Happy National Margarita Day!!
Yes, it’s a thing.
A very, very good thing.
I can honest to goodness say it’s a good thing now that I’ve discovered what really goes into a margarita because up until about 2 years ago, I couldn’t stand these super salty, ridiculously crappy sweet and sour mix/well tequila laden cocktails AT ALL. If I drank one I knew the next day I would have a little something I like to call “Hangover Heartburn”. It’s where a migraine meets acid reflux and has a baby. The only cure for it is a shot of antacid with an ibuprofen chaser.
Welcome to 30, you old so-and-so. I’ve saved you a seat right here next to me.
It wasn’t until I had my first real, honest to goodness margarita from real ingredients that I conceded that margaritas didn’t have to be happy hour nightmares dressed up in weird little umbrellas and maraschino cherries. They are actually made out of lime juice, sugar, tequila, triple sec, and ice. No blending. No sweet and sour mix. No tequila out of a fountain squirter. Just simple and recognizable ingredients. Now, why this isn’t done everywhere, I don’t know but it should probably be a law.
Up until I found my holy grail margarita cantina/recipe, I just stuck to what I knew as the best tequila cocktail known to man: The Paloma.
You may not know what a Paloma is so let me brown-girl-break-it-down for you: A “paloma” is the most popular tequila-based drink in Mexico. It’s similar to a margarita in that it contains tequila, lime juice, and ice. However, what sets the paloma apart is one special ingredient: grapefruit.
Now this whole grapefruit thing can go two ways when making this drink:
You can keep it real and make it the way we would growing up by simply using ice, tequila, grapefruit soda and a twist of lime
-OR-
you can keep it all crafty-hipster-farm-fresh-foo-foo and use fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, sugar or simple syrup, fresh lime juice and top it with a floater of club soda.
I like to think I’m about a 3 on the fancy-pants scale when it comes to palomas and about a 9 on the snobby-hipster scale when it comes to margaritas. I’m secure enough to admit this but you may not be so I have married my two selves to make this poor man’s margarita/rich man’s paloma margarita mashup recipe for you.
Now go put away the antacids but leave out that ibuprofen…you may need it after a couple of these bad boys.
