Archive for the ‘Sol de Mexico’ Tag
We used Sol de Mexico Reposado with this recipe. It’s one of my favorites … but the family prefers Don Celso Reposado.
We’re still in search of The Perfect Margarita. And we have a renewed sense of purpose. We recently found The Best Margarita in Los Angeles … at Money Pancho’s in Camarillo. Go there and have the Cadillac Margarita with Marquez de Valencia Reposado tequila … and then you’ll understand how important it is that we achieve our goal of making The Perfect Margarita.
I’d hoped to finish this honorable quest last year, but we ran out of steam. It’s work to squeeze all of those limes! Yesterday, however, I flexed the muscles, got out the old reamer, and had at it. Velda cooked carnitas, and we had a great meal.
At the end, Little Girl asked, “Am I making English?” Methinks the Margaritas were good enough to do their job! Here’s our amended recipe, still a work in progress, but definitely the current state of the art.
Margarita Mix
- 3 cups fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 3/4 cup agave nectar (to taste; we went slightly heavier than 3/4 cup)
Make a large quantity of mix to these proportions. Blend. Make sure the agave nectar has gone into solution; it’s a very slow pour out of the measuring cup.
Cadillac Margarita
- 3-1/2 oz Reposado tequila
- 2 oz Margarita Mix
- 1 oz Grand Marnier
Serve on the rocks after shaken, or blended. Salt the rim of your glass, garnish with a lime wedge.
The BerryRitas used Lunazul Blanco, which is very good … and less expensive than a good Reposado tequila. Great for well drinks & blends like a BerryRita.
Add frozen raspberries instead of ice if you’d prefer a BerryRita. Sugar the rim of your glass.
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Tequila
Results: The First Big Taste Test
Orange Liqueur Taste Test
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This artisan tequila tastes as good as its hand-blown bottle looks!
When we were visiting Old Town Liquor in San Diego, we learned about a highly recommended tequila: Sin Rival. This new Reposado had to be worked into our search for the Perfect Margarita!
Another discovery in San Diego was this organic margarita mix. It is NOT FRESH, but it’s the best bottled mix we’ve found. When you don’t have time to make fresh margarita mix, this is not awful; it’s better than many bars serve!
Also on the agenda: checking out the idea that agave nectar is superior to simple sugar in margarita mix. Seems like a simple idea, right? But until you actually check it out, you just don’t know. Happy to do that for you!
Four of us did some quick little taste tests. In a word, YES, agave nectar makes a big difference. It’s clear that’s going to be our new standard in our search for the Perfect Margarita!
We used a slight variation of this Agave Nectar Margarita Recipe from Food.com:
1-1/2 oz reposado tequila
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz agave nectar
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
The first thing we did was make 2 versions of this recipe with Don Celso Reposado. We put agave nectar in one mix, and simple sugar in the other. All 4 tasters agreed: no contest. Agave nectar is the clear winner!
We then continued with a couple of other taste tests, using agave nectar but with different tequilas.
1. Don Celso Reposado again bested Sol de Mexico Reposado.
2. Don Celso Reposado bested Sin Rival Reposado.
Don Celso, you may recall, was the top-ranked tequila from our original taste test of 15 tequilas. It’s the undefeated champion so far. It must be noted, however, that each tequila brings a unique flavor to its Margaritas. As we continue in our search for the Perfect Margarita, we’re going to need to tweak the final recipe to match the flavor profile of the winning tequila.
Tough, tough work ahead of us.
A great tasting tequila, and with its undefeated record in taste tests so far, it’s going to be hard to replace Don Celso Reposado in our Perfect Margaritas!
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- Don Celso Reposado **
- Lunazul Blanco **
- 3 Amigos Reposado **
- El Tesoro de Don Felipe Reposado **
- Marquez de Valencia Reposado **
- Herradura Reposado
- 7 Leguas Reposado
- Muchote Reposado
- Sol de Mexico Tequila Reposado **
- Gran Centenario
- KAH Tequila Reposado
- Casa Noble Reposado
- 1800 Reserva Reposado
DNS/DNF
- Jose Cuervo Gold
- Reserva del Maestro Dobel Diamond
- Pueblo Viejo Reposado
Remember our goal is to find the perfect tequila for the perfect margarita. Three of the tequilas in the bottom half of the ratings are very highly recommended: Muchote, KAH and Casa Noble are all tasty. My working theory is they just don’t play well with others.
