Classic Margaritas

I was 20 years old when I married Cade, so instead of champagne we toasted with glasses of sparkling cider at our wedding reception. Looking back, maybe we should have offered champagne to our guests and maybe even my 23 year old groom, but we were on a budget, so… sparkling cider for all! Our first year of marriage we didn’t keep any alcohol around our apartment and when we went out, Cade had a beer while I chowed down wings and potato skins. My 21st birthday came and we really enjoyed going out together and trying a variety of cocktails; it didn’t take long for me to establish that my favorite drink was a classic margarita.

 

After we had our oldest son, Grant, we started keeping margarita staples around the house for mini dates on the back porch once he was snoozing in his crib. We also started entertaining in our home more frequently and we really enjoyed taking the time to lovingly prepare great food and fun drinks for our friends and family! Next thing we knew, Calvin was born, and we were like “woah, two kids under two was a crazy idea.” Now we keep a fully stocked home bar!

If you want the most delicious margarita ever, fresh lime juice is key. No mixes, no juice from concentrate. I promise you it’s worth the extra bit of work! Since we have citrus trees, we use a hard-working cast iron citrus press Jupiter Large Commercial Juice Press, Black so that we can juice in bulk relatively quickly, but a small, simple hand press is very effective for making enough juice for drinks! When we’re planning on company we usually juice a large bag of limes and keep the juice in a little jar for the night so we can make refills without juicing in between.

Classic Margarita Recipe

1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice

1.5 oz 100% agave tequila reposado

1 oz cointreau

1 oz triple sec (you can substitute the triple sec for a splash of simple syrup if you want them to be a less boozy and a bit sweeter)

Salt your glass by rubbing a slice of lime around the rim of your glass, then dipping the glass in a plate of salt (margarita or kosher salt works best). Carefully put a small handful of ice in the glass and another handful of ice into a shaker. Add the liquid ingredients into the shaker with the ice, then shake, shake, shake! Pour the shaken ingredients through a cocktail strainer into your glass and garnish with a slice of lime. The last step is easy… enjoy!