Margarita mix is disgusting
 

.... at least all of the ones I've tried are. Are there any decent ones out there or is the only way to make a proper margarita at home to do it "by hand"?

I've noticed the same thing and would like to hear of any good ones. Not only are they not very good, they also tend to be fairly pricey at $5-$6 a bottle. I was in Mexico a couple of weeks ago and saw Tequila for that much or less.

Never understood pre made drink mixes :confused:
Margarita: Tequila + Triple sec or Cointreau or Curaçao (liqueur) or Grand Marnier splash of Lime juice in glass (salt rimming optional) DONE!

They are so easy to make from scratch, why even bother with those vile mixes? Here is a really good one.

2oz silver tequila
3/4oz freshly squeezed lime juice
3/4oz Cointreau

Shake, pour Into a rocks-filled coupe rimmed with salt

(James Meehan, PDT in NYC)

Trust me, Mine are the best. Hand made, from scratch. DON'T use a mix, make them from scratch. I can't tell you my receipt, and I can't make just a couple at a time, Don't know how. My batch starts with 3 liters of Tequila. Don't use high priced, good Tequila on a Margarita, that is a waste of good Tequila, and $$. Sauza Gold works well. Only Rose's Lime Juice, and NO TAP WATER! Not in the mixing , nor for Ice Cubes. A good Sweet and Sour Concentrate mix, and you have a really good Margarita. On the West Coast, If you can get Quickway Sweet and Sour Concentrate, use that. I have been known to buy 15 to 20 Gallons of that, and haul it back to Illinois. It keeps and is (IMO) the best. A case is 4 one gallon bottles. Not that damn foamy crap either.

A good Margarita recipe. May I assume you mean fresh or at least unsweetened lime juice?

Another good Margarita recipe.

While that sounds like a reasonably tasty drink, it is actually a Tequila Collins (tequila + sweet & sour mix) / Tequila Gimlet (tequila + Rose's Lime Juice) hybrid and not technically a Margarita at all due to it's lack of an orange- or orange peel-flavored liqueur in the ingredient list.

I do, however, whole-heartedly agree that using good, expensive tequila in a Margarita is a waste of both money and good tequila.

It may be disgusting, but it is not gross like Fernet :D

http://www.tresagaves.com/products/margarita - I seem to recall this stuff was pretty good.

(1) Anything that has a fresh citrus component is usually icky icky eww when using an artificial substitute.

(2) Since the tequila taste comes through in a decent margarita, a decent tequila is important (not just for headache reduction). Top shelf not necessary, but steer clear of the bottom shelf, or anything that has phony gold color.

Margarita....

"White" Tequila, and the medium priced brands labeled 100% agave work as well as any, although I'm emotionally attached to Sauza. The key? "White" usually has a harsher bite, better in a cocktail w/other ingredients.

"Key" limes, not "Persian" (and a good cast metal squeezer is an indispensable bar tool)

There's a long dispute over which "orange" liqueur, Cointreau or cheaper Triple Sec (Grand Marnier's both expensive a "chi-chi"). Old timers are quite happy with the Mexican domestic imitation, "Controy".

My formula ("Dry"): 2 parts tequila, 1 part lime juice, 1/2 part orange liqueur, shaken and served "Up".
No salt, but then Margarita's are traditionally consumed with a savory appetizer or salty bar snack.

Rose's lime juice, developed by the Brits as a scurvy preventive, has no place in a Margarita, not does any other bottled (and preserved) lime juice. "Sweet & Sour" mix or concentrates? About as far from lime or lemon juice as you can get, plus enough sugar to damage a diabetic. "Sweet" has no place in a cocktail already sweetened with orange liqueur, and then there are the preservatives and stabilizers in goat-choking quantities.

For an interesting variation, try using lemon juice instead of lime, and Italian "Lemoncello"
for a touch of sweet (and lemon peel zest).

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Wow! Impressive. I will have to try this.

Rick Bayless's topolo margarita is the margarita against which I compare all others. Absolutely fantastic. Here's the topolo margarita recipe.

Yes

It's the only way. Get your lime juice from an actual lime.

Yes, fresh Lime juice. In a pinch 'Real Lime' bottle juice works just fine.

