Berry Nice to Meet You - Week 6
Week 6 - The Berries Jubilee Margarita
Okay, it's time for me to face my frozen fears. I need to attempt another frozen margarita. Pray for me.
I'm pretty sure the UPS driver for my neighborhood is wondering what on earth is going on at my house to warrant the recent uptick in Amazon deliveries. Nothing to see here sir, just a girl and her margarita shaker! I realize daily that I am woefully underprepared for drink making. The more I get into it, the more fun things I find I need. Don't get me wrong, drink making can be pretty simple, but sometimes the right equipment makes it a whole lot easier.
This week I added a jigger to help me more accurately measure ingredients. Up to this point, I have really been just eyeing it using shot glasses. I learned after I placed my order that these things came in different sizes - who knew?!? Thankfully, luck was on my side and I accidentally ordered the one I wanted - one ounce on one side and two ounces on the other. I guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally:) I also ordered a new stainless steel swizzle stick cocktail stir stick and spoon. You never know when you are going to need one of those right? #alwaysprepared
I decided to make the Berries Jubilee Margarita this week. The recipe calls for seasonal berries. I chose strawberries, blueberries and raspberries because all were readily available at my local supermarket and I like them. I contemplated adding blackberries to the mix, but they were really expensive and I felt like they wouldn't add enough to the drink for me to justify the cost.
A significant amount of prep time is required for this drink because you need to cut up the berries and then soak them in the Grand Marnier for at least an hour before you make the drink. I actually let them soak for about 2.5 hours. This is mostly because I got busy doing other things and totally forgot! No worries, the recipe said AT LEAST an hour. I figured that like a fine wine, it would only be better with time.
This drink also gave me the opportunity to work with Gold tequila for the first time. I had to do some research to understand the difference between silver and gold. Apparently a lot of people wonder about this because there were a LOT of articles differentiating these two things. In all honesty, I didn't even realize tequila was anything but clear until I started this project. I really just never paid any attention and assumed it was all generally the same.
My research taught me that there is a lot of information and opinions on the answer to this question, but I narrowed it down to this general explanation: the color differentiation comes from how soon the tequila is bottled after being distilled. Silver is bottled right away and is mostly distilled in stainless steel containers. Gold Tequila is sometimes aged, but generally not for very long. It gets its coloring one of two ways, either from the barrel the tequila is aged in, or more often, a caramel coloring is added. This gives gold tequila a sweeter and smoother taste. Both are often used in mixed drinks and generally are not sipped on their own.
After my last frozen attempt-gone-wrong, I consulted one of my friends who is a former bartender. He confirmed what I had thought, which was that I used the wrong amount of ice in my first attempt. He gave me a few pointers and I followed the recipe more closely this time around and stuck to the 3/4 of a cup ice.
I garnished the drink with sugar and used my recently purchased stir sticks (see week 5) as a kabob for a few berries. I placed the stir stick with the berries across the rim of the drink for an artistic effect. It looked pretty good! An interesting garnish really takes the drink to the next level.
The berry margarita ultimately turned out well and tasted very good, but I still missed a little on the frozen aspect of the drink. It was still more watered down than it should have been, though it was a vast improvement over my last try. I'm also beginning to think it might be my choice of blenders. It's also possible that perhaps frozen drinks are just my Achilles heel. I suppose time will tell. In the meantime, I have a lot more tries over the course of this year to get it right. Try, try again or some such nonsense, right? lol
Lesson learned: Sometimes things take time to perfect. You have to forgive yourself and move on. I'm still disappointed the drink wasn't perfect, but I very much enjoyed the process. For now there's still hope! If I give this same report in say mid-summer, we'll have a problem:) Until then, I remain cautiously optimistic.
Recipe
1/2 cup seasonal berries cut up - soak in Grand Marnier for at least an hour prior to making drink
2 ounces gold tequila
1 ounce Cointreau
a squeeze of lemon
A berry for garnish and sugar to the rim of the glass if desired
Level of difficulty: 6
Taste: 8.5
Overall: 9
Okay, it's time for me to face my frozen fears. I need to attempt another frozen margarita. Pray for me.
