What's That You're Drinking?

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!
Even the most liberal (and, therefore, Culturally Sensitive) of my friends fall back on old Cheech and Chong records (whether they know it or not) when refering to this Mexican holiday. I've heard that it is not even that heavily celebrated in Mexico. I suppose that, being the anniversary of a great military victory, it may be more like our Memorial Day than our Independence Day. We Americans, though, have hijacked the 5th of May as an excuse to quaf copious amounts of Corona and Pico de Gayo and Tortas and Camarones el Diablo. Why we need an excuse for such activity is beyond me.

All I know is that my Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide from 1949 doesn't even make mention of Tequila. It has a few Vodka drinks in it, but a few is all it has. Both were rather new on the American scene at that point.

In the past 60 years Vodka has grown to be one of the most heavily consumed liquors in the United States. That's because Vodka is flavorless (some go so far as to claim that it's Tasteless), of course.

Tequila, though, has made some pretty impressive strides into the American market, and has recently begun to show a stronger presence. The Tequila I used in today's cocktail was a relatively new type produced by the Jose Cuervo brand. Allow me to attest that Jose Cuervo Black Medallion (Oak Barrel Signature Blend) is pretty darned good. It is aged and has a smoother, softer flavor than even most Gold Tequilas.

Today's cockail is, of course...

The Margarita
As with any truly great cocktail, the best way to make it is the simplest! Here's how I do it...

Ingredients:
2 oz. Tequila
1.5 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
1 oz. Triple Sec

Method:
Pour all ingredients into a shaker half filled with ice cubes. Shake as if there is no tomorrow (or, as if, tomorrow, you could be replaced by a Mexican at work). Strain into Appropriate Glass. Enjoy.

If adding salt to the rim of the glass, course, kosher salt works best. There is no reason to feel you have to do this, however (unless you're working at T.G.I. Friday's and your boss tells you to). This drink can also be prepared in a blender with crushed ice for a "frozen" variety.

What's That I'm Listening To? In the spirit of the day, I've spent the last several hours listening to a whole bunch of stuff I don't understand a single word of. Most of it comes from South of the Border but some of the best of it (reminiscent of a certain hit song from the 80s by Cheech Marin) comes out of East Los Angeles. My favorite example of this is "El Ano Viejo" by The Blazers. I don't have a clue what it's about. You can get yourself a copy of it at: http://rapidshare.de/files/19787495/04_El_Ano_Viejo.mp3.html

PS: Oops! It was actually Cinco de Mayo when I started typing this entry. It was, also, very late at night. I fell asleep waiting for El Ano Viejo to upload and moved straight to bed the second I gained consciousness for a second. I was considering posting "event related" cocktails a week or so in advance from here on out but, to be honest, that kind of takes the fun out of it. There also aren't that many "cocktail specific events" coming up in the near future. You guys'll just have to hang onto these recipes for an entire year if you can't have a Margarita just because it's Saturday (or Thursday, or whatever...).