The surprise of the First Big Taste Test was the dark horse winner, Don Celso Reposado. Not only did Don Celso have the best rating over all, it also got 4 clear first place votes from the 11 judges. No other tequila got more than 1 first place vote.
Another clear winner was Lunazul (I love visual puns the best). Lunazul is relatively inexpensive, so this tequila is the obvious early favorite to take the crown for “Recommended for Big Parties!” It did get 1 first place vote.
3 Amigos (1 first place vote) and El Tesoro were small surprises; neither had impressed in the preliminary tastings, but they did rise to the top when they needed to!
Two tequilas surprised that they were not rated higher.
Marquez de Valencia Reposado is very highly recommended, and we had to drive many miles just to buy it. I expected more!
Sol de Mexico was distinguished in the early tastings … I wholly expected that this would be my favorite in the taste test. ‘twas not to be, but I’m keeping it in the competition to see if our initial tastings were right or wrong.
Our taste test, our rules.
After some discussions, we’ve decided to take those 6 tequilas (marked with **) on to the next round as we search for the perfect ingredients, the perfect recipe … the perfect margarita.
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There are literally hundreds of tequilas on the market today. Even if you limit your selections to Reposados … hundreds. I researched tequilas, chose some of the best sounding and best reviewed, and then bought the best I could find. We started the taste test with the 16 tequilas that I could find.
Most were purchased from two Southern California chains: BevMo and Total Wine. A few came from other sources … the Marquez de Valencia is difficult to find, as this tequila is rather rare in our area. Here are the initial contenders for the best of the best, along with local pricing that I found and some ratings that you’ll find on the ‘net:
3 Amigos Reposado
- $24.99
- Tequila.net Editors: 92
- Tequila.net Readers: 92
7 Leguas Reposado
- $38.99
- Tequila.net Readers: 92
1800 Reserva Reposado
- $15.99
- Tequila.net Readers: 83
Casa Noble Reposado
- $43.99
- Tequila.net Readers: 93
- This tequila has a big brand presence
Don Celso Reposado
- $29.99
- Tastings.com Editors: 94
El Tesoro de Don Felipe Reposado
- $37.99
- Tastings.com Editors: 94
- Tequila.net Readers: 92
Gran Centenario Reposado
- $23.99
- Tastings.com Editors: 94
- Tequila.net Readers: 91
Herradura Reposado
- $32.99
- Tequila.net Readers: 85
- 2011 TEQUILA.net Awards – “Best of the Best” Best Lowland Reposado Tequila
Jose Cuervo Gold
- $13.99
- Tequila.net Readers: 61
- # 1 selling tequila in the world
KAH Tequila Reposado
- $47.99
- Tequila.net Editors: 92
- Tequila.net Readers: 92
- 2011 TEQUILA.net Awards – “Best of the Best” Best High-Proof Tequila
- Day of the Dead-themed Skull makes this one of the most attractive bottles on the shelf!
Lunazul Blanco
- $15.99
- Tequila.net Readers: 82
Reserva del Maestro Dobel Diamond
- $39.99
- Tequila.net Editors: 93
- Tequila.net Readers: 92
Marquez de Valencia Reposado
- $47.99
- Tastings.com Editors: 94
- 2011 TEQUILA.net Awards – “Best of the Best” Best Highland Reposado Tequila Judge Favorite
- 2010 TEQUILA.net Awards – Gold Medal
- “Best Tequila for Margaritas according to BestCovery.com
Muchote Reposado
- $24.99
- Tequila.net Editors: 94
- Tequila.net Readers: 94
- 2008 Agave Spirits Challenge Gold Medal & Judge Favorite
Pueblo Viejo Reposado
- $18.99
- Tequila.net Readers: 88
Sol de Mexico Tequila Reposado
- $39.99
- Tequila.net Editors: 91
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