My wife and I never had a Margarita until just a few years ago on a trip down to Mexico. It was our last day and lunch before getting ready to head out to the airport. A waiter handed us Margaritas as we stood outside the restaurant waiting to go in. We were reluctant to go home and wanted to squeeze as much fun into our last hours as we could. We tried them and we were hooked.

Ms. Margarita and Rita de la Rosa

My wife since then has built up a reputation of being Ms. Margarita and before she retired last spring she would have a year ending Margarita party with her colleagues. She in turn hooked a number of others onto her own blend of a Margarita mix. At times though we want simplicity and tried a couple of mixes. We have used, at at times still use Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix that happens to bare the name of our favorite Tequila, Jose Cuervo. There is another that we really like, it's "On the Border" Frozen Margarita Mix. Perhaps a reivew on it will be posted one day.

The bottle's label tells the story that The Margarita cocktail was created in 1938 in honor of a beautiful showgirl named Rita de la Rosa. A bartender improvised a cocktail to capture her heart with Cuervo and the flavor of Mexican Limones.

The Mix

The mix itself is non-alcoholic and contains no juice. Hey what happened to the limones the bartender wanted to capture the pretty gals heart with? Instead it's a mix of water, high fructose corn syrup, and/or citric acid, natural flavours. sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, and a buncha udder stuff. It don't sound pretty but it does taste good. The colour is a pale green.

When we make a Margarita following the recipe on the bottle of Original Margarita mix we use 1 part Jose Cuervo Tequila along with 3 parts Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix. We salt a glass using a course kosher salt and add a piece of lime. That's it. It's ready to go.

Satisfied With a Remedy

The taste is a little more sour with an artificial tang than I really like but it's not terrible. The colour looks good and makes for a fine looking drink either frozen or on the rocks.

To make it to our own taste we do add Grand Marnier. I usually have a bottle of it in the house especially in the winter when I like to sip it after a fine meal. Cointreau Liqueur can also be added. That shot makes the drink closer to perfect.

Jose Curvo Gold Gold is good enough for us.

The ingredients that help build the perfect Margarita
Cointreau Liqueur
Grand Marnier

Recommended: Yes