Absolutely agree Key Limes >>>>>> Persian Limes

Call me lowbrow, but I frequently use plain old frozen limeade mix. I haven't actually ever tried margarita mix.

However, since I see the Rick Bayless recipe posted above, I may have to revise my standards. :D

With apologies to Bayless who has leaped to the fore as TV's authority of fancy and multi-regional Mexican food, I'm not sure his recipe actually "fits' as a Margarita, missing one element key to and associated with the cocktail's history, the orange liqueur. Using Persian limes, his addition of a bit of "Zest" is good, since their juice (at least to my palate) has less flavor.

Your frequent choice, frozen limeade mix, is in my eyes off the board, the basis for an entirely different beverage, the drink served in punch form by the Chambers of Commerce of Texas Border cities hosting conventions, "Border Buttermilk", no more than frozen limeade mix and tequila. Over ice in a plastic cup, drinkable and capable of knocking the unwary over-consumer on his/her butt.

But then, times change, and my drinking began in an era in which "Sangrita" was a preferred chaser for a shot of tequila, lime wedges came only with canned Tecate (to cure the rusty aftertaste from the old steel cans), and Corona (and the Coronitas favored in "maisons de tolerance") was a cheap almost generic beer, ranked below even Carta Blanca in perceived quality.

Have to admit, when I want one decent at home, I do my own mix. Equal parts lemon juice, water, and sugar for the base mix. Then 2 oz tequila, 3/4 oz orange liquer of some type, my mix from above, some orange juice, and the juice of half a lime. Done with a decent tequila I find this comes out pretty good.

Um, when I look at that recipe he lists either Gran Torres or Grand Marnier, both orange liquers. It's just below the ads where the tequila is also listed.

I personally like the smokey flavor a reposado adds to a margarita. Herradura had long been my favorite, El Jimador is a bit more budget friendly.

Mixes are for people like me who don't find it easy to keep fresh limes on hand. Nope not nearly as good, but I've found the Margaritaville mix isn't too horribly disgusting.

Phew! Glad to know that rimming is optional. ;)

===

BTW, yea, m/s, what are you doing even contemplating premixed margaritas? Do you hate yourself, or something?

LOL.. no they weren't mine they were at a buddy's. I at least convinced him to change it up for the 2nd batch and put in some real limes and orange juice and use just a little of the sugary stuff. His argument was that the tequila he was using was so nasty he needed lots of sugar; probably a fair point.

I won't disagree that mixes are generally bad, but I tried the Costco mix last summer and was pleasantly surprised. If you're going with a mix, that, and only that, gets my vote. I took that, some limes and a bottle of tequila to Fire Island for a week last summer and enjoyed.

But the homemade, no-mix recipes are best.

Time and popularity among USAians has altered the original perspective of Margaritas from a relatively "dry" cocktail hour or per-dinner drink into what are today's grossly (if not grotesquely) over-sweetened versions popular in bars and "Mexican" restaurants. While personally I serve a 3:1:1 ratio of tequila:lime: orange liqueur (and no salt), but as I recall the "classic" of yesteryear, remembered from places like the bar at the Ancira in Monterey or the Cadillac Bar in Nuevo Laredo, the recipe was about 2:1:1, always with "White" (in the 50s, Cuervo or Sauza), "up", salt rimmed. Herradura was an old brand, favored by hardened drinkers, and Sauza Hornitos (green label) was the smoother alternative. I don't recall much availability of "call" brands or "premiums", and Patron, etc., were simply alternatives in joints which did not have "deals" with Sauza or Cuervo.

I have stolen my friend's spicy margarita recipe. It's delicious, and leaves a burn on the lips.

Steep a few habaneros in a bottle of not-expensive tequila. That bottle can be stored in the freezer until it's all used up. Then just add to fresh-squeezed citrus juice. I prefer mostly lime, but for my guests who don't like the sourness, I'll include orange, lemon, and grapefruit juices...to taste. Fresh juice is important.

For the tequila, start with just a couple of habaneros (halfed or quartered), and adjust to taste - the heat gets stronger as it steeps. I'll usually use 3-4 for a big bottle of tequila. I like it spicy!

