Drink of the Month: Blackberry-Lime-Tequila

I am not a huge fan of Tequila.  The whole, "One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor," thing is pretty accurate.  However, I do enjoy a nice margarita on the rocks when I am chowing-down on delicious Mexican food here in Texas.

The problem with all the margaritas you find at restaurants is they are loaded with fake ingredients and tons of sugar.  You can order a 'skinny' one, but they seem to give you a tiny drink with no more than five sips involved.

So, make yourself a margarita at home and you will not only be happier with the taste and flavor, but you will be happier with the calorie count as well.

Blackberries are in season right now and are plump and juicy, so when I bought a package at Sprout's I knew they were going to be used in my margarita.

Like all margaritas you have to start out with a nice silver tequila.  We had Patron at the house, so that is what I went with.

Next you need limes, duh.  Fresh-squeezed of course.

Then you need a sweet component.  I like to use local honey or agave nectar in my drinks, and I just so happen to have some Spicy Honey on hand (a gift I received from a friend).  Perfect!

Lastly, the blackberries.  Blackberries have so many seeds so you will want to toss them in a blender and then strain them so you get all the seeds out.

Now you can combine all of your ingredients.  The ratio of each is totally up to you.  Do you like it more tart?  Add more lime.  More sweet?  Add more honey.  Fruiter?  Add more blackberry puree.  Or if you had a rough week at work, just add more tequila.

I personally like mine balanced with an equal amount of sweet and tart.  I did go a little heavy handed on the blackberry puree though.  :)

Cheers!

Drink of the Week #10: Sweet Heat Rita

Summer is margarita season.  More than any other season, I find myself wanting to sip on an ice cold tequila rita in the summer.  I don't typically make ritas at home, because every time I have tried to create a simple rita on the rocks it turns out terrible, but I had inspiration for this one.  

With the plethora of fresh market peaches everywhere right now, I figured now is as good of a time as any to create a rita, a peach rita that is.  Of course, peaches can be very sweet and overpowering so it needed to be paired with another bold flavor to balance it out...jalapenos!

The Sweet Heat Rita is the perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness with a kick of tequila flavor.  The great thing about the spice is you get to decide how spicy you want yours to be.  Slices of fresh jalapenos simmer at low with a bit of honey and water, to create a healthier simple syrup with an infusion of spicy jalapeno flavor.  The more jalapeno in the liquid, and the longer it simmers, the hotter the syrup.  

Being a combination of spicy and sweet I found the addition of salt to add a nice layer to the concoction.  So often the salted rim is too much salt, or too little.  Adding the salt to the drink itself instead of using it as a garnish was a great idea, guaranteed to be in every sip.