Spicy Roasted Chickpeas
Picnic Recipes Galore
Corner-Store Party Food on the Fly
9 Chili Recipes, Bison to Vegan
How to Choose the Best Strawberries
Sausage Recipes of the Month
A slushy margarita is ideal on a really hot day.
Frozen or on the rocks? That question can really only refer to one thing: the margarita. And cocktail enthusiasts have learned to turn their noses up at the frozen variety, but I'm here to say that that's the wrong move.
I'll repeat: Putting a margarita on the rocks is about the worst way to drink the cocktail. (And putting salt on the rim? I have more to say on that below.) A classic margarita is a shaken cocktail; the chilling and diluting that occur by shaking tequila, lime, and triple sec with ice defines the drink. Pouring that drink over ice will make it watery and wan.
It's not hard to understand the place of the frozen margarita in this culture: A slurry of ice and liquid attains a colder temperature than a drink served on the rocks. So much so that caution must be used to avoid the dreaded "brain freeze."
I never drink slushy margaritas (or slushy anything, really) except when I'm home in Texas, and then I drink a lot, because they're delicious. This Slushy Blended Margarita is pretty close to the ideal. I would suggest that you use Minute Maid Limeade, though, as it's well-balanced between sweet and tart, and that you squeeze in a whole lime or two for added bite.
The best way to have a margarita is the most classic, but also the most rare: elegantly served "up" in a martini glass. Most cocktail historians say this is the way the margarita would have been served originally (likely in the ’30s or early ’40s somewhere along the U.S.-Mexico border, probably in Tijuana). Presented this way, the mouth-watering lime aroma and the exotic, herbal/sweet scent of distilled agave really comes through. The secret to making a great "up" margarita is (naturally) freshly squeezed lime juice, good tequila, Cointreau (or agave nectar), and a very good, prolonged 10- to 12-second shake for aeration and dilution.
Do it properly, not too tart or too sweet, and serve it "up" in a chilled martini glass—a glass that won't stay chilled for long in a hot climate like Texas. So, if it's 95 degrees out, you might just want to go with something frozen.
And as for that salt question (again, cocktail purists look down their noses at such things), it's up to you. Personally, I don't find that salt clouds the flavor of a margarita. In fact, a couple of grains on the tongue can actually help bring it out. The solution is simple: Don't salt the whole rim, and then everyone will be happy.
Cocktail snobs can bite me. Frozen Cadillac margaritas for the win!
The only way to get around this controversy is to put the tequila in a shot glass, the salt in the crook of your hand between the thumb and forefinger (after licking, of course) and have a fresh lime standing by....
I'm joking. This particular cocktails is almost as prone to personal preference as beer. I like mine with tequila (of course), fresh lime juice, a hint of fresh orange...+READ
The only way to get around this controversy is to put the tequila in a shot glass, the salt in the crook of your hand between the thumb and forefinger (after licking, of course) and have a fresh lime standing by....
I'm joking. This particular cocktails is almost as prone to personal preference as beer. I like mine with tequila (of course), fresh lime juice, a hint of fresh orange juice...shaken, straight up with salt. I skip the orange liqueurs...too syrupy for my liking. I also prefer silver tequila over gold, unless I'm following my original recipe above.-COLLAPSE
...ahhh to have a tacky hotel bar in the Keys.
To each their own though, and I think the article emphasizes that 1) taste and preference are personal and 2) taste and preference are often about CONTEXT.
If I'm making pre-dinner cocktails for friends or out at a decent restaurant in the city then the perfect margarita = good tequila, cointreau (or triple sec and agave nectar), and fresh...+READ
...ahhh to have a tacky hotel bar in the Keys.
To each their own though, and I think the article emphasizes that 1) taste and preference are personal and 2) taste and preference are often about CONTEXT.
If I'm making pre-dinner cocktails for friends or out at a decent restaurant in the city then the perfect margarita = good tequila, cointreau (or triple sec and agave nectar), and fresh citrus juice shaken like hell and served in a LIGHTLY salted rocks glass. However, if I was hanging out in the suburbs and exurbs of the Texas (or really anywhere that cut-offs and a band t-shirt would be considered appropriate attire) then I bet the slushy would be just the ticket.-COLLAPSE
I used my processor , and used frozen strawberries, frozen lemonade or limeade, icecubes, rum, Blend, and slush is red, and oh so great on a hot day on the Deck, a womans drink for sure!!!!
I could never drink from those silly margarita glasses (and drinking a slushy Margarita from one of those glasses compounds the error). I don't want to be mentally transported to a wet t-shirt contest in Cancún. A standard old-fashioned glass is the only acceptable glassware. And I agree with kgrote: a blended cocktail by default will always be more watered-down than anything served shaken or...+READ
I could never drink from those silly margarita glasses (and drinking a slushy Margarita from one of those glasses compounds the error). I don't want to be mentally transported to a wet t-shirt contest in Cancún. A standard old-fashioned glass is the only acceptable glassware. And I agree with kgrote: a blended cocktail by default will always be more watered-down than anything served shaken or stirred. And Limeade? That's a sure way to destroy the essence of high-quality tequila and Cointreau.
I'd point to Jill Santopietro's and Lessley Anderson's competing Margarita recipes as the closet to ideal. I suppose I just can't see myself using a blender and Limeade to make a cocktail. Once you've reached that point you're only a large metal container of pre-mix and a few plastic umbrellas away from opening a tacky hotel bar in the Keys.-COLLAPSE
Wait a minute, are you suggesting that a margarita on the rocks will be *more* watered down than a blended one which, by default, consists of about 50% ice? Thousands of tiny ice particles that have more surface area than a couple large cubes and therefore melt more quickly? I think you might need to go over your high school chemistry notes again.