Elderflower Pear Margarita

Who knew George Clooney makes tequila? Well, he’s not the actual master distiller, but he’s one of the power names behind Casamigos Tequila, along with Rande Gerbe and Mike Meldman. Clooney’s signature is even on the bottle.

George Clooney is a co-owner of Casamigos Tequila.

Celebs and their rock star cousins have been throwing a bit of their fortunes into spirits for awhile now (remember Cabo Wabo tequila, courtesy of Sammy Hagar?). Dan Aykroyd brings us Crystal Head Vodka, Kenny Chesney has a line of made-in-Barbados rums, and Justin Timberlake is behind 901 Tequila. So it’s not surprising tequila-lover Clooney would get in on the game with a premium blanco and reposado tequila (an anejo will be added to the Casamigos collection some time this year).

The Casamigos website lists some great-sounding recipes from bars across North America. Los Pollos Hermanos sounds amazing — who knew you could put chicken stock in a cocktail? I was sent a bottle of the blanco to sample and since I don’t have any “clarified chicken stock” on hand, I decided to try the product in a margarita. I usually prefer a reposado in my margs, but I thought the blanco worked well in an Elderflower Pear Margarita.

The Casamigos blanco is smooth, no burn at all going down and with nice floral aromas and a taste of sweet agave. I felt the blanco would pair well with St-Germaine and its sweet, floral, not-quite-pear-nor-citrus taste, so I subbed that liqueur for Cointreau in my margarita twist. I also had an overripe pear on hand and decided to see how that would taste muddled into the mix. It added a subtle pear flavour and that, along with the St-Germaine, made the drink stand out. (I’m not sure I’d make it again though as it was a bit laborious straining the pear out!)

This margarita twist features St-Germaine and the soft, sweet flavour of muddled pear to offset the tequila and lime. Note Clooney’s signature on the bottle!

Elderflower Pear Margarita

• 1.5 oz Casamigos blanco tequila
• 1 oz St-Germaine
• 1 oz lime juice
• 1 barspoon agave syrup
• 1/4 ripe pear
• Garnish: pear wedge

Method: Rim a rocks glass with salt and fill with crushed ice. In the bottom of a cocktail shaker muddle ripe pear with lime juice and agave syrup. Add Casamigos blanco, St-Germaine and ice and shake. Fine strain into the rocks glass and garnish with a pear wedge.