A Cocktail A Day: 5/1/18

Carrot Ginger Margarita

A Cocktail A Day: 4/28/18

Anejo tequila, muddled pear, ancho chili liqueur, blood orange shrub, Aperol & charred jalapeno.

Customer Appreciation Post — Anita Pisco

A customer came back from a trip abroad with a newfound love of Pisco, and in specific — the Pisco Sour.

We don’t have Pisco at the restaurant where I work, but that didn’t stop me from making her an egg white sour with Añejo tequila.

The drink was a hit and she cleverly named it the Anita Pisco — “I need a Pisco.” And her name is a Anita Paladino. And there’s still no tequila in the drink, but she and I still think it’s funny to call it that.

I’m sure it’s slightly annoying for my co-workers that I have these one-off drinks for a dozen different regulars… but my customers like it that I remember their drinks, and when it’s something specific to them (like his this Anita Pisco) — it’s even more of a memorable visit to the bar. Plus we’re only open five days a week and I’m usually there most every night, which is surely how all this arose in the first place.

Regardless, I like slinging specialty drinks and it’s always a treat to have fun and enthusiastic customers.

Pics From National Tequila Day

 My Paloma:

 

And a shot:

  

National Tequila Day

It’s National Tequila Day today! And it’s not even May!

Well, any reason to celebrate a spirit is reason enough for me! Bring on the salt, citrus and agave syrup!

  
I found the above picture by searching National Tequila Day in Google’s images.

And now for some drinks:

• Anejo Old Fashioned — (Link)
• The Matador — (Link)
• Tequila Mockingbird — (Link)

For my money though, the drink of the day should definitely be the Paloma!

You can build this drink to taste, like you would any other highball or Collins/Rickey because the ingredients are sort of similar — tequila, lime juice and grapefruit soda.

But here’s the basic building blocks:

Ingredients:
•2 oz tequila
•1 splash lime juice
•1 pinch of salt
•3 to 4 oz grapefruit soda

Preparation:
Grab yourself a Collins or highball glass and pack it full with ice. Next add 2 oz of good tequila. Add a bit of lime juice, whether it be pre-squeezed or simply a good-sized wedge you squeeze and drop in. Then top off the glass with the grapefruit soda!

For more about the Paloma, visit Liquor.com or Imbibe Magazine or The New York Times or Serious Eats or Esquire.

THIRSTY FOR MORE?

— Check out Good Spirits News for more about National Tequila Day and a list of quality tequilas.

AND ONE LAST THING:

Who makes up all these “National” holidays? Where do they come from? Why are they legit?

— Here’s some info explaining just that.

— A second story about the calendar.

Hey Scout — ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Turns 55 Today

Today marks the 55th anniversary of the release of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird.

The book was published on July 11, 1960.

Sometime after its release, a bartender created a cocktail named after the book — the Tequila Mockingbird!

According to Difford’s Guide, this recipe is thought to have been created sometime in the 1960s after Harper Lee’s novel was published. There’s also another version of the drink, and that is the recipe which appears in the recently published cocktail book also titled Tequila Mockingbird.

Tequila Mockingbird 

  

About This Drink

I took the following recipe from The Ultimate Bar Book by Mittie Hellmich.

Ingredients:

•2 oz silver tequila
•1/2 oz white creme de menthe
•1 oz fresh lime juice

Preparation:

Shake over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish by floating a lime wheel on top — or with a wedge on the rim, as I did.