea (too chunky) salt. Kosher salt has plenty of punch and its medium-sized crystals give the best decorative effect. Wet the rim with a wedge of lime to get the salt to stick.
The origin of the margarita is as muddled as a frozen drink. Kerr writes in Viva Margarita that lime, salt and tequila have been enjoyed in Jalisco for ages and the tempting trio probably made its way to the United States in the 1940s.
"As one story goes, a brilliant bartender substituted tequila and lime juice for the brandy and lemon juice in the classic and wildly popular sidecar - to push the new liquor - and the margarita was born."
It was probably in the sidecar that tequila made fast friends with its orange amigos. Magarita are almost never seen without Triple Sec, Cointreau, Curacao or Grand Marnier.
There are more such romantic stories, none with dates, names or anything else to prove authenticity. No matter, though.
Cheers to Cinco de Mayo! Viva la margarita!
Times food critic Chris Sherman contributed to this report. Janet K. Keeler can be reached at 727 893-8586 or krieta@sptimes.com
Perfect Margarita
1 1/2 ounces premium tequila
1 ounce Cointreau
Juice of half a lime and half a lemon
Kosher salt
Shake with ice, strain to serve in a salt-rimmed glass.
Serves 1.
Per serving: 203 calories, 0.9g fat (no saturated), 15g carbohydrates, trace fiber and protein, 256mg sodium.
Run the lime wedge around the rim of a margarita glass. Dip the moistened rim in the salt. Set the lime wedge aside and chill the glass until ready to use.
Fill a cocktail shaker with the crushed ice and add the tequila, Cointreau, lime juice and sugar. Shake vigorously to blend and chill.
Fill the prepared glass with the ice cubes. Strain the shaken mixture into the glass.
Squeeze the juice of 1 or 2 limes wedges into the drink, depending on personal preference.
Drop the lime wedges into the drink and serve.
Makes 1.
Nutritional information per serving: 233 calories, trace of fat, protein, fiber, 26g carbohydrates, 1165mg sodium (mostly from salt on rim).
Source: "Viva Margarita" by W. Park Kerr (Chronicle Books, 2004; $15.95).
Mojave Martini
6 to 8 fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1 ounce fresh lime juice
2 ounces silver tequila
6 ice cubes
2 ounces club soda
1 mint sprig, garnish
Put the mint, sugar and lime juice in a tall 6-ounce glass. Using a muddler or the back of a bar spoon, muddle the contents together until the mint is crushed and the sugar is dissolved.
Add the tequila and stir to combine. Fill the glass with ice and add the club soda.
Stir to blend, garnish with mint sprig and serve.
Makes 1.
Nutritional information per serving: 187 calories, trace of fat, protein, fiber, 15g carbohydrates, 13mg sodium.
Source: "Viva Margarita" by W. Park Kerr (Chronicle Books, 2004; $15.95).
Agave Maria
2 ounces silver tequila
1 1/2 ounces fresh lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
3 to 5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
3 to 5 dashes hot sauce (to taste)
6 to 8 ice cubes
4 to 5 ounces V8 or tomato juice
1 lime wedge, garnish
1 celery stalk or green onion, garnish
In a blender, combine the tequila, lime juice, garlic, cucumber, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Blend until cucumber is pureed and fairly smooth.
Fill a tall, 8-ounce glass with ice and pour in the blended mixture. Add the V8 or tomato juice and stir until well-combined. Squeeze the lime wedge into the drink and drop it into the glass. Garnish with a green onion or celery stalk and serve.
Makes 1.
Nutritional information per serving: 202 calories, less than 1g fat, 2.2g protein, 16g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 459mg sodium.
Source: "Viva Margarita" by W. Park Kerr (Chronicle Books, 2004; $15.95).
Tiki Tequila-a-Go-Go
6 ice cubes
4 ounces silver tequila
1 cup cubed mango
1 ounce coconut syrup or Coco Lopez mixer
2 ounces Grand Marnier
2 ounces fresh lime juice
2 lime slices, garnish
2 mango slices, garnish
2 cranberries
Chill two 8-ounce cocktail glasses.
In a blender, combine the ice, tequila, mango, coconut syrup, Grand Marnier and lime juice. Blend until the mango is pureed and the ingredients are well-combined and slushy.
Divide the blended mixture evenly between the chilled glasses.
Skewer 1 lime slice and 1 mango slice together on a cocktail pick topped with a cranberry and place on the rim of each glass and serve.
Makes 2.
Nutritional information per serving: 319 calories, 1g protein, 2g fat, 30g carbohydrates, 3g fat, 11mg sodium.
Source: "Viva Margarita" by W. Park Kerr (Chronicle Books, 2004; $15.95).
