Customise A Classic Margarita To Suit Your Tastebuds
Margarita is a much loved spring and summer drink, made from quality tequila, triple sec and lime juice. What makes the drink stand out, imbuing it with a layer of seasoning is the salt rimmed glasses in which it is served with a generous helping of ice. The chilled drink is perfect for pool parties, casual luncheons and quintessential slumber parties where you chill with your friends in PJs. Making the margarita then means following a classic recipe that has been honed over time to offer a perfectly balanced blend of sour, tart, bitter, salty and sweet notes.
However, once in a while, you might feel the urge to make a margarita that is infused with fruity notes or herby flavours or a slightly spicy kick to give the drink a bit of a twist. On such occasions, you can customise your classic margarita to suit your preferences. You can dabble with the proportion of triple sec too, to entirely do away with this slightly bitter component if you want your drink to lean towards a sweeter palate. Or, you can add fruit juices and purees to go all out and create a sweet-forward cocktail.
Customising your margarita means you can revel in fresh, fruity, vibrant flavours that are sure to put a bright smile on your face. Read on below for some hacks you can employ to churn out jug after jug of a curated cocktail you would most enjoy:
Make Fruit Sorbets
Sorbets add creaminess and a rich consistency to your frozen margaritas, or a cocktail made using crushed ice or blended ice beads. These lend the margarita an enhanced textural element while keeping the drink chilled. You can make fruit sorbets out of frozen water or fruit juice to churn out a fruity ice that can be scooped up and dropped into your margarita mix to give it a heightened tang and sweetness. Dabble with raspberry, lemon lime or other such citrus fruits to craft a sorbet if you prefer your drink to go heavy on tart, yet sweet notes.
Add A Dash Of Heat
One of the trendiest ways to make margaritas today is to add a touch of spicy kick to the drink. This means introducing components like sriracha, jalapeños or chilli powder into the cocktail to turn it into a sweet and spicy number. If you like a drink which is a mix of such flavours, you can also use spicy salt for the rim or pepper-infused tequila as your base spirit to craft a heat-packed cocktail.
Use Cucumber
Cucumber is an excellent coolant and adding it crushed to a cocktail recipe means ensuring that all its flavours permeate evenly throughout the mixture. For this, you can opt for cucumber-infused tequila or go for a cucumber slice garnish if you want just a hint of its cooling properties to accentuate your drink. Either way, adding cucumber gives a margarita a very distinct taste so you can use this ingredient when you want an eclectic customised mix.
Make It Herby
Strawberries paired with basil, mint and thyme go really well in cocktails. You can make your margarita fruity but also herby with the inclusion of these aromatics that add to the drink a very intense but invigorating flavour. Make your margaritas by muddling mint or basil or garnish using these herbs for that elevated embellishment.
Use Mezcal
Tequila is a close cousin of mezcal, the latter being a smokier version made using a variety of agave plants instead of just the blue agave used to make the former. Substitute the tequila for mezcal if you want your drink to be way more intense and carry a different taste than a classic margarita recipe. This is a great hack for anyone who wishes to dabble in a more densely flavoured spirit.
Make It Fruity
This one is quite basic. You can craft margaritas using lots of fresh fruits like pomegranates, oranges, grapefruits, guavas, pineapples, berries and so many more to add an exciting sweet, tangy and citrus element to the cocktail. Use fresh fruits instead of the packed version if you want to cut down on the added sugar.
