Cooking Lesson #22— Cinco de Mayo Cocktail Happy Hour

How you doin’? It’s almost Cinco de Mayo!!!  We didn’t want to wait until the last minute to get you Cinco de Mayo cocktail recipes, and it is Friday after all, so you can practice, practice, practice right on through to Tuesday.
 
Cinco de Mayo is the annual celebration held on May 5th in commemoration of the Mexican Army's victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. In better times Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with parades, food, music, dancing, battle reenactments and cocktails—lots of cocktails. It’s a time for fun, celebration and merriment. And there’s no better way to celebrate than with an icy cold Margarita. We think Jimmy Buffett had it right with his famous song—Margaritaville. So, what is a Margarita?
 
A basic Margarita is a mixed cocktail consisting of measures tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice most often served with salted rim on the glass. The drink can be shaken with ice (on the rocks), blended with ice (frozen), or without ice (straight up) with a tequila shooter. It has become acceptable to serve a Margarita in a wide variety of glass types, ranging from cocktail and wine glasses to pint glasses and even large schooners or pitchers. You can even dress up a Margarita with premium or top-shelf liquor or make it fresh and fruity by adding your favorite fruit, i.e., strawberry, mango, pineapple, etc.
 
There are many conflicting accounts on how the Margarita was first concocted. One account comes from the 1937 Cafe Royal Cocktail Book that contains a recipe for a Picador using the same concentrations of tequila, triple sec and lime juice as a Margarita. Another early story is of the Margarita being invented in 1938 by Carlos "Danny" Herrera at his restaurant Rancho La Gloria, in Baja California. Danny claimed that it was created for customer and former Ziegfeld dancer Marjorie King, who was allergic to many spirits, but not to tequila. This story was related by Herrera and also by bartender Albert Hernandez, acknowledged for popularizing a Margarita in San Diego after 1947, at the La Plaza restaurant in La Jolla. There are also claims that the Margarita was first mixed in Juárez, Chihuahua at Tommy's Place Bar on July 4, 1942 by Francisco "Poncho" Morales.
 
Others say the inventor was Dallas socialite Margarita Sames, when she mixed up the drink for her guests at her Acapulco, Guerrero vacation home in 1948. Tommy Hilton reportedly attended, bringing the drink back to the Hilton hotel chain. However, The spirts company, Jose Cuervo was already running ad campaigns for the Margarita three years earlier, in 1945, with the slogan, "Margarita: It's more than a girl's name." According to Jose Cuervo, the cocktail was invented in 1938 by a bartender in honor of Mexican showgirl Rita de la Rosa.
 
At our Customs House Restaurants, Margaritas were important mixed cocktails for our bar program. In fact, the CHR wereknown for our Cinco de Mayo celebration and our perfectly concocted Margaritas. Here are a few for you to try. 
 
The Basic Margarita Customs House Margarita
Build in a shaker over ice or in a blender can
Ice to 3/4-full in the shaker can
3/4-ounce tequila
1-ounce Cointreau
1-1/2-ounces lime mix
1/4-ounce fresh lime juice
Squeeze lime juice into 13-ounce salted glass
Shake (or blend) the mixture above and pour into the salted 13-ounce glass
Serve a side car of 3/4-ounce tequila shot; garnish the shot glass with a salted rim and a lime wheel
 
Margarita Grande
Make the basic into a Margarita Grande
Everything above plus a 1/2-ounce Grand Marnier float on top of the drink
 
The Perfect Cadillac Margarita
Fill a cocktail shaker 3/4 way with ice
After measuring out each ingredient below, pour it into the shaker
4-ounces of tequila
2- ounces Cointreau
4-ounces fresh lime juice
2 ounces simple syrup
Shake well and pour into your favorite glass
Pour 1 ounce of Grand Marnier into a shot glass serve as a side car
 
Flat On Your Back Margarita
You will need a large, oversize super bowl-shaped glass.
This is a layered build
2-ounces of grenadine
Fill the glass with crushed iced
Add a layer of club soda
1-1/4-ounces tequila
1-1/4-ounces rum
1-1/4-ounces vodka
4-ounces of fresh orange juice
2-ounces sweet & sour
1-ounce brandy
Float some more club soda
Float 1-ounce of Blue Curacao
Garnish with 2 to 4 straws
 
Upside Down Margarita
Some participation is required.
Go to your favorite Mexican restaurant and make friends with the bartender. Or go into your home bar/kitchen and ask your “roomie” for assistance. Now stand with your back to the bar; lean backward and place your head on the bar—open your mouth. The bartender will pour a 1-ounce shot of tequila, 1/2 shot of sweet & sour, 1/2 shot of triple sec into your mouth, and sprinkles a pinch of salt on your tongue. Then you stand up straight and swallow.
 
Tequila Sunrise
Build over ice cubes in a 13-ounce glass
1/4-ounce grenadine
1-1/2 ounces tequila
4-ounces fresh orange juice
 
Macho Nachos! (You really can’t make a mistake)
 Directions? You don’t need no stinkin’ directions! Just pile all the good stuff on.

1. Have all the prepared ingredients ready to assemble.
2. Preheat an oven to 350⁰ F.
3. In a microwave, heat refried beans until they are loose enough to spoon onto nachos.
4. On a large ovenproof platter or skillet, spread out a layer of tortilla chips and quickly put teaspoons of hot, refried beans over the pile of chips.
5. Next put a layer of prepared taco meat.
6. Then top with chopped tomato and diced green chiles.
7. Next, pile on lots of cheddar cheese and top with fresh or prepared salsa.
8. Place the platter in the oven to melt the cheese.
9. Serve with a side of fresh or prepared salsa.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

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