Blog Grog Log, Part I
Behold, the margarita from Rio Grande on Court Street:
I’ve consumed an embarrassing amount of this green tequila-spiked Kool-aid. While it could hardly be labeled a “top shelf” drink, it’s actually much closer to a “real” margarita than the trendy, watered-down and candy-flavored beverages you’ll find in most bars and restaurants these days.
So what is a “real” margarita? I confess, I had never tasted the original version until just the other day. If I’m gonna write about it, I should taste it first, right? It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. The original recipe consists of:
1 1/2 ounces tequila
1 ounce of Cointreau (that’s an expensive kind of Triple Sec)
3/4 ounce of fresh lime juice.
That is it. No orange juice, no “mix,” no sugar. Why, it’s not even green!
This high-octane hellbroth is the basis for what would eventually become the world’s most popular cocktail. While I confess it is a perfectly balanced drink (especially when made with quality ingredients), I do have a margarita recipe of my own (the result of years of trial and error), and I will not be changing it.
But what does this have to do with the ‘rita from Rio? Well, it’s also just three ingredients: tequila, green lime flavoring and triple sec. No frou-frou additives. It’s fun (read: strong) and full of tasty, faux lime goodness. And it’s not over-sweetened by too much hangover-inducing triple sec. And even though it’s probably made of the cheapest tequila available, the only really bad thing I can say about the Rio Grande margarita is that they use iodized salt on the glass. That’s just bad.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be reviewing and comparing the margaritas from as many Mexican restaurants as we can find in and around Charleston. As the Rio Grande drink is the one we are most familiar with, we will use it as our standard–but we hope to find better. We welcome your recommendations!
June 21st, 2006 at 11:11 pm
The sweat beads on that first picture are borderline pornographic. I knew it when I saw them!
Man, I’m thirsty.
June 24th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Hmmmm. . . it is the crack in the salt that does it at Rio Grande, or so I’m told by my girlfriend. If there is no salt on the rim, she gets upset. I would suggest trying the top shelf margaritas at Chili’s. They are pretty good also, for flavor and alcohol content.
July 1st, 2006 at 1:48 pm
Actually Cointreau is an expensive kind on curacao which is a liqor made from orange peals. (Curacao also comes in blue) Triple Sec is curacao that has been distiled 3 times
Also a couple of years ago I read an article on the best margarita in the state (I think it was in Graffiti) That article said that Rio in Charleston actually used Grain alchohol in their margaritas instead of Tequila. I don’t know if it is true or not, but if it is, that explains a lot.
July 2nd, 2006 at 12:29 am
Yeah, we’ve actually been wondering about the grain alcohol possibility. If I drink more than two of those jumbo margaritas, I turn into a crazy person. It’s really an out of body experience.