MD 50/50 (Mad Dog)
Thunderbird
Gallo
All of the above are wines known back in my father's day as super cheap wines. (The type of thing my aunt thinks I shouldn't know about, because you only know about it when you live in the gutter.) These days, however, Gallo makes more expensive wines.
These brands, and others, are known as low-end fortified wines and can be read about on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbird_(wine)). Such wines aren't sold in the downtown and tenderloin areas of San Francisco, NYC, and Seattle, because the only thing they're good for is getting drunk, and thus contribute to vagrancy and public drunkeness of the homeless (Wikipedia).
People often made fun of wine connosiers when drinking these wines, which is why they came to be called Wino Wine. They may also be called Rotgut Wine, Bum Wine, and a number of other things.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Margarita
Traditionally made with tequila, lime juice, and triple sec, the margarita is a refreshingly sour aperitif. Chose from silver or gold tequila, gold being slightly more expensive since it was aged in casks to attain the golden tinge and a slightly different flavor. At high end bars, you'll find your margarita floated with Cointreau rather than triple sec, both of which are actually curacao. The difference being that Cointreau may be drank alone, and other curacao are best for mixing. Some also choose to use lemon rather than lime. Fresh lime has a slightly sharper taste, and is what is traditionally served with any tequila drink.
When serving a traditional margarita over the rocks, use tequila, lime juice, and triple sec or other curacao. When making a more modern (and less traditional and classy) blended drink, feel free to use a margarita mix instead of the lime and triple sec. (Using just a dash of triple sec will give it a little something extra however.)
On the rocks recipe, from The Bartender's Guide to Mixing 600 Cocktails & Drinks:
Ice
Juice of a lime
1.5 measures silver tequila
0.5 measure Cointreau
Serves 1. Rub rimof cocktail glass with lime wedge, then dip in salt. Shake ingredients and strain. (In all reality I don't know why one would strain it over more ice...Perhaps this recipe assumes you don't need your margarita to stay chilled. I recommend you serve it over the rocks, since I believe margaritas taste best cold.)
The proportions I was taught for a blended margarita are:
Slightly over 3 cups ice cubes in blender
6 servings margarita mix
Dash of triple sec (optional)
2.5 servings tequila
Sliced lime
Makes 2 servings, in a salt rimmed margarita glass.
At least an hour before your party, dip your margarita glasses in water and chill in the freezer. When you remove the glasses, hold them by the stem, not by the top as you'll ruin the chilled look of the glass, and never by the lip, for sanitary reasons.
This recipe was used at a family gathering as an actual aperitif, and so the aim was perhaps to get slightly tipsy. You can increase the amount of tequila if you want to get drunk. I accidentally used 3 shots in the mix for my uncle and I, so I was slightly red for 20 minutes.
Place the ice in the blender. Hold shot glass over blender and pour in each of the three liquids. As soon as the liquid nears the top of the shot glass, quickly turn it over into the blender, temporarily pausing your pouring. Quickness is key, as pouring it slowly will create an opportunity for the liquid to trickle down the side of the shot glass, and inevitably outside your blender. Cover the blender and pulse on the highest (ice crusher) setting until you feel/hear the large chunks dissapate. Then blend (second lowest setting) for 20 seconds.
This is the way I was taught to garnish, but is not perhaps the best way:
Slice a lime from one end to the other, rather than through the middle. This gives you more appetizing slices, without the triangular pattern characteristic of orange slices cut in the other direction. Rub one slice over the lips of your glasses, then dip glasses in margarita salt (or any salt with a larger grain). Some recipes recommend rubbing the outside of the peel on the glass (for the oil) instead. But as far as I can guess, that wouldn't really make the salt stick. Float the other lime slices in the glasses or cut partially through the center of the slice and balance on the rim of each glass. This tends to look a bit awkward, however, since the slices are so shallow.
For a better looking garnish (although not nearly as good for squeezing and eating), there are many options. Try scoring the lime around the center (the opposite way from before), then slicing through that line. Slice again next to the end, to create a perfectly round slice. Cut along the radius of the slice and balance on the cup. Or, cut the slice in half for two half slice garnishes and similarly cut them and balance them.
References:
My uncle :)
Walton, Stuart. Bartender's Guide to Mixing 600 Cocktails & Drinks. United Kingdom: London, 2008.
When serving a traditional margarita over the rocks, use tequila, lime juice, and triple sec or other curacao. When making a more modern (and less traditional and classy) blended drink, feel free to use a margarita mix instead of the lime and triple sec. (Using just a dash of triple sec will give it a little something extra however.)
On the rocks recipe, from The Bartender's Guide to Mixing 600 Cocktails & Drinks:
Ice
Juice of a lime
1.5 measures silver tequila
0.5 measure Cointreau
Serves 1. Rub rimof cocktail glass with lime wedge, then dip in salt. Shake ingredients and strain. (In all reality I don't know why one would strain it over more ice...Perhaps this recipe assumes you don't need your margarita to stay chilled. I recommend you serve it over the rocks, since I believe margaritas taste best cold.)
The proportions I was taught for a blended margarita are:
Slightly over 3 cups ice cubes in blender
6 servings margarita mix
Dash of triple sec (optional)
2.5 servings tequila
Sliced lime
Makes 2 servings, in a salt rimmed margarita glass.
At least an hour before your party, dip your margarita glasses in water and chill in the freezer. When you remove the glasses, hold them by the stem, not by the top as you'll ruin the chilled look of the glass, and never by the lip, for sanitary reasons.
This recipe was used at a family gathering as an actual aperitif, and so the aim was perhaps to get slightly tipsy. You can increase the amount of tequila if you want to get drunk. I accidentally used 3 shots in the mix for my uncle and I, so I was slightly red for 20 minutes.
Place the ice in the blender. Hold shot glass over blender and pour in each of the three liquids. As soon as the liquid nears the top of the shot glass, quickly turn it over into the blender, temporarily pausing your pouring. Quickness is key, as pouring it slowly will create an opportunity for the liquid to trickle down the side of the shot glass, and inevitably outside your blender. Cover the blender and pulse on the highest (ice crusher) setting until you feel/hear the large chunks dissapate. Then blend (second lowest setting) for 20 seconds.
This is the way I was taught to garnish, but is not perhaps the best way:
Slice a lime from one end to the other, rather than through the middle. This gives you more appetizing slices, without the triangular pattern characteristic of orange slices cut in the other direction. Rub one slice over the lips of your glasses, then dip glasses in margarita salt (or any salt with a larger grain). Some recipes recommend rubbing the outside of the peel on the glass (for the oil) instead. But as far as I can guess, that wouldn't really make the salt stick. Float the other lime slices in the glasses or cut partially through the center of the slice and balance on the rim of each glass. This tends to look a bit awkward, however, since the slices are so shallow.
For a better looking garnish (although not nearly as good for squeezing and eating), there are many options. Try scoring the lime around the center (the opposite way from before), then slicing through that line. Slice again next to the end, to create a perfectly round slice. Cut along the radius of the slice and balance on the cup. Or, cut the slice in half for two half slice garnishes and similarly cut them and balance them.
References:
My uncle :)
Walton, Stuart. Bartender's Guide to Mixing 600 Cocktails & Drinks. United Kingdom: London, 2008.
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