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The margarita you make when you actually care about the margarita

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After years of using bottled sour mix I finally made a margarita from scratch: two parts blanco tequila, one part fresh lime, three-quarter part Cointreau, half a teaspoon of agave syrup. Shaken hard with ice until the shaker hurts to hold. The difference from a mix-based version is not marginal. The fresh lime has a volatile brightness that no bottled product captures. The agave rounds the edges without adding sweetness the way sugar syrup does. This took me four minutes to make. I have no excuse for ever using mix again.

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lime_is_law

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Fresh lime is the only lime. I will not have a margarita with bottled citrus anywhere — I would rather have a different drink. The volatile aromatic compounds in fresh lime juice are responsible for more than half of the perceived flavour and they start breaking down within 30 minutes of squeezing. Mix cannot replicate them.

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fresh_lime_squeeze

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The shaker temperature matters too. Shaking until the shaker is painful to hold means the drink is properly cold — usually around -5 to -8°C at the point of straining. That temperature suppresses sweetness and brings the acid and lime forward. A half-hearted shake leaves the drink warm and sweet.

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