Margarita

The classic margarita consists of three drinks and ice: 50 ml tequila made from 100% agave, 20 ml triple sec and 15 ml freshly squeezed lime juice. That is how it appears in the specification of the International Bartenders Association, which counts the margarita among the Contemporary Classics. You put everything in a shaker with ice, shake and strain the cocktail into a chilled cocktail glass.

The producer Cointreau uses a slightly different ratio for what it calls the Original Margarita: two parts tequila blanco, one part Cointreau and one part fresh lime juice. In that recipe the orange liqueur makes up about 30 per cent of the cocktail. Cointreau starts with a salt rim, shakes the ingredients firmly with ice, strains into a margarita glass and garnishes with a slice of lime.

Both recipes use fresh lime juice and no ready-made mix. According to Cointreau the original recipe goes back to 1948, when Margarita Sames of Dallas mixed Cointreau and tequila with lime juice.

You make a frozen margarita in the blender instead of in the shaker. For its Original Frozen Margarita, Cointreau uses 50 ml tequila blanco, 30 ml Cointreau, 20 ml fresh lime juice, 10 ml sugar syrup and seven ice cubes. First you make a salt rim on the glass, put the spirits, the juice and the syrup in the blender, add the ice and blend for about ten seconds until smooth. Then you pour it into a chilled glass and garnish with a slice of lime.

For a frozen margarita with strawberry, in English strawberry margarita, the producer gives 60 ml tequila, 30 ml Cointreau, 20 ml lime juice, 5 ml sugar syrup, half a cup of frozen strawberries and five ice cubes. You blend that one too for about ten seconds. It goes into a chilled margarita glass with a salt rim and is garnished with a sprig of fresh mint.

According to the IBA, the margarita is served in a chilled cocktail glass. The specification does not prescribe a particular shape. The producer Cointreau serves both the classic and the frozen margarita in a margarita glass, and for the frozen strawberry version explicitly mentions a chilled margarita glass. Margarita glasses are therefore customary, but a well-chilled cocktail glass follows the IBA just as well.

The salt rim is a choice with the IBA: the specification mentions a half salt rim and adds optional to it. With a half rim, whoever wants can drink around the salt. Cointreau makes the salt rim the first step in all its margarita recipes, even before shaking or mixing. That way the glass is ready the moment the cocktail comes cold out of the shaker or blender.

Tequila blanco, also called silver or plata, is tequila that comes straight from the still and whose alcohol content is adjusted only with water. That is how the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT) describes the class. Difford's Guide usually calls blanco colourless and unaged, and notes that it may rest in oak barrels for a short time, up to about sixty days.

Tequila may only be made from Agave tequilana Weber, blue variety, and only in the areas covered by the designation of origin. The CRT recognises two categories. Tequila 100% agave comes exclusively from agave sugars and is bottled in the region of origin. Regular tequila must contain at least 51 percent agave sugars and may have up to 49 percent other sugars. For the margarita, the IBA expressly calls for 100% agave tequila. The rules are laid down in the Mexican standard NOM-006-SCFI-2012.

At ’t Bockje you will find tequila blanco from several houses and a row of orange liqueurs, so that you can make the margarita the way you like it. For the tequila you could think of Patron Tequila Silver, Don Julio Tequila Blanco, Casamigos Tequila Blanco, Cazadores Tequila Blanco or Rooster Rojo Blanco. Whoever follows the producer's recipe takes Cointreau, a 40 percent orange liqueur from Angers that, according to the house, is made from dried sweet and bitter orange peels and fresh sweet peels. Alongside it are Cointreau Noir and Tribelle Triple Sec.

Not sure which tequila suits your recipe best, or looking for something for a party? Feel free to call 0570 541 278 or drop by ’t Bockje at Brink 2 in Bathmen.

The shop is at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Open Tuesday to Friday from 09.00 to 18.00 and Saturday from 09.00 to 17.00. For advice, call 0570 541 278 or email info@bockje.nl.