Today is the year’s best holiday…National Margarita Day. Why is it the best? Think about it…
At Christmas you have to fight the crowds to buy presents for people you don’t really like;
Halloween means eating all the candy you supposedly bought to give away to the kids;
Thanksgiving requires mingling with your weird relatives;
But National Margarita Day has just one requirement…to drink and enjoy that glorious fusion of citrus, salt, and tequila known as the Margarita.
There are choices to be made of course. Blended or over ice, salt or no salt, sweet or sour. It can get confusing.
But don’t despair. Years of frontline research on sandy beaches led me to discover the recipe for what will soon be your favorite Margarita.
It is the Margarita I served in my bar in Mexico, the one made by Poppa in my novel Driftwood: Stories From the Margarita Road, and the one I drink myself.
So without further ado, here, straight from the shores of Paradise Beach, is Poppa’s secret Margarita recipe:
Poppa’s Perfect Margarita
- Find your favorite margarita glass and fill it to the brim with ice.
- Pour one shot añejo tequila, one shot silver tequila, and one shot orange liqueur over ice into a shaker. (I prefer Herradura, but to each his own.)
Squeeze the juice of two small limes into the shaker. Save one of the lime rinds to use later. - Add one shot of simple syrup–-more if you like your margaritas sweet. (Make your own by dissolving a cup of sugar in a cup of boiling water. Cool before adding. Or just be lazy and go buy some. We won’t judge.)
- Finally, add just a splash of orange juice. Shake it up like Tom Cruise in Cocktail.
- Sprinkle a generous amount of salt onto a plate. Run the leftover lime rind around the rim of your glass, and dip it into the salt.
- Give it one last shake and strain the yummy goodness into your glass.
- Add a small slice of lime as garnish, either on the rim or just floating in the magic concoction.
- Enjoy
- Repeat as necessary
You may not be able to recreate the beach, the sea breeze, and the humid air, but I promise this is the next best thing.
And if you haven’t read Driftwood: Stories from the Margarita Road, go get yourself a copy and read it while you sip your Poppa’s Perfect.
It may be just the escape you need right now.