A Margarita Dilemma (or, for you purists: dilima)

By Richard Frisbie

Lemma, lima – sometimes it doesn't matter which – it’s all citrus. But, with a proper margarita it is always lime juice.

I just returned from Margaritaville (Los Cabos, Mexico) where everyone had their own recipe for the classic south-of-the-border drink. I could have happily tasted them all, all day long, but at some point drinking too much lime juice can give you an acid stomach. Before that happened we switched to tequila shots!

In Mexico, straight tequila is consumed in a small narrow glass called a caballito or “little horse” with a side of a sweet and sour spicy drink called sangrita, which is basically a spicy Virgin Mary. Equal-sized shots of tequila and sangrita are alternately sipped, without the salt or lime that is typically consumed with tequila north of the border.

While we were still drinking margaritas I discovered I liked two moderately different recipes served two distinctly different ways.

On Thursday afternoon and evening the many art galleries of San Jose del Cabo open their doors for a friendly art open house. Artists and owners entertain their prospective patrons with tours and refreshments, and the whole community has a festive atmosphere. After fifteen or so galleries I was ready for a real drink, not the gallery wine I had been suffering. In La Panga Antigua Restaurant I had a sip of tradition. The bartender, Jesus, offered me a Margarita when I entered, hot and thirsty from a typical Thursday afternoon Art Walk. Jesus' margarita really hit the spot.

Jesus’ Margarita

Shot of tequila
½ shot triple sec
Juice of 2 limes
Sugar (to taste)

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a chilled glass or over rocks and serve. The rim of the glass can be edged in sugar or salt. Jesus served mine in a chilled glass (no rocks) with a salted rim. There is much to be said for tradition!

I've also been served a frozen margarita, one you need a special machine to make. All I remember is the brain freeze and resultant headache it induced. The fact that it as a cooling good drink did not overcome that. One hangover per night of debauchery is enough, not one for every drink. I won't order it again.

At the Las Ventanas al Paraíso, a Five Diamond boutique resort hotel, the standard greeting for every guest involves a cold damp towel and a shooter of margaritas. I found both very refreshing, and the margarita most unusual. My margarita had a head on it!

Margarita "Welcome"

2 oz tequila Reposado
1 ½ oz Cointreau
¾ oz syrup (I used agave nectar)
1 ½ lime juice
8 grenetine sheets (small gelatin sheets)

Soak the grenetine in cold water for 5 minutes. Add all but the grenetine sheets to a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes and shake well. Microwave part of the contents of the cocktail shaker for 30 seconds. Dissolve the grenetine in the warmed margarita. Place in a siphon and foam onto to the top of the cold margarita which you have poured into a large chilled shooter. There you have it:- a margarita with a foam head.

Which of the above margaritas you prefer, there will always be someone ready to challenge you with their "perfect" margarita. Enjoy the friendly rivalry and accept their offer of a taste. There's no such thing as a bad margarita. Who knows? You may find one you like even better.

Richard Frisbie is a freelance writer who frequently contributes articles to TravelLady.com, yogayaya.com, gather.com and GoNomad.com, as well as EDGE Publications, and magazines such as Adirondack Life and Life in the Finger Lakes. He lives in New York's Hudson Valley.

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