People watching our tequila review videos will see us drinking “that red stuff” with our tequila – it’s called “sangrita,” and we’ve actually written about it before. It’s a “tequila companion,” meant to be sipped slowly with your tequila.
We love sangrita, especially when it’s well made, but finding a really tasty sangrita is difficult. It should be spicy, but not TOO spicy. It should have a bit of sweetness to it, but not TOO sweet. It should have a nice texture to it, but not too watery or overly thick.
This is because there is no single agreed-upon recipe. As you travel through Mexico, you soon notice that there are wildly differing approaches, textures, and levels of spiciness.
It’s common for us to try sangrita that doesn’t measure up to our expectations, but we always order it anyway. It’s like a little game for us, knowing that at some point we’re going to find something that’s truly great.
While we were in Mexico in November, we tried the sangrita made by Miguel at the SFT Tequila Bar in Sayulita and fell in love with it. If you find yourself at the SFT, you should definitely order it.
We tried to get Miguel to cough-up his recipe, and he wouldn’t give us details on the mixture, but he did let us in on a few of his secrets. (He uses soy sauce which adds a wonderfully savory “Umami” taste.) We took this information back to the USA with us, and immediately began the process of reconstructing it.
This has become the sangrita recipe of choice for the TasteTequila.com Kitchen, and just like the SFT Tequila Bar, we’ve always got a pitcher in the refrigerator waiting to accompany a shot of tequila.
Here’s our rendition of Miguel’s sangrita:
Sangrita de Miguel
2 cups of tomato juice
1/4 cup of orange juice
1 tbsp grenadine
5 tsp soy sauce
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
Ground pepper
Salt
After giving the Pure and Alton Brown margaritas to try we decided to go for one more – Chow.com’s “Perfect Margarita.”
Two things attracted us to this recipe. First, they call it the “Perfect Margarita” and given that Chow.com is an authority on great recipes this was a compelling name. Secondly, the recipe is very simple, sort of like the Pure recipe except that it adds Cointreau which seemed to be a potentially interesting twist.
What we discovered, however, is that although this margarita is very simple, it is also very tart. It would take a lot more Cointreau to sweeten it up, which of course would increase the level of alcohol and sugars in the drink, making it a little more dangerous in the drunk-and-hungover department if you were to have two or three.
See us trying out Chow.com’s “Perfect Margarita” recipe here.
Chow.com’s perfect margarita:
1.5 oz tequila
1.0 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
0.5 oz Cointreau (not Triple Sec)
The other night we were watching Alton Brown on the Food Network and we saw him make what looked like an absolutely scrumptious margarita. Knowing Alton, and his meticulous culinary skills, we thought to ourselves, “this has got to be good!”
What’s more, reviews of his margarita recipe on the Food Network website brought up all five stars with visitors rating it is the best margarita they had ever had.
Alton’s margarita is different in that instead of using just fresh squeezed lime juice he actually muddles limes and oranges to get the oils from the skin of the fruits and the pulps mixed into the drink, giving it a deeper, more citrus flavor.
Alton makes a mean margarita but when pitted his against the Pure margarita we had to say that the Pure came up on top for its clean and easy to drink qualities. Alton’s margarita was more like fruit juice with a pleasant tequila kick. Both are excellent choices, so it’s really up to your tastes.
You can see us making Alton’s margarita here:
Alton’s margarita recipe includes:
2 ounces tequila
4 limes, divided
Half small Valencia or Hamlin orange
2 tbsp agave nectar
Ice
Today is national margarita day. In honor of the occasion we tried out four different margarita recipes to discover what is the best classic margarita. We’ll be releasing these recipes throughout the week so stay tuned in and give us your feedback on which margarita you think is the best.
First up, we tried out the typical margarita that you would get in a bar or restaurant, complete with sweet and sour mix and triple sec. I can tell you right up front that this was not our favorite. It was overall sugary and artificial tasting–a real hangover helper.
You can see us making it here:
“Typical” margarita recipe:
1 oz. tequila
0.5 oz Triple Sec
1.5 oz sweet and sour mix
splash of lime
After trying and rejecting the typical margarita, we decided to go upscale with the so-called “pure” margarita. This cocktail is called pure because it uses 100% agave tequila, fresh squeezed lime juice and agave nectar. There’s nothing artificial to spoil the taste of good tequila and refreshing juice.
This is also the kind of margarita that they make at the SFT Tequila Bar in Sayuilta, Mexico and they know what they’re doing.
You can see us making the Pure margarita here:
“Pure” margarita recipe:
1.5 oz tequila
1 oz lime juice
¾ oz agave nectar
¾ oz spring water (optional)
