Fourth of July

[chipotle]

I spent a chunk of the day over at tugrik’s, doing 4th of July BBQ things and re-meeting a bunch of folks I see too sporadically—Frang, smackjackal, tilton, higginsdragon, Baron, smudge_dragon and more. A good thing, overall. I may have a few conversations to follow up on specifically, even—but what I’d mostly like to do is just keep in actual (gasp) face-to-face contact more than I have been in general. I’ll see how that goes. (If I sound skeptical, it’s of me holding up my end of that, to be clear!)

I got back to Foster City in time to run down to the park where the fireworks were at and attempt to take photos. No idea how they turned out—I have no real clue how to take shots of fireworks, so if they’re not just all blurs and/or complete blackness, I’ll be happy.

And I am now celebrating with what I’m arbitrarily dubbing the Coyote Cadillac Margarita, inaugurating a new bottle of tequila along the way. The recipe:

• ¼ oz. simple syrup
• ¾ oz. fresh lime juice
• 1 oz. Gran Gala orange liqueur
• ¼ oz. curacao
• 1¾ oz. Partida Blanco tequila

Yes, it looks kinda complicated, but I have a 2 oz. measuring cup in ¼-oz. gradiations—add the simple syrup and fill it up to the 1 oz. line with the lime juice, and do the curacao and tequila the same way. (My normal version leaves out the curacao and just has 1½ ounces of tequila. You can of course change the alcohol types, but don’t use cheap-ass triple sec, do use fresh-squeezed lime juice, and remember that any tequila with the word “gold” in its name sucks. You don’t have to get an ultra-premium one, but you want one that says it’s 100% agave, either “blanco” or “reposado.”)

Comments

[prickvixen.livejournal.com]

Just how many of these did you make and drink before you settled upon these precise amounts? :)

I imagine Grand Marnier would be sufficient for the orangey stuff... I'd be reluctant to use my Patron Silver on a mixed drink, though. I've learned they now have a Patron Platinum, which is around $200 a bottle. I have to admit that I'm curious to know what a two hundred dollar bottle of tequila tastes like.

[chipotle.livejournal.com]

I made, um, several! The original "normal" recipe was 2 ounces of tequila with the 1 ounce of orange liqueur and 1 ounce of lime juice/sweetener, which is still good, but pretty strong.

Grand Marnier would work just fine, if not better, I'm sure -- it's a slightly more expensive liqueur than Gran Gala is, I think. But I do think if you're using a good margarita recipe, it'll let whatever tequila you're using shine through a lot more than what most bars (let alone chain Tex-Mex places) will give you.

I've had $100 tequila as part of a tequila tasting (not that the tasting was $100, that is). Those are always anejo tequilas; I think they're a little closer to scotch at that point, which is interesting, but... different. I don't know if I'd ever buy a really serious anejo. (I do have about an ounce left of Gran Cetenario Anejo, in a bottle I've had for three years or so.)

[prickvixen.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I'm not much into tequila. Patron was the first tequila that didn't make me gag when I drank it. I wonder if I could get an endorsement deal with them on that basis...