Lifestyle of a Fashionista

Not only is today 2/22/22 but it is also national margarita day. I’m not exactly sure when these national days were created but I’m willing to jump onboard when I like the category of the day! (Bonus: It’s also taco Tuesday, so it’s a good day to enjoy some tex mex) Here is a link to National Today if you want to keep up with all the days: https://nationaltoday.com/national-margarita-day/

To celebrate today I will share with you some things I learned when I attended a margarita event in May 2020 organized by the Food Network. The official title: NYCWFF at Home, brought to you by Bank of America; Happy Hour with Bar Lab featuring Elad Zvi & Gabe Orta sponsored by Patrón Tequila. The event was on Zoom like everything else in 2020 but that meant we could watch the mixologists and chat with them during the event.

There were two types of tequila used during the event: reposado and silver (blanco). I didn’t know much about tequila before joining the event so I enjoyed the mini lesson on types of tequilas by Patrón. From the Patrón website “Blanco tequila is typically bottled right after distillation. Clear and bright in color, it offers the most prominent fresh and baked agave flavor. Typically mixed in: Margaritas, Palomas,Bloody Marias. To qualify as a reposado (“rested”), blanco tequila must be aged in oak barrels from between two and 11 months. A variety of wood barrels can be used in the aging process, which results in tequilas with varying color and complexity. Typically mixed in: Margaritas, Old Fashioneds, Mexican Martinis.“

Here is an article about margarita day by Patrón: https://www.patrontequila.com/stories/2020-02/how-to-celebrate-national-margarita-day.html.

The mixologists who hosted the event are bartenders from Miami: Elad Zvi & Gabe Orta. They are co-founders of Bar Lab: https://bar-lab.com/about-us/

We made three types of margaritas during the event:

**Tommy’s Margarita

• 2oz Reposado Tequila
• 1 oz lime juice
• .75oz agave
• Garnish: salt rim (optional)

Giles Juice

• 1oz Silver Tequila
• .50 oz olive juice
• .75oz local honey
• .75 oz lime juice
• .50 oz pet-nat or sparkling wine
• Garnish: pickles

Tropi Thunder

• 2oz Silver Tequila
• 1 oz lime juice
• 1/2 oz passion fruit puree or juice (mango puree or juice works as well)
• 1 oz spicy syrup
• Garnish: jalapeño wheel and lime

*Spicy syrup recipe

• 1 jalapeño cut into wheels
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups of water

Directions:
*Prepare in advance of class

1. Add jalapeño and water into a pan, bring it to boil, add sugar and stir to dissolve, bring to simmer, cool down and bottle.

The most complicated (and my least favorite) was Gile’s Juice. My favorite one that I made again several times was Tropi Thunder. **Tommy’s margarita is the easiest to make.

Two takeaways from this event: the spicy simple syrup is a margarita game changer and the most important kitchen tool for making margaritas is a citrus juicer.

Since the event I have created my own margarita recipe:

Susan’s Spicy Margarita

2 oz Silver or Reposado Tequila
1 oz lime juice
1 oz spicy syrup

Directions: add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake and pour. I prefer my margaritas with a salted rim. To salt: use the squeezed lime to wet rim and dip in salt. (you can add spices to your salt if you really want to up your recipe)