Paloma

Given a bottle of tequila and a few minutes, I would normally gravitate towards making a Margarita or a Mexican Martini. Palomas, in my admittedly curbed experience, have always tasted to me like a classic spirit + mixer combo, a thin, weak long drink. Then I found a recipe that switches out the more commonly used grapefruit soda with fresh grapefruit juice. In Texas, the grapefruits are massive, abundant, and sweet, at least compared with the eye-wateringly astringent varieties you find in the UK. The resulting drink provides a fuller flavor and a thicker mouthfeel. It's a great balance between a short, boozy punch, and a longer, spritzier refresher. Consider it the utimate medium drink.

Paloma

2 oz blanco tequila
2 oz fresh grapefruit juice plus wedge for garnish
2 oz sparkling water
0.5 oz lime juice
0.25 oz agave nectar
Pinch of coarse sea salt*

Add the tequila, (strained) grapefruit juice, lime juice, agave nectar and salt to a shaker. Shake with ice. Add sparkling water. Strain into a tumber with fresh ice. Add grapefruit wedge for garnish.

*The recipe calls for a salted rim, but I prefer to throw a pinch of salt into the shaker to mainline the salinity.

See also: the Frozen Paloma, for those with access to a frozen margarita machine.

Strawberry Margarita

 

I had some fresh strawberries that needed drinking and found this recipe on Reddit. I reduced the sweetness a little and added a couple of basil leaves, since everyone knows the combination of strawberry and basil is the quickest shortcut to instant sophistication.

Strawberry Margarita

2 oz blanco tequila
0.5 oz Aperol
1 oz lime juice
0.25 oz agave nectar
Pinch of kosher salt
3 dashes of Fee Brothers Fee Foam (optional)
3 strawberries - one for garnish
2 basil leaves

Muddle two of the strawberries (thoroughly) and basil in a shaker. Add the rest of the ingredients, and ice. Shake hard and strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube (or serve up in a martini or Nick and Nora glass). Garnish with a strawberry.

The additions of Aperol, salt and basil make this drink more interesting than a mere fruity marg.

Christmas Margarita

 

Tequila + coconut = Good Christmas. We couldn't find any white cranberry juice so went with Ocean Spray's "White Cran-Strawberry", which works great and gives the drink an ever-so-slightly pink tinge, which makes the whole thing even more Christmassy. Thanks to my friend Jen for the recipe, which apparently came from TikTok.

Christmas Margarita

1.5 oz blanco tequila
1 oz triple sec

1.5 oz white cranberry juice

0.5 oz lime juice

1 tablespoon cream of coconut

Place all the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a tumbler with fresh ice. Garnish with an actual cranberry and a sprig of something green and aromatic.

Mexican Martini

 

When you want an intenser Margarita, try a Mexican Martini. To the base ingredients of a trad Marg (tequila, triple sec, lime, sugar), we add some fresh orange and a little olive juice, and serve it up like a Martini, garnished with olives. They're big in Austin, where they're often served alongside a baby cocktail shaker containing a bonus second pour. But of course.

Mexican Martini

(Serves 2)

2 oz tequila
1 oz triple sec
1 oz lime juice
1 oz orange juice
0.5 oz simple syrup
0.5 oz olive juice
Olives and salt to garnish

Shake ingredients with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe, rimmed with salt if you like. Throw in a couple of olives. Baby shaker optional.

Tequila Sunrise

Despite my best efforts, tequila is still lacking when it comes to cocktails. The Margarita is king (queen?) and always will be, but the Sunrise is probably the best known alternative.

It's served with an attractive rainbowish (or perhaps sunrisey) thing going on, with the heavier grenadine sunk at the bottom (pictured top), bleeding into the orange.

It's also pretty much the only alcoholic drink with orange juice I like (fine, apart from this one), since juice should properly be a thing of goodness for breakfast rather than a vehicle for revelry, IMO.

If you can get hold of some fresh oranges to squeeze, so much the better. And if you like your drinks sweeter, up the grenadine. It's probably a good idea to serve with a straw to imbibers can mix the orange and grenadine to even out the sweetness as they go.

As for the tequila, you might as well go for a blanco. This one does the job just fine.

Tequila Sunrise

60ml (2oz) Tequila

120ml (4oz) Orange juice

7.5ml (0.25oz) Grenadine

Slice of orange or wedge of lime to garnish (if you like)

Fill a highball glass with ice, add tequila and orange juice and stir until mixed. Carefully pour the grenadine down one side of the glass so it sinks to the bottom.

Margarita (2010 recipe)

Note: Since I wrote this post in 2010 I've settled on a new recipe.

Learning how to make a Margarita is as easy as 1, 2, 3. One part lime, two parts orange liqueur and three parts tequila - shaken with ice and served straight up in a fancy glass or on the rocks in a tumbler - with or without a rim of coarse-grained salt.

