April 1998
Taken from the CLASS archives, this is a column by Dick Bradsell from April 1998.
I hope I will not shock you by the revelation that I do not beIieve I have ever mastered the art of creating a Margarita. I am not even sure I could teach someone else to make a really fantastic example of this classic drink. My general advice to the trainee is to pour 50ml of tequila in a shaker and add 25mI each of time juice and triple sec, then shake. After they have done this I advise them to adjust the sweet and sour contents until they get a balance they are happy with.
It is not very likely, however, that I am going to come across a junior mixologlsl that does not know how to make this cocktail. If anyone ever applies for a job with me and claims to be able to make a cocktail or two I will invariably ask them "what is in a Margarita?" lt is a bit cruel really to suddenly put someone on the spot mid-interview with a question like this but it is an indication of the popularity and renown of this drink that I believe that anyone who claims to know cocktails will know the ingredients of a Margarita.
The answers are quite illuminating too. Tequila is, obviously, the correct choice for the base spirit but the other constituents can range from lime juice, lemon, sweet and sour mix or, God forbid, Margarita mix to triple sec, Cointreau, curacao or any other number of sweet orange liqueurs. I have even worked with a guy who made the most delicious Margaritas with grapefruit juice.
I think this is an indication of the point I am trying to make. The Margarita is a drink that is made differently by a lot of bartenders but is made well by nearly all of them. lt seems such a shame that, because we do need consistency in our bars, we are pressured into forcing a drinks maker into employing our method when theirs was perfectly acceptable (especially to them). l am always tempted to just let them get on with it because although I know that the drinks going out may very well be different at least they are going to be good. In these days of the 'Top SheIf', 'De luxe' or 'Golden Margarita' it is a very opportune time to ask ourselves what a Margarita really is. It has been a stalwart of most bar menus since the 60s (the 1960s that is). In those dreadful years when the sacred candle of mixology was dim and our turncoat customers all turned to designer beers and flavoured shots (nice profit margin!) the Margarita still remained as popular as ever. The one cocktail that has never been regarded as 'poncy' or sophisticated. Traditionally, it has always been a favourite of that rock n roll music biz crowd possibly because it has some white powder around its rim.
The sort of Margaritas l have liked and served are not the smooth blended ones or the aged golden ones but the robust strong tasting mothers that set you up for an evening of howling like a coyote and enjoying the company of someone else's girl/boyfriend before the dawn brings a horrid hangover and a whole lot of explaining.
I am not against the purveying of high quality aged tequilas in these cocktails just as I am not against horseradish in a Bloody Mary. I just think it is a different drink. A different drink altogether. I want raw silver tequila of an acceptable quality mixed with fresh lime or lemon juice and some decent triple sec. I want it shaken over ice and strained into a salt-rimmed glass. Then I want to taste how the three ingredients do not realty mix together. How they kick my tastebuds into submission and fire up my bad side. Then after a few of them I want to run screaming into the night, possibly having paid the bill first. Because I think that is what Margaritas are about. Fun!
A MARGARITA
50ml Silver Tequila
20ml Lime juice
20ml Triple sec
Shake and strain into salt-rimmed glass
www.diffordsguide.com
I hope I will not shock you by the revelation that I do not beIieve I have ever mastered the art of creating a Margarita. I am not even sure I could teach someone else to make a really fantastic example of this classic drink. My general advice to the trainee is to pour 50ml of tequila in a shaker and add 25mI each of time juice and triple sec, then shake. After they have done this I advise them to adjust the sweet and sour contents until they get a balance they are happy with.
It is not very likely, however, that I am going to come across a junior mixologlsl that does not know how to make this cocktail. If anyone ever applies for a job with me and claims to be able to make a cocktail or two I will invariably ask them "what is in a Margarita?" lt is a bit cruel really to suddenly put someone on the spot mid-interview with a question like this but it is an indication of the popularity and renown of this drink that I believe that anyone who claims to know cocktails will know the ingredients of a Margarita.
The answers are quite illuminating too. Tequila is, obviously, the correct choice for the base spirit but the other constituents can range from lime juice, lemon, sweet and sour mix or, God forbid, Margarita mix to triple sec, Cointreau, curacao or any other number of sweet orange liqueurs. I have even worked with a guy who made the most delicious Margaritas with grapefruit juice.
I think this is an indication of the point I am trying to make. The Margarita is a drink that is made differently by a lot of bartenders but is made well by nearly all of them. lt seems such a shame that, because we do need consistency in our bars, we are pressured into forcing a drinks maker into employing our method when theirs was perfectly acceptable (especially to them). l am always tempted to just let them get on with it because although I know that the drinks going out may very well be different at least they are going to be good. In these days of the 'Top SheIf', 'De luxe' or 'Golden Margarita' it is a very opportune time to ask ourselves what a Margarita really is. It has been a stalwart of most bar menus since the 60s (the 1960s that is). In those dreadful years when the sacred candle of mixology was dim and our turncoat customers all turned to designer beers and flavoured shots (nice profit margin!) the Margarita still remained as popular as ever. The one cocktail that has never been regarded as 'poncy' or sophisticated. Traditionally, it has always been a favourite of that rock n roll music biz crowd possibly because it has some white powder around its rim.
The sort of Margaritas l have liked and served are not the smooth blended ones or the aged golden ones but the robust strong tasting mothers that set you up for an evening of howling like a coyote and enjoying the company of someone else's girl/boyfriend before the dawn brings a horrid hangover and a whole lot of explaining.
I am not against the purveying of high quality aged tequilas in these cocktails just as I am not against horseradish in a Bloody Mary. I just think it is a different drink. A different drink altogether. I want raw silver tequila of an acceptable quality mixed with fresh lime or lemon juice and some decent triple sec. I want it shaken over ice and strained into a salt-rimmed glass. Then I want to taste how the three ingredients do not realty mix together. How they kick my tastebuds into submission and fire up my bad side. Then after a few of them I want to run screaming into the night, possibly having paid the bill first. Because I think that is what Margaritas are about. Fun!
A MARGARITA
50ml Silver Tequila
20ml Lime juice
20ml Triple sec
Shake and strain into salt-rimmed glass
www.diffordsguide.com
posted by The team at
11:37 AM
