Jessica's Special Margaritas

Happy National Margarita Day!

That's right, a whole entire day devoted to that delectable, salty-sweet drink known as the Margarita. I love me a margarita. They are one of my favorite drinks to order. This could be because I frequent a lot of Mexican restaurants... At any rate, if I don't have a margarita in my hot little hands, it's not a real Mexican feast to me. As you can imagine, there's several Mexican restaurants I've never tried around here, solely because they are stuck in a dry county.

Sorry, amigos. No tequila? No Jessica :-)

This isn't your typical recipe for margaritas. First of all, this recipe is for a pitcher. Yep, a big, fat pitcher full of the good stuff. Fair warning- these are some strong drinks for not tasting like they're 90% alcohol. There was a time nearly a decade ago when the hubby tasted these for the first time, and boy did he "taste" a large volume. Ha ha. Let's just say you'll be in for a bit of long evening if you imbibe of these too much. 

But hey, we're all adults here. We'll stick to just one. Or maybe two...

There's a secret to my margaritas. Actually, there's two secrets-

1. You must be able to taste the tequila i.e. no overload of stomach-souring margarita mix.

2. Light beer. No joke. It totally cuts the sweetness of the drink and completely mellows it out.

And salt! You can't forget the salt. 

Everyone's motto for National Margarita Day? I think so!

I got my shot glasses out for the making of these cocktails. Then I remembered I was making a pitcher. I have no idea how many "shots" of tequila you would need in the making of this pitcher :-) However, these are two of my favorites. The top one is my favorite single shot, and the colored shot glass is my favorite double shot. One of my former coworkers got it in Mexico for me many years ago, it's authentic and lovely.

I happened to have a Dos Equis on hand, so I used that. I normally use Bud Light or Miller Light. I've used Yuengling and Land Shark too with great results. It really just needs to be a lager style beer.

Now, I make these margaritas without measuring. I've been making them that long. You might need to measure out the ingredients, though. One thing that helps me in the making of these is starting with the proper amount of ice. You'll always know where to pour to if you use about the same amount of ice each time. Add the all the ingredients to the ice-

And give it a good stir!

Tuck this recipe away for the next time you have a party! I frequently make these when we have people over and it never fails that I get asked for the recipe. 

The people have spoken, and they clamor for tequila!

I think that I will be taking full advantage of today. I do have a doctor's appointment this morning (time for new glasses!) but after that, I'll be celebrating margaritas. I even have leftover Spanish Rice and a smothered Burrito in the fridge. Oh yeah, it's going to be a good day :-)

Did everyone have a great weekend? Ours flew by. I'm sitting here this morning wondering what happened. We didn't even watch an Oscar movie. Admittedly, we are in the middle of "The 100" and we're pretty hooked. It was a total lazy weekend. Pretty much the only thing we accomplished was learning we could make Cinnamon Toast on our new panini press. Granted, if you love Cinnamon Toast like we do, you might consider it a winning weekend. Ha ha. 

Have a great week everyone!

Ingredients (makes 1 pitcher or 8 (1) cup servings):

Ice

3 cups tequila

2 cups margarita mix

1 light beer

1/4 cup orange liqueur

1 lime, sliced thinly

salt, lime wedges (garnish, optional)

Directions:

1. Fill a pitcher with ice. The more ice, the less strong the drinks will be. 

2. Add tequila, mix, beer, orange liqueur, and lime slices. Stir to mix. Taste, and add ice as needed.

3. Take a lime wedge, and run it around edges of glasses. Dip glasses upside down into salt, and twist around to cover the whole rim. Fill glasses with ice.

4. Distribute drinks among glasses and serve!

Printable Recipe

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these-

"Mangling" Margaritas

Hard Root Beer Floats

Pomegranate Lime Cosmos

Linked to: Create It Thursday, Thank Goodness It's Thursday, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Tipsy Tuesday