The Rise of Margarita Night

I was reminded, as Matt and I perused the streets of downtown Springfield this past Friday evening during the Taste of Downtown event, how much I love margaritas.

Like anyone ever really needs a reminder.

Taste of Downtown is an annual event where Springfield celebrates the best eats in downtown, and believe me, we sampled them all.

And yes, we were the first people in line. No judgies.

Others showed up soon after. Don't worry, we left them some food. SOME.

Behold, the Olympic torch of gluttony: Jalapeno Bacon Cheese Fries.

But, as I'm sure you might expect from the midwest in July, it was hot, and after a few rounds of jalapeno bacon cheese fries and other shameful salty treats, Matt and I found that we were parched. It was that special kind of thirst that you know only an ice-cold adult beverage can quench, and a few minutes and dollars later, we both had a frosty savior in our hands. Matt went with the "adult lemonade" (which sounds a lot dirtier than it ought to), and I snagged a mango margarita from Cafe Brio (check it out...it's one of the funkiest places in town, plus it has AWESOME food).

The mango margarita (left) and adult lemonade. Notice which one of us was thirstier.

As we strolled the streets of downtown Springfield with our drinks, I kept having to pause, mid-street, in wonder of how arrestingly good my margarita was. It tasted just like a mango margarita I had tried in Mexico, right after we'd finished zip lining up in the mountains.

Matt, me, and my adventurous father-in-law ziplining in Mexico.

We'd just finished whooshing over gulleys and rivers, racing between trees like George of Jungle, and we were thirsty. There was a little cafe at the base of the mountain, and as Matt and I waited around for the family patriarch to return from the bathroom, we were approached by a kind little old Mexican man, a waiter at the restaurant. He took two little cups filled with a pastel orange froth from his sample tray, extended them to us, smiled, and stated simply, "Mango margarita." Seemed legit enough for us.

Matt's dad, a doctor, returned just as we were finishing slurping up our sample drinks. I don't think I'll ever forget how big his eyes got, or the deep feeling of dread that filled my gut, as he went on and on--in great medical detail--about the horrible bacterial punishments that were about to ravage our bodies because of consuming the sample beverage. He and my mother-in-law had gone to Mexico on their honeymoon and had had a few drinks that included some sort of water--an inconspicuous glass of water, a Coke with ice, and an unassuming blended margarita.

Apparently Montezuma's Revenge paid them a rather lengthy visit afterward.

So, it goes without saying, that I stood there, frozen in terror, listening to Dr. Heidrick explain how bacteria was about to ruin my trip ("You have 24...48 hours, TOPS"), as my mind played over and over how awful it would be to have traveler's diarrhea in the cramped confines of the cruise ship's bathrooms, and how I didn't want to die of diarrhea on account of a sample margarita.

But apparently my horror was enough for Montezuma, and he spared me and my bowels from any such revenge.

After reflecting on this happy memory for some time at the Taste of Downtown event, I reasoned that it was only polite to thank Montezuma for his graciousness by learning how to make a legitimate margarita. So we did! You won't find any margarita mix here, thank you very much! And once you learn this recipe, you'll never reach for that icky, syrupy stuff, either! Classic margarita recipes will often include simple syrup (a water-sugar mixture), but I omitted it from this recipe because I found that the triple sec was sweet enough to balance out the bite of the tequila.

The Holy Grail of a classic margarita.

The Classic Margarita

Time from bar to mouth: 5 minutes

Serves 1 (repeat as necessary, depending on how bad your day was) 

 

Ingredients

• 1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice (about 1-2 limes)
• 2 oz. tequila
• 1 oz. Triple Sec or other orange liquor
• Ice
• Rock salt for the rim and lime wedge for a garnish if you want to get fancy

Steps

1. In a shaker, combine the lime juice, tequila, triple sec, and ice. Shake until well blended and chilled.
2. Serve (with a salt-rimmed glass and garnish, if you'd like). Enjoy!

Mojo wants YOU to enjoy your margarita!