Bottom’s Up!

If you got a chance to go to Mexico let’s say, what’s one of the first things you would do when you got there?….Lay on a beach, margarita in one hand and an amazing novel in the other.  Specialty drinks are something always associated with popular vacation spots, here are some famous ones for your next vacation, virgin or non-virgin, both versions taste great for any drink (some can’t be virgin’s though such as a shot, for example, the Swedish drink of choice…VODKA):

Margarita:

According to The Great Margarita Book, there are so many different stories that lend to the origin of the margarita; however, I must believe that the margarita did in fact originate from Mexico (for my own sanity!  If we were to find out it came from some American in California I’m sure we would all feel that we have been living an awful lie for all these years we thought it was from Mexico)!  You can decide for yourself which legend is the most valid in an article by Cosmic Chile.  Just a quick side note, this site has a whole list of hot sauces, my favorite thing in the entire world!  I put it on everything that I do not like to eat but must eat, such as broccoli, grilled chicken, corn, I’ve even mixed it into my salads.  So if you are just as obsessed with hot sauce as I am check out some of the sauces they have on their site!

So next time you head down to Mexico, lay down in that baking sun to crisp up (just kidding) and grab a margarita from the beach bar.  If you want to bring Mexico to your own home here are some recipes for your next margarita:

The Traditional Margarita:

2 shots of tequila
1 shot Cointreau
1 shot freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt and lime wedge, to serve

Margarita Texas:  This site has a HUGE list of margarita recipes

If you are looking for a place to buy excellent margarita materials, mixes, specialty salt, shakers, etc. you will not be disappointed at Williams-Sonoma. 

Sangria:

Arrrrriba Arrrrriba!  This wine punch comes all the way from Spain and is delicioso!  The word “sangre” in spanish means blood and that is what the drink is made of.  Just kidding!!!!  Sangre is the word for blood and it is named after this word but it isn’t actually blood.  It might look like a lighter color of sangre but it tastes delicious!  The way it is made is by infusing red wine with fresh fruit.  Whenever I have gotten sangria, a tooth pick usually came with it so I could pick out the whole pieces of fruit inside the drink.  There are also other alcohols infused in as well to the sangria to give flavor.

The Classic Sangria Recipe:

1 bottle quality rioja
2 tablespooons caster sugar
half orange, cubed or sliced
1 lemon, cubbed or sliced
handful of fresh berries of your choice
30ml brandy Spanish brandy, such as Domecq
30ml Cointreau
235ml soda
ice cubes to half fill jug

I just found this really interesting site about the origin of gross drinks from around the world (helpful hint:  When you go to this site, you have to scroll down a little to get to the story, the top is blank).  You will cringe and hopefully laugh at the same time, I’m not even sure if those two expressions go together but I did something along those lines when I looked at the drinks!

 

 

Tags: drink recipes, drinks, hot sauce, margarita, sangria, vacation drinks