My Bad (Marguerita)

I tried to make a marguerita yesterday. I used fresh squeezed lime juice, one jigger of Patron silver and a half jigger of citronge. One teaspoon of superfine sugar. Shook with ice. Poured into a glass. I am assuming a jigger is the same as a shot.

It was not really good. Sour, not tasty at all. I looked up recipes and the only thing I did different is cut the tequila down to one shot vs a one and a half since I'm not a big drinker.

I really wanted to believe I could make cocktails with only fresh ingredients but it did not turn out well. I see a lot of recipes for margueritas using frozen limeade and a blender. Maybe that is the way to go. Pls advise.

Always have used the same ratio as pie crusts(just different ingredients)..3-2-1----3 parts tequila(use the good stuff), 2parts Triple Sec and one part lime juice--always fresh please--makes a darn good cocktail--imo anyway. enjoy experimenting

Any time you fiddle with proportions, you're taking big risks. It's one thing to cut down a bit on the alcohol when you're talking about a pitcher full of margaritas. When you're making just one, you take the chance that the other ingredients--in this case, the lime juice--will overwhelm the proportions. So next time, whip up a large batch and the decreased alcohol is less likely to throw your numbers off.

Could be the way you're spelling it.

This is the recipe for Rick Bayless' Topolo margarita. I have made gallons of them. As opposed to using lime juice and sugar, he makes fresh limeade as his base. These are wonderful shaken and served straight up as in the restaurant. I don't bother with the zest.

Topolo Margarita

4 Servings

2 limes, zested
1/2 cup lime juice, about 3 limes
1/4 cup + 1 tsp. sugar
10 tablespoons water
14 tablespoons Sauza Commemorativo tequila
2 tablespoons Gran Torres orange liqueur

Mix the lime zest, lime juice,water, and sugar and refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours. Strain the mixture. Add the tequila and Gran torres. Shake with ice and serve.

RevrendAndy wrote:This is the recipe for Rick Bayless' Topolo margarita. I have made gallons of them. As opposed to using lime juice and sugar, he makes fresh limeade as his base. These are wonderful shaken and served straight up as in the restaurant. I don't bother with the zest.

Topolo Margarita

4 Servings

2 limes, zested
1/2 cup lime juice, about 3 limes
1/4 cup + 1 tsp. sugar
10 tablespoons water
14 tablespoons Sauza Commemorativo tequila
2 tablespoons Gran Torres orange liqueur

Mix the lime zest, lime juice,water, and sugar and refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours. Strain the mixture. Add the tequila and Gran torres. Shake with ice and serve.

I'm impressed as all get-out that ANYONE can get 1/2 cup of lime juice from three limes! Them limes must be on steroids.

The limes come from the farmers market next to the Springfield Nuclear Plant. Mr. Burns actually works the booth.

toria wrote:I tried to make a marguerita yesterday. I used fresh squeezed lime juice, one jigger of Patron silver and a half jigger of citronge. One teaspoon of superfine sugar. Shook with ice. Poured into a glass. I am assuming a jigger is the same as a shot.

It was not really good. Sour, not tasty at all. I looked up recipes and the only thing I did different is cut the tequila down to one shot vs a one and a half since I'm not a big drinker.

I really wanted to believe I could make cocktails with only fresh ingredients but it did not turn out well. I see a lot of recipes for margueritas using frozen limeade and a blender. Maybe that is the way to go. Pls advise.

As someone mentioned above, the first issue is that you played with the proportions; subtracting something without adding something else. This leads the lime to playing a bigger role in the drink, making it more sour. Secondly, it is a matter of expectations. A traditional margarita is a sour cocktail; I'm willing to bet that the drink you made was OK to someone that likes traditional margaritas, but if you are use to typical highly sweetened bar versions, not so much.

Try making it again, replacing the missing shot of Tequila with simple syrup. While it would be too sweet for me, it might be more to your liking. This is the best thing about mixing at home, tasting things, and adjusting them to your palette.

SSDD

If you don't want it so boozy, it is better to add a little water (or don't drink as much of it). Changing the proportions, as you found out, can be disastrous.

Here is a link to one of The Violet Hour's margaritas: http://chicagohappyhour.com/tvh/0001.html

It's got nice balance - not to sour. You can use superfine sugar in place of simply syrup.

good points. I did not have simple syrup I used superfine sugar. I only have Patron silver and Citronge so need to use that up.

RevrendAndy wrote:This is the recipe for Rick Bayless' Topolo margarita. I have made gallons of them. As opposed to using lime juice and sugar, he makes fresh limeade as his base. These are wonderful shaken and served straight up as in the restaurant. I don't bother with the zest.

Topolo Margarita

4 Servings

2 limes, zested
1/2 cup lime juice, about 3 limes
1/4 cup + 1 tsp. sugar
10 tablespoons water
14 tablespoons Sauza Commemorativo tequila
2 tablespoons Gran Torres orange liqueur

Mix the lime zest, lime juice,water, and sugar and refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours. Strain the mixture. Add the tequila and Gran torres. Shake with ice and serve.

As I've probably said in the past, the Topolo Margarita is the standard against which I judge all margaritas. As much as I love all of Bayless's food, my two favorite Bayless items are the Topolo and the Cafe de Olla.