Those are the basic variations. Some prefer different proportions (more tequila, say, or more lime juice), some add simple syrup, some replace the orange liqueur with fresh orange juice; others throw the whole lot in a blender for a frozen drink. Here's my personal favourite, at least for now:

Margarita

1.5oz tequila

1oz Cointreau (or other orange liqueur)

0.75oz fresh lime juice

0.25oz simple syrup 

Throw the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a tumbler with fresh ice.

When it comes to the tequila, look for something made from 100% agave (which rules out that Jose Cuervo mixto nonsense you find in most British bars). A silver/blanco tequila might taste more refreshing, if that's what you're after on a sunny day, while a reposado will provide a richer flavour. I'm ambivalent about salt: as long as it doesn't run down the inside of the glass it can make a nice addition, but generally I don't bother. As for the glass, I used to like those fiddly martini vessels (pictured top) without ice. Recently I've preferred a tumbler with rocks.

Another dilemma (not all dilemmas are bad, see) is what to pick for the orange element. I tried a little taste test, constructing three margaritas with standard triple sec, Cointreau and brandy-based Grand Marnier (read more about the liqueurs here).

* With the triple sec, the margarita was thin, but the tequila came through. This was the tartest of the three, and might make for a good aperitif.

* Cointreau produced my favourite of the trio: very orangey, with a strong orange aroma, slightly sweeter than the first, and well-balanced with the tequila.

* Grand Marnier stepped up the orange even further. This was more of an orange drink than a tequila/lime one. It tasted altogether different than the others - heavy, thick, sweet: orange brandy with a tequila kick - better as a digestif.

Whatever you choose, choose a Margarita. Did I mention how amazing this drink can be? One of the best.

La Perla (Again)

11 Charlotte Street
London
W1T 1RQ

Having already enjoyed La Perla in Covent Garden (best happy hour ever) it was only a matter of time and tequila cravings before I sampled their sister bar in Charlotte Street.

Visiting late at night on a quiet Monday - when the staff in the basement bar had nothing better to do than give us their undistracted attention - we got through three delightful drinks.

First up, in an attempt to convert a previously sceptical friend to the joys of proper tequila, I ordered a round of Don Julio Reposado, which I recalled from a trip to Texas as offering a lovely, and unexpected, milk chocolatey flavour.

Afterwards, feeling a little more adventurous, I decided to give mezcal another shot. The rather harsh record of my first taste of this non-tequila agave-based beverage, from the Lajita distillery, read: "Unrefined, with strong smoke followed by a petrol-flavoured finish and a hint of soap".

This time, the barman was kind enough to let me try a couple before buying a round, and I settled on a substance called Ultramarine mezcal (right), which was altogether more satisfying to sip: agave and smoke, without the dirt.

To finish, we switched to an older tequila, the Centenario Anejo, 100% agave (of course), and aged in oak for over 12 months (pictured top). Sadly, my tasting notes did not survive the experience, but I vaguely recall a successful marriage of vanilla-wood and smooth agave spirit.

New Tequila Drink

I've been playing around with tequila for some time now in the hopes of turning up a neat recipe for a long, refreshing agave cocktail. I've enjoyed a Tequila Sunrise or two, but ultimately prefer to drink my orange juice for breakfast, sans booze. Similarly, I liked the El Diablo's mix of tequila and ginger, but was less keen on the Creme de Cassis, which made things too sweet for my taste. In the end, the drink I settled on has much in common with the Diablo, only spicier and bitter-er, and generally more grown up.

New Tequila Drink

45ml (1.5oz) reposado tequila

15ml (0.5oz) lime
90ml (3oz) ginger beer
One dash Angostura bitters

Pour ingredients into a highball glass with ice and stir. Drop in a segment of lime.

The NTD, as I will never refer to it again, is a useful way to drink tequila when you're looking for something more demanding than a vodka tonic but a little less concentrated than a margarita. Hope it helps.

Honey Monster

I tasked myself with creating an after-dinner cocktail for a poker night, and ended up gambling on this:

Honey Monster

15ml (1/2oz) vodka

15ml (1/2oz) vanilla-infused tequila*
7.5ml (1/4oz) Drambuie
7.5ml (1/4oz) Grand Marnier

Pour ingredients into mixing glass with ice. Stir well. Strain into a serving glass with fresh ice.

*To make the vanilla-infused tequila, take a few pods of vanilla, split them open lengthwise with a knife, drop them into a bottle of tequila and let sit for a few days, shaking the bottle now and again.

The recipe above has been slightly modified from the formula I served with the poker chips, which ended up being a tad too sweet for my taste (warning: Drambuie dominates everything, which is why I knocked it down from 15ml to 7.5ml here). The Honey Monster tastes exactly as it sounds - vanilla/honey/herbs/booze, with a sweetish finish - perfect for sipping while one slyly assembles a Royal Flush.

