Five Ways To Ruin Your Margarita

The margarita used to be a simple, fresh cocktail that had class. Then we started messing with it.

  1. Cheap tequila – “It has to be good quality 100% agave tequila. It amazes me how much bad tequila is still poured in bars and restaurants and homes in this country.”
  2. Bad technique – “You have to shake sour style drinks to chill, dilute, and aerate them properly. When I see the cocktail built in the glass and not shaken I feel like they are doing the drink a disservice.”
  3. Artificial Mixer -“The drink should be sweetened with orange liqueur such as Patrón Citrónge, maybe a spoonful of sugar or agave nectar. Never with a high fructose corn syrup-sweetened mixer.”
  4. Fresh Lime Juice -“Not shelf stable lime juice, or pasteurized lime juice, or partial lime juice mix. There is no substitute for freshly squeezed lime juice.”
  5. Bad Garnish -“I know this may seem like I’m being picayune, but this happens all the time. A good, or even a great drink, can have everything right, but then a dried out lime wedge can mess it all up. Take a look at the next several lime garnishes you get. If they are brown and dried out around the edges, you will know what I’m talking about.”


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