Get some Santa Cruz or Key West lime juice at your supermarket. I like some lemon juice (maybe 25% too), but it's not necessary. Make simple sugar by putting a little hot water (or tequila) into a bunch of sugar and whisking it up. Get a mid level tequila. Spend the $$ on the good lime juice. The $50/bottle stuff is a waste in a Margarita. Drink that straight only. Crush some ice and shake 'er up. Cointreau is a waste of $$ at home. Gran Marnier is a total waste of $$ in a Margarita. It doesn't belong in the drink and totally changes the fresh flavor profile. Cognac in a Margarita ? - Them's fighting words ! wj

Why in San Francisco would one buy "bottled" lime juice? Limes and lemons come in their own little pebbly skinned, aromatic "bottles", easy to store and of reasonable shelf life, stacked in every produce section in or near the bounds of civilization. I paid $1.97 yesterday for my biweekly 2lb bag of key limes, useful for a multitude of of culinary and condiment purposes.

Simple syrup? What for? There's plenty of sugar and that necessary hint of orange peel in even the cheapest Triple Sec (or Mexican "Controy").

I like any margarita either its frozen or fresh pasteurized and straight. I've tried them from Cuervo, Sauza, Bacardi and Margaritaville.

The best margarita mix is no mix at all.

Use fresh-squeezed lime juice (limes are cheap and readily available, you know?) plus a good tequila plus a good orange liqueur. For the former, I highly recommend Jose Cuervo Platino (which is a standout tequila, even though the rest of the Jose Cuervo line is not). For the latter, Cointreau, or the less expensive, but still good alternatives of O3 Premium Orange Liqueur or Patrón Citrónge will work well.

I totally disagree with those who suggest that good tequila is wasted in a margarita. It may be poorly utilized in a frozen margarita, it may be wasted if spoiled by a cheap triple sec, and it isn't flattered by a margarita mix rather than fresh-squeezed lime juice, but for a tasty margarita on the rocks, there's no substitute for good ingredients, including the signature one: tequila.

I now have many recipes to try, beginning this weekend. ^ Thanks.

Amen!

For the life of me I cannot fathom a) making such a simple drink from a mix, b) why one would EVER buy lime or lemon juice in a bottle when they are so easily bought fresh [especially here in SoCal], and c) why someone would recommend using cheaper/lower quality alcohol.

Just as in cooking, the better one's ingredients, the better the finished product. Of course there are exceptions where using higher quality liquors is overkill/wasteful - if one is making a fruit/sugar blended bomb, for example - but in drinks with just 2 or 3 ingredients, don't you want high quality so it shines through?

(caveat: I would use high/very high quality, but not premium, as the latter are solely for sipping neat IMHO)

You're totally right about the limes, if you're only making a couple drinks. I'd like to see you squeezing away at a party though. Triple Sec is disgusting. I sincerely doubt you've ever actually tasted it straight. If your want to spend for Cointreau - then I'll agree w/you. wj

Personally, I like the Trader Joe's fresh squeezed lime-aid (not overly sweet at all) tequila and cointreau. Simple, delicious, and definitely not too sweet.

That's what juicers are for -- and of you're having a party, wouldn't you prep ahead of time?

My favorite recipe for a Margarita is to skip the whole damn thing and mix a good Gin & Tonic.

Fresh lime of course! :p

I admit, I actually LOL'ed.

I tried Trader Joe's pre-made Margarita, which contains Tequila. It's not bad. It is a lot better when one adds a bit more tequila to the glass. ;)

Isn't that the way ALL drinks are? :cool:

When it comes to margaritas, I may be lowbrow or lazy (or both), but I like Salvador's ready-to-drink margaritas, with an additional shot of tequila per drink. Chi-Chi's ready-to-drink, again with more tequila added, are OK, too.

If I'm using a pre-made mix for whatever reason (and it does happen some times, let's face it, sometimes I'm lazy), I'm not too concerned about using a decent tequila, and will use just about anything on hand. But if I take the time to go through juicing things and make my own mix, I'll definitely use a decent tequila, I can taste the difference in the end result, and for me it's worth it. (For that matter, I'm never going to drink tequila straight, regardless of the quality, I just don't like it straight.)

Now, that said, all the crappy tequila is finally out of my house, and all I have left is decent stuff, so I generally go through the effort of making the mix myself. Neither my wife or I is a heavy drinker, so I can pretty easily whip up enough to get us through a weekend.