La Perla

28 Maiden Lane

London

WC2E 7JS

A friend is moving to Texas so we decided to mark his passing with some Tex Mex at the Texas Embassy cantina on Trafalgar Square. Unfortunately, I had to cancel our booking after I checked their menu and discovered they don't appear to use fresh lime juice in their margaritas. Instead, since Mexico is almost Texas, geographically speaking, we shifted our sights to La Perla, an interesting looking Mexican restaurant that specialises in tequila - and even sells its own brand.

The first thing to report is the incredible happy hour - 4pm to 7pm every day. Arriving at ten to seven, we acted quickly and ordered the following for between £3.15 and £3.75 each:

Ocho tequila sour: This was a long, refreshing tequila drink, served in a pint glass with soda water, lime, "blood" orange bitters and plenty of ice. The taste resembled a slightly watery margarita, which come summer wouldn't be something to sniff at.

Pisco sour: This was my first taste of Pisco, a young brandy made from muscat grapes. It was mixed with sugar, lemon juice and a dash of angostura bitters, and served on the rocks, producing a dry, bitter-sour apperitif-style drink that is probably not for everyone.

Pear and vanilla margarita (left): My favourite! Vanilla-infused tequila, agave nectar, fresh lemon juice and pear puree shaken and served on the rocks with a lime garnish. I was half-expecting the vanilla to lend the drink that familiar taste of processed essence, but this was altogether different. The bartender said they make their own "vanilla tequila curado" (essentially a silver tequila that has been naturally flavoured) by adding split vanilla pods to a bottle and letting it sit for a couple of weeks. It made a delicious drink that was sweet without being overly sugary.


During dinner, a couple of us ordered La Perla's bog-standard House Margarita (right), featuring that Jose Cuervo gold mixto nonsense (I know, but at £3.15 it was practically free!). It came frozen and with a salt rim, without prompting, which I guess is how they like it, but it tasted fine (particularly after our aperitifs) - plenty of tequila and just enough lime.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about La Perla (full menu here) is the existence of its own premium tequila line, called Ocho, a collaboration between Tomas Estes, the founder of Pacifico Group, of which La Perla is part, and the Camarena family distillery.

We ordered 35ml pours of Ocho's reposado and anejo tequilas to share after dinner. I have to say I was surprised by how fully the agave flavours came through. Both still retained a sharpish cactus-like taste - even the anejo, whose ageing in oak (for between one and three years) is usually enough to smooth the peppery edges a little more than was evident here. They were enjoyable, certainly, but not necessarily something to rave about.

La Perla Covent Garden was a top find, and for reasons of equality and justice, I should probably visit the other branch off Tottenham Road before too long. Then there's their sister venue, Cafe Pacifico, also in Covent Garden. And thus the wheels of booze keep turning.

Tequila Old Fashioned

I found an interesting recipe advocating a simple tweak to the traditional Old Fashioned, replacing the bourbon with tequila. Perhaps it should be called the New Fangled.

Tequila Old Fashioned

60ml (2oz) reposado tequila
Three dashes Angostura bitters*
Two dashes agave syrup
Lime peel

*Grapefruit or lemon bitters have been suggested as a substitute.

Place syrup and bitters in an Old Fashioned (tumbler) glass along with an ice cube and mix well. Steadily add the tequila and further ice cubes, one at a time, stirring all the while. Garnish with twist of lime peel.

It works! Even as a firm fan of tequila I must admit I sometimes tire of sipping the stuff neat. This is a great way of diluting it a little to reduce the burn while protecting its essence and flavours - qualities that are sometimes lost in Tequila Sunrises or even Margaritas.

Tequila Flights

Iron Cactus
10001 Stonelake Blvd 
Austin
Texas 78759

Never mind flights "of fancy" - the only flights that matter can be found at one of Austin's Iron Cactus tequila bars. The menu presented me with a bewildering choice of silver, reposado (rested) and anejo (aged) varieties from more than a dozen distilleries. These could be bought individually in two-ounce pours, or as flights of three smaller half-ounce pours, ordered by distillery or by mixing and matching more randomly.

To start I went for a Milagro flight ($8.75). I'd never tried any of its tequilas previously, having been slightly put off by its tacky packaging, but it was one of our waitress's recommendations, and I decided it's just not right to judge a tequila by its bottle. The three Milagro shots (if these were half-ounce pours they were generous ones) arrived on  a metal tray with lime wedges and (nice touch, this) a flip chart describing the drinks laid before me (pictured right). They truly know the way to a drink geek's heart/wallet.

