Here Comes the Sun - Week 4

Week 4 - The Sunrise Margarita

I'm a few weeks into the new year and my new hobby.  I've started to set up things like this blog and my new Instagram account - JessieOnTheRocks.  Side note - don't forget to follow me on Instagram.  It's apparently how I now define my self-worth!  I've never watched a number more carefully or with such excitement in my life.  I am of course kidding, but in all honesty, it is satisfying to see that people think my adventure is interesting enough to follow. 


While setting up my Instagram, I began to follow others that enjoy making cocktails.  I noticed that many people use interesting and unique glasses to prepare drinks.  It occurred to me that I do not have very many different types of glasses in which to make my margaritas.  I have a few that I have collected over the years and I enjoy them very much, but if I am going to do this challenge for a whole year, I'm going to have to up my glass game.  I decided to head to Home Goods and see if they had any interesting options to add to my collection. 


Home Goods did not disappoint.  While I went to pick up one or two new glasses, I ended up with an entire cart full.  Because I did not need a whole set of glasses, just single unique glasses, I was able to find a ton of great deals ($3 and under) in the clearance aisle.  Below are a few pictures of some of my finds.

  

Now that I had a cupboard full of fun glasses, I was ready to tackle my week 4 drink.  As I mentioned in my week 3 post, I had a bit of a snafu with my first attempt at a frozen margarita.  This week, I decided to steer clear of all  things frozen and go back to what I was good at.  This week's drink is The Sunrise Margarita.  This drink has orange juice and grenadine in addition to the traditional margarita ingredients. Grenadine is a new ingredient for me to try.  This drink also has a more complicated prep because you prepare certain parts of the drink separately and then combine.


I prepped the first part of the drink and added it to my new specially selected glass.  I then measured out the grenadine, which is apparently weighted differently than the other ingredients.  When the grenadine is added, it sinks to the bottom of the drink causing a "sunrise" effect.  I held my breath and added the last ingredient.  To my amazement, it did exactly what it was supposed to.  The drink was absolute perfection!  I added a simple cherry to the glass for garnish.  I was so proud.  This was a much needed ego boost after last week's near disaster. 


Not only did the drink look beautiful, it tasted fantastic.  It was a little on the sweet side, but is perfect for a summer night or sitting on the beach. 


Lesson learned:  You can spruce up any drink recipe with a fun glass.  They also don't have to match perfectly.  Eclectic works well in drink making.


Recipe
2 ounces tequila
4 ounces orange juice
1 ounce triple sec
Splash of lemon juice
Cherry for garnish
Combine Tequila, OJ, Triple sec and lemon juice in cocktail shaker.  Strain into a glass.  Then add grenadine, which will settle at the bottom of the glass.


Level of difficulty: 4.5
Taste: 9
Overall: 8.5