Tequila help

[sunbunny]

What's a good tequila for mixing margaritas? Something around $20. Keep in mind, this is just for mixing up a batch for a group  around the lake. Maybe a couple of shots will be done, but mostly it'll mixed.

 

Last weekend two fingers was used. I don't want it again.

[thefuzz]

Jose Cuervo Gold is a decent mixer tequila.

[Zod]

If you are mixing it just get the cheapest you can find. It will taste the same once there is high fructose corn syrup and food coloring in it

[pantherclaw]

Do not waste your money on cuervo.

I know most people don't give a damn what they use in margaritas.

Look for the cheapest 100% agave tequila available in your local liq. Store.

When you buy not pure tequilas, you are buying something that is using low grade grain alch. as a filler.

Cuervo gold is only 60% tequila. The rest is the cheapest grain alch they can use.

Also, any tequila that says gold on the label, means the color and taste is all additives.

Reposado=rested. Meaning the tequila has spent two to eleven months in used whiskey barrels. Adding flavor, while.mellowing the tequila. Makes it a smoother product over the silvers.

If you have any more questions; on ANY hard liq., let me know.

[frash.exe]

I'll make it easy for you. Seek out this brand called Lunazul. Shouldn't be very hard to find and it's in your price range

[Anybodyhome]

There are three types of tequilas, the difference being the amount of time they are aged.

Blanco ("white") is the clear and most people find this style of tequila the strongest. It is bottled or stored immediately after distillation or it is aged for 2 months or less in stainless steel or neutral oak barrels.

 

Joven ("young") or Oro ("old") refers to the golden tequilas that are often mixtures not containing 100% blue agave- the plant grown and harvested to make tequila.

 

Reposado ("rested") is a tequila aged anywhere from 2-12 months in oak barrels.

 

Anejo  ("aged" or "vintage") spends anywhere from 1-3 years in small oak barrels.

 

Extra Anejo is a new category of tequila just added to the list 6-7 years ago, can't remember off the top of my head. There is no maximum aging time for an extra anejo, but it must spend at least 3 years in small oak barrels.

 

When purchasing tequila, simply look for "100% blue agave" on the label to make sure it is true tequila and not a "mixto" or mixture of some tequila (not less than 51% blue agave) and some other form of sugar or fructose.

 

The traditional Mexican working man's way of drinking tequila is a small juice-size glass of blanco and an equal size glass of sangrita, a sweet, sour and spicy juice made from chilis, grenadine and oranges (there are several good recipes out there). A sip of blanco tequila followed by a sip of sangrita. This is the traditional, after-work social drink of the Mexican working men when they gather. Somehow, this traditional method of drinking tequila devolved into "training wheels," the lime, salt, shot of tequila practice commonly seen in this country.

 

In Mexico, Reposado tequila is sometimes referred to as the women's tequila because it is smooth and doesn't have the grain alcohol finish that most Americans find offensive.

 

Anejos are like drinking fine scotch. They are to be sipped and appreciated for their complex flavors and can be the most expensive tequilas on the shelf.

 

I don't drink many liquors at all and I've never acquired a taste for any colored liquors. The occasional Tanqueray gin or a vodka drink, but I have one of the finest tequila collections in the state, I would venture to say. I have done private tastings and educational classes on tequila and absolutely enjoy speaking with anyone on the subject. It is an acquired taste and a great hobby- I travel to Mexico every year and make a trip to Tequila, Jalisco to see what the latest is.

 

I did a tasting at a private country club last year. You know, the typical cigar-smoking, scotch drinkers. By the time I was 10 minutes into it I was surrounded by a bunch of 40-60 something's who were fascinated and hadn't drank tequila since their college days... converted a bunch of folks in one night.

 

But, back to your maragarita... if you use a blanco tequila, you should add a splash of Grand Marnier which will kill some of the grain alcohol flavor, knock down some of the acid of the lime juice and add some golden color. If you use a Joven or Oro and it's not true tequila, you'll need to splash the top with a Sprite or 7-Up to kill some of the lime juice acid. I'm a tequila connoiseur, not so much a margarita guy.

[pantherclaw]

Mexicans traditionally don't drink blancos.

Blancos are marketed to the rest of the world.

[pantherclaw]

Mexicans traditionally don't drink blancos.

Blancos are marketed to the rest of the world.

[Mvp2014]

Avion silver is good

[Anybodyhome]

Mexicans traditionally don't drink blancos.

Blancos are marketed to the rest of the world.

 

I beg to differ, sir. Travel to Tequila, Jalisco, mix with the people in the towns who work the agave fields and the farmers. The blanco tequila is far more prevalent in the farming regions simply because it is less expensive and they don't have to wait for any aging. 

 

I'll just say that living in Southern California very close the Hispanic community for 40 years and the years I've been traveling to Mexico, my experience is far different than you describe. Perhaps other parts of the country you've traveled, but I've not seen or heard that.  

[sunbunny]

Picked up a blanco 100% agave. It was excellent in the margaritas and cost somewhere in the $20ish range ( I think. Hubby bought it). I'll have to find the bottle so we can buy it again for next weekend. I do remember it was in  a square-ish bottle and it had a cork.

 

I haven't bought tequila since a beach trip  when I was 21 and pretty sure it was jose cuervo. I'm 43 now. I swore I'd never drink it again after that weekend, but lately I've developed a fondness for margaritas.

 

Thank y'all for the help!

 

 

Found the bottle!

Tequila El Ultimo Agave Blanco

 

[Anybodyhome]

Good. Just as important as the tequila is the recipe for the margaritas. Hope they went over well!

 

[pantherclaw]

I beg to differ, sir. Travel to Tequila, Jalisco, mix with the people in the towns who work the agave fields and the farmers. The blanco tequila is far more prevalent in the farming regions simply because it is less expensive and they don't have to wait for any aging.

I'll just say that living in Southern California very close the Hispanic community for 40 years and the years I've been traveling to Mexico, my experience is far different than you describe. Perhaps other parts of the country you've traveled, but I've not seen or heard that.

live on the golf coast. Heavy hispanics.

Your exeriences lead to your opinion, my experiences, and partnerships with a few distilleries lead me to mine.

[pantherclaw]

For those that enjoy tequila straight up...

Ya need to know that soil conditions are just as important to tequila as it is to wine.

Los Altos region, as known as the highlands, is volcanic soil, rich in minerals, which leads to what is consudered, sweeter tequila. Void of the acidity of lowland tequilas, which includes the much over rated Patron, and most name brand tequilas.

Most tequilas won't say on the bottle where the agave comes from, but if it's worth knowing, it will be on the product's website.

This is crucial information, especially for silver tequilas.