My own sipping notes recall Milagro's silver as smooth and sweet with noticeable vanilla as well as agave flavours. The reposado - aged for six months in oak - retained the character of the silver while adding even more smoothness. My brief note on the anejo (aged for 18 months) was "woody - but not Scotch". This was in response to an unfortunate flip chart claim that Milagro's aged tequila gave "a sense of a fine Scotch or Cognac", a comparison that did the drink few favours since it reminded me that when it comes to depth and complexity, tequila - at least the ones I've tried - is still the immature sibling to a decent single malt. Nevertheless, taken as they are, Milagro's tequilas are fine spirits, and I want some more.

Next, I decided to mix it up a bit, ordering reposados from three distilleries - El Tesoro, Don Julio and Patron (total cost about $10). I have a bottle of El Tesoro's silver at home and like how the spicy taste of the agave plant really comes through. The reposado retained most of this intensity while adding oak and vanilla - a top drink. The Don Julio was a big surprise, since it tasted strongly of chocolate (a decent dessert tequila?) and the Patron - one of the most mainstream of premium tequilas - was frankly boring.

The only downer on our visit to the Iron Cactus - one of five across Texas - was our poor timing: we arrived just as the karaoke night was starting up. Luckily, it takes more than dreadful singing to spoil good tequila.

New Mexican Martini

Chuy's

11680 Research Blvd

Austin
Texas 78759

The New Mexican Martini, which I discovered at Austin Tex-Mex favourite Chuy's, is an astonishing drink, involving green chili-infused El Jimador silver tequila, Cointreau and fresh lime juice. It was served in a shaker full of ice alongside a salt-rimmed martini glass and a garnish of jalapeno-stuffed olives. The chili in the tequila was subtle, but definitely present, and the sweet orange Cointreau, bitter lime and salt rim combined to commit a serious sensory assault on the taste buds. While it resembled a margarita, this was stronger and less sweet - a little more grown up. The way the drink was served kept it cold - pretty important in Texas - and the pecuniary damage was a reasonable $7.75 (4.80 sterling). Despite all the above, I only wanted one of these, the chili heat making multiple servings less appealing. But as a pre-dinner platform for tequila, particularly when that dinner has the word Mex in it, this will fill you with wonder or nothing will.

Buy El Jimador tequila from The Drink Shop here.

Calabatini

Following my annual forage into "cookery", this time to make a baked pumpkin cheesecake, I ended up with some extraneous pumpkin puree (don't you hate it when that happens?). Astonishingly, there are quite a few cocktail recipes out there requiring pumpkin, and M bravely agreed to try a tequila-based Calabatini. The name comes from the Spanish word for pumpkin, calabaza, and the Calabatini was described on tinternet as "an excellent autumnal drink", which sounded perfect because I prefer to celebrate the seasons retrospectively.

The recipe requested Monin Pumpkin Spice syrup, but I read elsewhere that pumpkin puree (mine came from a tin) was a reasonable substitute. A couple of other tweaks were made (I was using up some leftover sour cream too, which in turn demanded a balancing dash of sugar syrup) and the resulting recipe looked like this:

45ml (1.5oz) Reposado Tequila
60ml (2oz) sour cream
30ml (1oz) milk
15ml (0.5oz) pumpkin puree
Dash of agave or sugar syrup
Ground cinnamon for garnish

Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker with ice. Shake like crazy. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Sipped against a background of baking aromas, this was a lovely cocktail, sweet with a little spice, and surprisingly gentle for a tequila drink. The pumpkin added structure rather than flavour, and if anything I could have gotten away with using a little more of it.

I know pumpkins are generally confined to Halloweens and Thanksgivings only, but if anything can put an end to such unseasonal segregation it's a glass or two of this winter spice.

Serafin

Challenged to make a tasty tequila drink, I tried to reproduce 69 Colebrooke Row's wonderful Serafin cocktail, which I remembered for tasting at once refreshing and interesting, in a woody kind of way.

In Colebrooke Row they mix the tequila with poire liqueur, lime juice, sugar and ginger beer, and serve in an elegantly narrow highball glass (pictured left).

At home, lacking the poire liqueur and the ginger beer, I opted instead for some pear puree topped with ginger ale.

For the tequila I used Casco Viejo's Reposado (below), in the hopes of enhancing the cocktail's slightly spicy quality, but I'm sure anything made from 100% blue agave would suffice here (just say No to mixto!).

My adapted recipe:

60ml (2oz) Casco Viejo Reposado

15ml (0.5oz) lime juice

15ml (0.5oz) agave syrup

50g pear puree

Ginger ale

Pour the tequila, lime, agave and puree into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with ginger ale.

Problem was, it didn't taste right. The ginger ale lacked the required kick (next time I'll use ginger beer) and the citrus was smothered by the thickening puree (more lime!). This was a shadow of a Serafin.

Maybe that's why Colebrooke Row is one of the best cocktail bars in town, and I'm not.

Fact! Tequila is made by distilling the fermented juice of the blue agave, a spiky-leafed member of the lily family, and not a cactus.