Mark your calendar, on Feb. 22 we celebrate America’s most popular cocktail, the margarita. No one knows how or where in Mexico the drink originated (there are several different stories) but it is traditionally a concoction of tequila, orange-flavored liqueur (triple sec, Cointreau, or Combier), and lime or lemon juice.
A more popular recipe for those mixing at home – and for anyone serving margaritas at a party – is to simply use tequila and margarita mix. Have you ever looked at what’s in that margarita mix? Most margarita mixes on the shelf are full of chemicals and artificial coloring that effectively hide the flavor of the margarita’s primary ingredient: tequila. For most cocktail purists and tequila aficionados (yes, your Tequila Examiner is certainly one of those) this is a cardinal sin.
One brand of tequila, Tres Agaves (http://www.tresagaves.com), intends to change that with their own brand of margarita mix. I admit that I was a bit skeptical when a sample arrived on my doorstep, but the package also included their three expressions of tequila and their cocktail-ready organic agave nectar. A little experimentation was definitely in order.
The Tres Agaves margarita mix is certified USDA organic and is made with only three ingredients: organic agave nectar, organic lime juice, and filtered water. There are no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives (like sodium benzoate, the non-natural preservative that caused Whole Foods to abandon Reality TV star Bethenny Frankel's Skinnygirl Margarita). It’s a lean 68 calories per 3 ounce serving, and by following the “Perfect Margarita” recipe printed on the bottle, which has you add 2 ounces of tequila, it's only 228 calories per drink.
My first test was a little disappointing. I mixed up a couple margaritas (one for me, and one for my mom, who was making enchiladas using some leftover turkey) using the Tres Agaves Blanco tequila. We both liked the flavor, but we both found the drink too sweet. I never thought I’d write this, especially about a margarita mix: There was too much agave flavor; it threw the drink out of balance. I added 1 ounce of fresh lime juice to mitigate the sweetness, and we were both pleased.
After tasting the tequila and the mix separately , I discovered that the culprit was actually the blanco tequila! It’s very well-crafted and a great sipper on its own, wonderfully rich in agave flavor. I grabbed an inexpensive 100% agave tequila from the bar (Puerto Vallarta blanco) and mixed it with the Tres Agaves margarita mix. It tasted great!
First night conclusion: Tres Agaves margarita mix enhances the flavor of margaritas made with inexpensive 100% agave tequila, giving your margaritas a robust agave flavor.
On the second night of testing, I focused on freshness. Could the Tres Agaves margarita mix taste just as good as a margarita with freshly-squeezed lime juice? I made four margaritas:
- Tres Agaves blanco + margarita mix
- Tres Agaves blanco + agave nectar + freshly-squeezed lime juice
- Tres Agaves reposado + margarita mix
- Tres Agaves reposado + agave nectar + freshly-squeezed lime juice
Agave nectar typically has a honey-like consistency; however, the Tres Agaves nectar is only slightly viscous with a consistency closer to that of simple syrup, making it much easier for mixing drinks.
Again, I found the sweet, baked agave flavor of Tres Agaves blanco overpowered the lime juice and threw the margarita off-balance (in the mix and freshly-squeezed). The margarita made with Tres Agaves reposado and mix, however, was perfectly balanced. The additional flavors from the tequila’s barrel-aging tempered the agave flavor with flavors from the barrel, giving the cocktail added dimension without taking flavor away from lime juice. The margarita made with agave nectar and lime juice was nearly identical in flavor, but the added texture and flavor from the pulp of the freshly-squeezed lime juice were missed in the margarita made from the mix.
So do you need to waste precious party preparation time squeezing a bunch of limes? Not at all. Use the Tres Agaves margarita mix and cut a few lime wedges. Why? Garnish! Bay Area bartender Brian Means, first-place winner at last year’s Tequila Rocks competition, explains that a garnish is “part of the bar experience. Sight, smell and taste should all be involved in a cocktail.”
Second night conclusion: Tres Agaves margarita mix is a great way to quickly make a healthy, flavorful, margarita. High quality 100% agave reposado tequila will yield excellent results. Serve the drink with a lime wedge as a garnish, and encourage party guests to squeeze a bit of fresh lime juice into the drink – and even drop it into the glass! Know that you’re celebrating the margarita in style.
Comments