Classic Margarita

Summer is in full swing, and I don’t know what feels more appropriate than a fresh cold margarita enjoyed on the patio. Though summer entertaining can get hectic, I promise that you’ll appreciate making a margarita with fresh citrus versus a mix and it won’t take you more time or effort. With a few spirits in your bar and fresh limes and simple syrup in your fridge, you’ll be set. For this post, I’m partnering with the folks at Jim Beam and Drizly to share the making of the refreshing Sauza® Classic Margarita.

Tequila was a spirit I struggled to enjoy at first and am still a bit picky with. However, I was pleased to find that Sauza® Signature Blue Silver Tequila was both affordable and mixed smoothly with palatable flavor. I added DeKuyper® Triple Sec Liqueur for the orange component and appreciated that it didn’t include high fructose corn syrup or artificial color or flavor while not breaking the bank.

Instead of adding agave for more sweetness, I made a simple syrup from organic cane sugar. While white granulated sugar will do the trick, using a sugar that’s less refined will give you a richer flavor. You could play around with this recipe and try something like demerara sugar if you’d like a more molasses-forward sweetness.

As I mentioned in the beginning, perhaps the most important ingredient in a good margarita is fresh citrus. Get your limes in bulk - they’ll easily keep in the fridge for several weeks and supply you with bright and flavorful cocktails. You can squeeze them by hand, with a manual tool (easily found online, at any kitchen store or even your local grocery store) or an electric tool if you’re making up a pitcher.

I used pink Himalayan salt and edible marigold flowers for my garnish. the Himalayan salt has a milder flavor that doesn’t take away from the cocktail, and the marigolds added a beautiful pop of color. Get the perfect salted rim by cutting a small slit in a wedge of lime and wiping it around the rim of your glass. Then, dip the glass in salt which you’ve spread in a circle roughly the diameter of your glass rim. It’s ok to dip the glass several times if some sections didn’t stick the first time.

If you’re not growing marigolds in your garden, Whole Foods often has packages of edible flavors in the herb section.

Classic Margarita

  • 1 ½ oz Sauza® Signature Blue Silver Tequila

  • ½ oz DeKuyper® Triple Sec Liqueur

  • 1 oz lime juice

  • ½ oz simple syrup

Add ingredients to an ice-filled shaker. Shake and strain over ice into a margarita glass. Garnish with edible flowers or a lime wedge and serve. Salt is optional.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography. This post is sponsored by Jim Beam in collaboration with Drizly.

Strawberry Season

I have a confession.

I don't like tequila. While it has grown on me tremendously since college, you won't find me sipping any on the rocks or volunteering to consume it in shot form. Maybe being Eastern European gives me a poor tequila tolerance to offset my excellent vodka tolerance?

That being said, a lot of other people find tequila enjoyable so I can't leave it out of my cocktail repertoire. It's good to stick with the ingredients you know you love but challenging yourself to move beyond your comfort zone can have surprisingly good consequences. This cocktail is one of those good consequences.

In the past, I've started with a traditional margarita recipe and tried adding egg whites. Why? I thought the foam created by egg whites could smooth out some of the bite of the tequila flavor and bring it down to a level I could find agreeable. The egg whites accomplished exactly what I was hoping for and so much more. 

I particularly enjoy this margarita variation when paired with another fruit flavor. Since strawberries are currently wonderfully ripe and abundant, they served as my fruit of choice. As an extra step, I spent a few hours infusing my tequila with a few bags of wild strawberry tea (steps: put tea bags into tequila -> taste until desired flavor is achieved -> take tea bags out of tequila). The bottle I had on hand was a cheap one but excellent for mixing, especially when given some extra flavor with an infusion. You can snag it for under $10 at Trader Joe's!

One final word of advice - having tested multiple ways of preparing strawberry cocktails, I highly recommend either boiling them to create a syrup or blending them if you prefer to have the fresh fruit. You simply can't get as much goodness out of them if you muddle and then strain. 

Strawberry Season

  • 1.5 oz strawberry tea infused tequila
  • 2-3 blended strawberries
  • 0.5 oz orange liqueur (I swear by this one)
  • 1 small lime
  • 1 egg white

Cut a slice out of the center of the lime and set aside for garnish. Juice the rest of the lime into a shaker and add all other ingredients. Shake without ice for 10-15 seconds, making sure to periodically release the pressure from the top of the shaker (pressure will build as the egg white starts to foam). Add ice and shake until chilled, then strain into a stemmed glass and garnish with a lime wheel. Enjoy outdoors with good company.

Photography by Belen Aquino, glassware by Gather Vintage Tablescapes