Originally Posted by cardsqc (Post 33244148)

I've yet to find a pre-made mix for margaritas that I like unfortunately. Most of them are indeed too sickly sweet. So I'm stuck making my own mix, which means I don't drink them as much as I'd probably like :). Personally, while it might sound a bit weird, what I've used is basically an equal mix of lemon juice, sugar, and water, then add half a lime per drink, plus some orange juice, then of course the tequila and some sort of orange liqueur (basically, I use what I have, whether it's cointreau (probably my most common), patron citronge, curacao, or grand marnier. My wife tends not to like the grand marnier, so we haven't used that in a while. While there's sugar in it, to me at least it doesn't come out as sickly sweet, and with the orange juice, takes some of the edge off the harsher lime and lemon juices. I think I got the recipe when I was originally trying to recreate a decent margarita I'd had on a cruise ship, and I think at least Patron listed it as a recipe for a while.

Originally Posted by corky (Post 33256146)

On America's Test Kitchen yesterday, they made margaritas. They used both lemon and lime juice for the sour part but also added the zest of both which I think sounds great. They let the juices, zest and superfine sugar sit in the fridge for hours and then strained it. I have to try it---zest adds so much flavor. They used curacao for the orange. I think it was equal parts tequila, sour mix, and curacao.

Originally Posted by LondonElite (Post 33209270)

The two minutes of prep (melting sugar and adding water) and Luxardo pays off in spades! No one can be that lazy! 😂

Originally Posted by gfunkdave (Post 33219592)

I like just a little simple syrup to take the sour edge off the lime juice.

Originally Posted by BamaVol (Post 33258435)

My father in law makes his from scratch, starting with a single sugar cube. I thought it was pretty good.

I just came from Publix where I noticed an OF mix on the shelf and wondered why.

The tiki bar where we are staying made a Rum Runner for Mrs BV from a mix. I need to take a closer look: it was pretty good, with the exception of the whipped cream on top (???).

Originally Posted by LondonElite (Post 33280762)

An Old Fashioned is so easy to make, and it's amazing how many places just make a mess of it. I was in a bar in Antigua not long ago and asked for one (yes, should have stuck with rum...) and I got crushed ice, white sugar from the tea service, topped up with bourbon, and a cheap neon cherry on top. I had a chat to the barman after I sent it back and walked him through the steps...

Originally Posted by cmd320 (Post 33281642)

I'd echo others opinions that for an Old Fashioned I wouldn't bother with a mix. It's a super easy drink to make yourself without a mix and best of all, almost all the ingredients are shelf-stable so you're not going to waste a bunch of mixers/fruits/juices, etc. if you go a few days or more without drinking at home.

-decent bourbon (I like Woodford for an OF)
-Angostura bitters
-light brown sugar cubes
-orange peel (really the only thing that's not shelf stable)

Grab those items, keep them in stock, and you'll be able to make a drink in just a minute or two. It'll come out far better than any mix you're ever going to find.

On the whole, I'm not a fan of drink mixes in general, though I get if you're trying to have margaritas or something that requires a number of different juices, there's an efficiency factor there. Old Fashioneds don't really fall into that group though.

Originally Posted by dodgeflyer (Post 33281516)

Doesn’t beat my order for a very dry gin martini with a twist, which ended up being vermouth (martini bianco) on ice.

Originally Posted by LondonElite (Post 33280762)

An Old Fashioned is so easy to make, and it's amazing how many places just make a mess of it. I was in a bar in Antigua not long ago and asked for one (yes, should have stuck with rum...) and I got crushed ice, white sugar from the tea service, topped up with bourbon, and a cheap neon cherry on top. I had a chat to the barman after I sent it back and walked him through the steps...

Originally Posted by gfunkdave (Post 33283359)

To be fair, it doesn't seem like an Old Fashioned is much of a "tropical" cocktail... :)

Originally Posted by LondonElite (Post 33280762)

An Old Fashioned is so easy to make, and it's amazing how many places just make a mess of it. I was in a bar in Antigua not long ago and asked for one (yes, should have stuck with rum...) and I got crushed ice, white sugar from the tea service, topped up with bourbon, and a cheap neon cherry on top. I had a chat to the barman after I sent it back and walked him through the steps...

Originally Posted by corky (Post 33288570)

I was out to dinner last week with some friends at a restaurant called Steak & Whiskey (https://www.steakandwhisky.com/) so you would expect that they know how to serve drinks. My friend and I each ordered the Smoke & Bourbon which is basically an old fashioned with smoke on top under an inverted glass. I thought mine was fine but my friend was having a fit because there were several ice cubes in our drinks. She insisted that an old fashioned should only ever have one big cube and sent hers back. They didn't have giant cubes but they remade it with only a couple ice cubes. I don't mind a little ice melting into my drink but she was appalled. lol.
BTW, I made a margarita last night and added lime zest....I really liked it. I think that I will make some lime zest simple syrup which would be even better.

Originally Posted by gfunkdave (Post 33305764)

Haha big cubes are a craft cocktail thing. It’s still an old fashioned if you use regular ice. I think a single big cube results in the drink being cold but minimizes the amount of ice that melts in it. Tell your friend that Gfunkdave thinks she’s silly. :D

Originally Posted by corky (Post 33305871)

LOL---our other friend who was out with her that night were texting the next day about how nuts we think she is. Not to her face though---she wouldn't think we were funny. She wouldn't let it go either--major crime. I do have those giant square cubes and some giant round ones but I don't really care what goes in my drink except I never like crushed ice in anything.