Beginner's luck - Week 1


Week 1 - The Prickly Pear Margarita

 
I was in Ft. Lauderdale for work a few weeks ago and stopped at a restaurant called Canyon for drinks with friends after work.   Canyon is known for a drink called the Prickly Pear Margarita.  I instantly loved this drink.  The first thing I looked up in the book I received for Christmas (101 Margaritas - referenced in my first post) was this recipe.  Sure enough it was in there!


I decided to make week one the Prickly Pear Margarita.  I already had all the ingredients for the drink, with the exception of the prickly pear syrup.  That should be easy enough to get right?  Wrong.  This stuff must be tapped out of a cactus lined with gold out in Arizona!  It was back ordered three weeks.  However, when it arrived, it was well worth the wait and made the anticipation of the drink all the more fun!   Also, luckily, I am an annoying type A, left brain sequential who plans annoyingly far ahead, so the syrup arrived just in time for my first week.


I had intended to make this drink quietly, at home, alone, with the only taste tester being myself.  This way, if it was an epic fail, no one would know but me!  At least until this post came out!  However, as life does not always go as planned, my best friend and her daughter unexpectedly came to town for a birthday party at another mutual friend's house (their daughters are friends).  While I was thrilled to see them, this was not in my drink making plan.  No worries, I was invited along to the party to hang with the adults.  "Bring that new drink you were talking about making" offered my best friend.  PANIC.  Sheer Panic. 


This is only my first week and one of my first attempts at drink making!  You want me to go to the house of a self-proclaimed drink aficionado to make my lame margarita!?!  You have got to be kidding me.  After my quasi panic attack in the bathroom, I replied "Sure, sounds fun!" to her text.  Cause that's what you do right?  lol!


Fast forward to later that night, we show up after the birthday party to hang out.  The other women acted excited about my new drink and asked me to make them right away.  "Sure!" I say and I start to sweat bullets.  I thought fast and said "you know, I'm kind of new to this and I've never made this drink before, maybe I should just make one and we can all try it and make sure we like it?".  They seemed to think this was a good idea.  Phew, they are with me so far.


I set up a little work station on the side counter and proceeded to carefully measure and prepare the drink according to the recipe.  I am nothing, if not a rule follower.  Finally, the drink was made and ready to be tried.  We all took turns sipping and it wasn't half bad!  They actually liked it!  One of the girls preferred stronger drinks, so she asked for hers to have a little more alcohol.  One of the other girls was the opposite and liked it with less.  I also learned that the syrup was really potent, so a little went a long way.  We spent the next few hours playing around with the recipe and having a wonderful visit.


Lesson learned:  Drinks are dynamic.  Though there is a recipe, don't be afraid to try tweaks to the recipe to account for personal preferences.


One week down, Fifty-one to go.  This one was a big one though.  I survived  and I gained some confidence.  I am looking forward to week two with excitement.


Recipe
2 ounces tequila
3/4 ounce Cointreau
1/2 ounce prickly pear juice/syrup
1/2 ounce lime juice
  


Level of Difficulty: 4
Taste: 9
Overall: 8.5


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