I'm pretty sure the UPS driver for my neighborhood is wondering what on earth is going on at my house to warrant the recent uptick in Amazon deliveries. Nothing to see here sir, just a girl and her margarita shaker! I realize daily that I am woefully underprepared for drink making. The more I get into it, the more fun things I find I need. Don't get me wrong, drink making can be pretty simple, but sometimes the right equipment makes it a whole lot easier.
This week I added a jigger to help me more accurately measure ingredients. Up to this point, I have really been just eyeing it using shot glasses. I learned after I placed my order that these things came in different sizes - who knew?!? Thankfully, luck was on my side and I accidentally ordered the one I wanted - one ounce on one side and two ounces on the other. I guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally:) I also ordered a new stainless steel swizzle stick cocktail stir stick and spoon. You never know when you are going to need one of those right? #alwaysprepared
I decided to make the Berries Jubilee Margarita this week. The recipe calls for seasonal berries. I chose strawberries, blueberries and raspberries because all were readily available at my local supermarket and I like them. I contemplated adding blackberries to the mix, but they were really expensive and I felt like they wouldn't add enough to the drink for me to justify the cost.
A significant amount of prep time is required for this drink because you need to cut up the berries and then soak them in the Grand Marnier for at least an hour before you make the drink. I actually let them soak for about 2.5 hours. This is mostly because I got busy doing other things and totally forgot! No worries, the recipe said AT LEAST an hour. I figured that like a fine wine, it would only be better with time.
This drink also gave me the opportunity to work with Gold tequila for the first time. I had to do some research to understand the difference between silver and gold. Apparently a lot of people wonder about this because there were a LOT of articles differentiating these two things. In all honesty, I didn't even realize tequila was anything but clear until I started this project. I really just never paid any attention and assumed it was all generally the same.
My research taught me that there is a lot of information and opinions on the answer to this question, but I narrowed it down to this general explanation: the color differentiation comes from how soon the tequila is bottled after being distilled. Silver is bottled right away and is mostly distilled in stainless steel containers. Gold Tequila is sometimes aged, but generally not for very long. It gets its coloring one of two ways, either from the barrel the tequila is aged in, or more often, a caramel coloring is added. This gives gold tequila a sweeter and smoother taste. Both are often used in mixed drinks and generally are not sipped on their own.
After my last frozen attempt-gone-wrong, I consulted one of my friends who is a former bartender. He confirmed what I had thought, which was that I used the wrong amount of ice in my first attempt. He gave me a few pointers and I followed the recipe more closely this time around and stuck to the 3/4 of a cup ice.
I garnished the drink with sugar and used my recently purchased stir sticks (see week 5) as a kabob for a few berries. I placed the stir stick with the berries across the rim of the drink for an artistic effect. It looked pretty good! An interesting garnish really takes the drink to the next level.
The berry margarita ultimately turned out well and tasted very good, but I still missed a little on the frozen aspect of the drink. It was still more watered down than it should have been, though it was a vast improvement over my last try. I'm also beginning to think it might be my choice of blenders. It's also possible that perhaps frozen drinks are just my Achilles heel. I suppose time will tell. In the meantime, I have a lot more tries over the course of this year to get it right. Try, try again or some such nonsense, right? lol
Lesson learned: Sometimes things take time to perfect. You have to forgive yourself and move on. I'm still disappointed the drink wasn't perfect, but I very much enjoyed the process. For now there's still hope! If I give this same report in say mid-summer, we'll have a problem:) Until then, I remain cautiously optimistic.
Recipe
1/2 cup seasonal berries cut up - soak in Grand Marnier for at least an hour prior to making drink
2 ounces gold tequila
1 ounce Cointreau
a squeeze of lemon
A berry for garnish and sugar to the rim of the glass if desired
Level of difficulty: 6
Taste: 8.5
Overall: 9
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