Friday Night Cocktails: South of the Border….

…….down Mexico way, /that’s where I fell in love, when stars above came out to play/And now as I wander, my thoughts ever stray/South of the Border, Down Mexico way………………

So ran the 1939 Gene Autry hit which older readers will still remember with nostalgia (we’ll come to that infamous puzzling last verse later) Because tonight’s cocktail choice is Tequila. We chose this to celebrate a bottle of it which we bought in Islington twenty years ago and which still remains unfinished (LSS is not an alcoholic website). Tequila is the national drink of the sunny land of Mexico. Its provenance its strictly protected by all kinds of laws, as you might expect. And it has kicked off many a fine start in those cheerfully themed restaurants which are guarantee a wild Friday night out across many of the great cities of the world. And a huge hangover on Saturday morning. We link to Wikipedia for those interested in the history of this famous beverage.[1] But to close down one question: no, that funny little worm is not de riguer, it’s just a marketing ploy introduced by certain brands and suppliers to beef up their street cool. Meanwhile we’ve got three of our favourite recipes for all you, all adapted from our old Favourite , Hamlyn’s The Ultimate Cocktail Book, which oddly enough dates back to the same age as the aforementioned bottle.

Tequila Sunrise Let’s start with the big one, made even more famous by the Eagles in their evocation of the sybaritic Californian lifestyle. Take 6 ice cubes and pop them into your shaker. Add 2 measures of tequila, 3 measures of fresh orange juice (try not to use Spanish, in case the Mexicans are still sensitive about their former colonial status) Shake ’em, but don’t break ’em. Add to a tall glass which already contains ice. Now add 2 teaspoons of grenadine (you can nearly always find it in Waitrose) stir gently, and serve it up.

Margarita Our Spanish is a little shaky, but we think this means “Margaret” which sounds decidedly less exotic. Anyway add mucho hielo (plenty ice) to your shaker, followed swiftly by 1.5 measures of fresh lime juice, 2 measures of Cointreau and 2.5 measures of tequila. Shake and put to one side, briefly Now take one of those funny margarita glasses and spread salt around the rim before adding the contents of your shaker, Serve with a straw and decorate with a slice of lime. Well, that’s better than stuffing it into the neck of a corona bottle. Why do people do that?

Tequila Cocktail Put 4 ice cubes in a shaker. Add 2 measures of tequila, 1 of port, 0.5 measures of fresh lime juice and flick in two dashes of Angostura. Shake and serve over the ice, decorating again with a slice of lime.

Okay, so now back to Gene and his song. 1939 was still a pretty straight-laced, buttoned up sort of time when certain things were just never mentioned. So what did he mean by:

For it was Fiesta, and we were so gay/south of the border, down Mexico way

?

We leave it for you to speculate

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tequila

#mexico #tequila #cocktail