Drink of the Week: Lisa’s Perfect Margarita

I have been known to enjoy a margarita from time to time.

Margarita in Puerto Nuevo Lobster Village, Rosarito Beach, Baja, Circa 2001 (seriously what's up with the zigzag part?).

I used to drink them slushie-style, the jumbo kind you get at Senor Frog’s (and as pictured, above), but on a recent trip to Puerto Vallarta I discovered the merits of an on-the-rocks margarita. I fell in love with the sublime combo of lime juice, tequila and Controy (a made-in-Mexico orange liqueur), and even wrote about the cocktail in one of my Calgary Herald columns.

Since then, however, I have spent some time playing around with the recipe, increasing the amount of tequila, substituting Cointreau for Controy and decreasing its amount, and adding agave nectar as a sweetener. It’s an ideal balance of tart and sweet and you can still taste the tequila. As the crushed ice melts it dilutes the potency and enhances the flavour. I’m calling it Lisa’s Perfect Margarita.

Behold! Lisa's Perfect Margarita.

Lisa’s Perfect Margarita

1.5 oz tequila

1/2 oz Cointreau

1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice

3/4 oz agave nectar

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake with ice, then strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.

I use the below ingredients, but feel free to substitute your own. Also, depending how sweet you like your marg, you might want to play around with the amount of agave syrup. I hope you like it. Ole!