Mix-Your-Own-Margarita Nite

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After our post on making Old Fashioneds, a lot of suggestions were sent RainyDayKitchen’s way regarding what type of cocktails should be next in the “tasting” series. Gin drinks and vodka concoctions were high on the list, but the one which seemed most appropriate for wrapping up Summer was the Margarita!

The Mixers

Conventional wisdom says that margaritas should be freshly made. That might be totally and completely true for the past, because most old-school mixers were too sweet (as in, tooth-achingly sweet), and typically not made from quality ingredients. However, the RainyDayInterns’ research made us realize that today’s margarita mixers are reseting the bar and changing expectations.

Barsmith

Barsmith’s mixes are a blend of three citrus juices (lime, orange, and lemon) and pure cane sugar and balances the tangy with the sweet very nicely. The spicy version uses roasted hatch chiles, which they grind into a purée, to provide the kick.

• Margarita mix: Water, pure cane sugar, citric acid, lemon juice (from concentrate), natural flavors, orange juice (from concentrate) and lime juice (from concentrate).
• Hatch Chile mix: Everything above, plush hatch green chile and pepper extract.

Proof

If you want to make the perfect cocktail without having to bother with sugar cubes, citrus oils, bitters, simple syrup, and libation-pourer secret ingredients that only are imparted to mere mortals when the sun is about to crash into this planet, then  Proof syrups are the way to go.

For absolutely foolproof margaritas, we reach for the Citrus Sour syrup. It has yet to let us down, being made with lime juice, lemon juice, Water, premium agave syrup, orange Juice,  and natural flavors.

• Barsmith Hatch Chile
• Barsmith Margarita
• PROOF Citrus Sour

The Tequilas

While the mix is important for a great-tasting margarita, the tequila is just as critical. Made from the blue agave plant, “real” tequila can only be produced in the state of Jalisco and other, limited municipalities in the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas. However, like champagne, quality versions of it can be created by anyone dedicated to the craft, even if they can’t call it that.

Patron

The “house” tequila at RainyDayMagazine is Patrón Silver. Patrón Silver is handcrafted from 100% Weber Blue Agave and is distilled in small batches at Hacienda Patrón distillery in Jalisco, Mexico.

Teremana

Teremana means spirit of the earth. From taking care of the land where they source their agave, to the painstaking process of creating the tequila, to the people who work there. Teremana stands for taking care of what and who they love…and they love tequila. And we love their tequila.

GlenQuila

Timing is important in the launch of any venture. The day before GlenPharmer Distillery was set to open, Massachusetts announced it was going to lockdown. Fortunately for us, Patrick and Beth Downings, owners of GlenPharmer Distillery and distillers of grain-to-glass spirits (which includes three types of rum, three types of whiskey, three types of vodka, gin and its “GlenQuila,” ) were able to out last the crisis.

We were clued into GlenQuila by our local Blanchard’s sales person. He mentioned their motto, “Better Liquor Through Chemistry” and that they use the same ingredients as true tequila makers, but cannot call it that because it was not made in Mexico….hence “GlenQuila.”

• Patron Silver
• Teremana Small Batch 
• GlenQuila

The Margaritas

A margarita made from fresh ingredients, syrups, and quality tequila is a thing of beauty. We printed out a few recipes thinking some might not want to just “wing it.” 

Barsmith Margarita

• 6 oz of Barsmith Margarita’s mix
• 4 oz of quality tequila
• Shake and pour into rocks glasses with ice

Proof Margarita

RainyDayMargarita

• Patron Silver : 1.5 oz
• Patrón Citrónge Orange : 1 oz
• Fresh lime juice : 0.75 oz
• Simple syrup : 0.25 oz

The Tasting

While all of our tasters are responsible adults, we made sure we had plenty of alcohol-absorbing tasty bits available:

• Pork loins : sous vided @140º for 4.5 hrs and flame-finished
• Chicken drumsticks : sous vided @165º for 3 hrs and flame-finished
• Steak tips : sous vided @135º for 2 hrs and flame-finished
• Extra firm tofu : microwaved for 2 minutes and flame-finished

There were two kinds of pork loins (Dry rubbed w/brown sugar, sea salt) from Hatfield, steak tips, drumsticks, and firm tofu. Everything were sous-vided earlier in the day and flame-finished just before the guest were to scheduled to arrive. Cooking this way enabled us to spend very little time in the kitchen yet still be able to put out quite the spread.

The crew arrived with dessert, even more tequila, and more importantly…hungry, ready to eat, drink, and taste-test 🙂 

Of course, everyone were reminded of the “house rule” that no one goes home until all the food had been eaten.  Happily, it wasn’t hard to convince this crew to eat and drink.

We had the good intention of side-by-side taste-testing. However, after one of the tasters mixed some Barsmith Hatch Chile with some tequila, squeezed in some lemon and lime, threw in some jalapenos…all without any measuring, and it tasted GREAT, we realized “systematic” was just not going to happen. We pivoted and decided the best measure would be just see what was left at the end of the night.

When everyone has had enough, it was pretty clear the Hatch Chile mixer was the clear favorite by a large margin, as the bottle was almost empty! As for the tequila, the Teremana edged out the GlenQuila, but just barely 🙂

The Crew

Knowledge counts when “testing” cocktails. To that end, this RainyDayCrew has not just the knowledge, but the experience and discerning palate to properly compare and contrast all of the different tequila and mixer combos.

OK…who are we kidding, this is a fun group who love to get together to eat and drink. We are always looking for good reasons to do it and taste-testing margaritas was an EXCELLENT reason!!!