Margarita
Lots of folks claim the origins of this popular Tex-Mex drink as their own.
One version has it that it was first made it for Marguerite Hemery at a restaurant in Matamoros, Mexico. Another story says Dallas socialite Margarita Sames mixed up the concoction at her home in Acapulco. Some say it was created by a bar owner as a wedding present for his brother’s bride, Margarita. Still other versions say it was created as a tribute to actress Rita Hayworth, born Margarita Cansino, and to singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee.
Others tell the story of showgirl Marjorie King, who asked a barman in Rosarita Beach to make her a cocktail from tequila because she was allergic to other alcohol. He did and gave it the Spanish equivalent of her name. Another common story goes that a woman came into a bar in Juarez and ordered a Magnolia. The barman didn’t know the recipe, so he created a new concoction he called a Daisy, or Margarita in Spanish.
2 ounces tequila
1-2 ounces lime juice
1 ounce Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau
Salt
Pour tequila, lime juice or either Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau into a shaker. Fill with ice and strain into a glass rimmed with salt. Garnish with a slice of lime.
Pimm’s Cup
This British libation is definitely old school. Traditionally served at Wimbledon, it dates back to the 18th century when James Pimm, who ran an oyster bar in England, created a gin-based concoction using a still-secret formula and called it Pimm’s No. 1. Today it is bottled in England using a mixture of dry gin, liqueur, fruit juices and spices. It was originally served in a metal cup. With the addition of soda, it becomes the low-alcohol drink Pimm’s Cup.
2 ounces Pimm’s No. 1
Lemon-lime soda or ginger ale
Lemon
Cucumber
Pour Pimm’s No. 1 into an ice-filled 8-ounce tumbler, top with soda or ginger ale, garnish with a slice of lemon and a slice of cucumber.
Caipirinha
The spirit in Brazil’s national cocktail is cachaca, which is made from sugar cane. Also known as aguardiente, it can be difficult to find outside Brazil. Substitute rum to make a caipirissima or vodka to made a caipirosca.
2 ounces cachaca
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
4 key or small limes, cut in half, remove seeds
Place limes in a mixing bowl and sprinkle with sugar and muddle until sugar dissolves. Pour the cachaca into a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the lime and sugar mixture and shake. Pour into a highball glass.
Singapore Sling
This cocktail created in the early 1900s by barman Ngiam Tong Boon at the Long Bar in Singapore’s Raffles Hotel has been copied and modified over the years. The original included Benedictine and did not include soda.
1½ ounces gin
½ ounce cherry heering or cherry brandy
¼ ounce Cointreau
4 ounces pineapple juice
¼ ounce Benedictine
½ ounce lime juice
1/3 ounce grenadine
Dash bitters
Pour all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, strain and pour into a tumbler. Garnish with a cherry and slice of pineapple.
Kir and Kir Royale
Felix Kir, the mayor of Dijon, France, from 1945 to 1968, liked to serve a drink that highlighted two of his region’s local products: white burgundy wine and cassis, a liqueur made from blackcurrants. He so often served it at receptions during his long tenure in office that his guests call it “the Kir” in his honor. Another version, the kir royale, substitutes Champagne for the white wine.
6 ounces white wine or champagne
1-2 tablespoons cassis
Pour cassis into a wine glass, add wine or champagne.
Pisco Sour
Pisco, a brandy made from grapes, is named for Pisco, Peru, one of the places it is made, as well as the the pottery in which it was aged by 16th century Spanish settlers. Today both Peru and Chile claim the Pisco Sour as their drink. Peru’s National Pisco Sour Day takes place on the first Saturday of February.
¼ cup pisco
1 tablespoon sugar or ¼ ounce simple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon egg white
3 ice cubes
Mix pisco, sugar, lime juice, egg white and ice in a blender and serve in a martini or highball glass with a slice of lime.
Lots of folks claim the origins of this popular Tex-Mex drink as their own.
One version has it that it was first made it for Marguerite Hemery at a restaurant in Matamoros, Mexico. Another story says Dallas socialite Margarita Sames mixed up the concoction at her home in Acapulco. Some say it was created by a bar owner as a wedding present for his brother’s bride, Margarita. Still other versions say it was created as a tribute to actress Rita Hayworth, born Margarita Cansino, and to singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee.
Others tell the story of showgirl Marjorie King, who asked a barman in Rosarita Beach to make her a cocktail from tequila because she was allergic to other alcohol. He did and gave it the Spanish equivalent of her name. Another common story goes that a woman came into a bar in Juarez and ordered a Magnolia. The barman didn’t know the recipe, so he created a new concoction he called a Daisy, or Margarita in Spanish.
2 ounces tequila
1-2 ounces lime juice
1 ounce Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau
Salt
Pour tequila, lime juice or either Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau into a shaker. Fill with ice and strain into a glass rimmed with salt. Garnish with a slice of lime.
Pimm’s Cup
This British libation is definitely old school. Traditionally served at Wimbledon, it dates back to the 18th century when James Pimm, who ran an oyster bar in England, created a gin-based concoction using a still-secret formula and called it Pimm’s No. 1. Today it is bottled in England using a mixture of dry gin, liqueur, fruit juices and spices. It was originally served in a metal cup. With the addition of soda, it becomes the low-alcohol drink Pimm’s Cup.
2 ounces Pimm’s No. 1
Lemon-lime soda or ginger ale
Lemon
Cucumber
Pour Pimm’s No. 1 into an ice-filled 8-ounce tumbler, top with soda or ginger ale, garnish with a slice of lemon and a slice of cucumber.
Caipirinha
The spirit in Brazil’s national cocktail is cachaca, which is made from sugar cane. Also known as aguardiente, it can be difficult to find outside Brazil. Substitute rum to make a caipirissima or vodka to made a caipirosca.
2 ounces cachaca
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
4 key or small limes, cut in half, remove seeds
Place limes in a mixing bowl and sprinkle with sugar and muddle until sugar dissolves. Pour the cachaca into a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the lime and sugar mixture and shake. Pour into a highball glass.
Singapore Sling
This cocktail created in the early 1900s by barman Ngiam Tong Boon at the Long Bar in Singapore’s Raffles Hotel has been copied and modified over the years. The original included Benedictine and did not include soda.
1½ ounces gin
½ ounce cherry heering or cherry brandy
¼ ounce Cointreau
4 ounces pineapple juice
¼ ounce Benedictine
½ ounce lime juice
1/3 ounce grenadine
Dash bitters
Pour all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, strain and pour into a tumbler. Garnish with a cherry and slice of pineapple.
Kir and Kir Royale
Felix Kir, the mayor of Dijon, France, from 1945 to 1968, liked to serve a drink that highlighted two of his region’s local products: white burgundy wine and cassis, a liqueur made from blackcurrants. He so often served it at receptions during his long tenure in office that his guests call it “the Kir” in his honor. Another version, the kir royale, substitutes Champagne for the white wine.
6 ounces white wine or champagne
1-2 tablespoons cassis
Pour cassis into a wine glass, add wine or champagne.
Pisco Sour
Pisco, a brandy made from grapes, is named for Pisco, Peru, one of the places it is made, as well as the the pottery in which it was aged by 16th century Spanish settlers. Today both Peru and Chile claim the Pisco Sour as their drink. Peru’s National Pisco Sour Day takes place on the first Saturday of February.
¼ cup pisco
1 tablespoon sugar or ¼ ounce simple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon egg white
3 ice cubes
Mix pisco, sugar, lime juice, egg white and ice in a blender and serve in a martini or highball glass with a slice of lime.
Comments