I mostly agree with this, especially “most bars are garbage.”
That said, you can squeeze lime juice a few hours in advance, and it’s fine. I’ve even read articles that claim letting it sit for 2-5 hours mellows it out and makes better cocktails.
But more than that? Overnight? In a jar you buy at a store? Frozen? Nope, doesn’t work. Lemons and limes should be standard ingredients in any kitchen where people actually cook. The zing they add to both food and cocktails is no reproducible.
In that “Liquid Intelligence” book I cited upthread, the author says the same thing, although his window was like 4-8 hours for the best flavor, and he prefers 0-4 hour lime juice to 8+ hour lime juice.
And I agree; lemons and limes are basic kitchen staples- when they’re somewhere between 10 and 25 cents a piece for limes, and a bit more for lemons, there’s no reason not to have 3-4 on hand at any given time, since they keep for around a week out in the open, and even longer in the fridge.
As for me, unless I know I’m going to be making a bunch of drinks later in the evening, I don’t bother pre-squeezing the juice; I just squeeze it as I need it with one of those yellow clamshell citrus squeezers.
Fresh lime juice and by all that is holy, quality ingredients! Don’t cheap out on the tequila or the orange liqueur. Around here that means Cointreau and Patron (overpriced, medium-quality tequila, but I get it free, so there’s that).
That’s probably where I read it; we have that book.
Agree. I don’t get Patron for free and it’s about $50/bottle here, so that’s a bit steep for anything but special-occasion Margs, but I Cointreau and/or Grand Marnier is always around, and we get the best ~$25-$35/bottle of tequila we can find.
Around here, many bars use that horrible blue curacao in place of Triple Sec-it makes the drink look like antifreeze. people accept it, though.
Hmm I’ve never tried 4-hour juice. I must conduct SCIENCE now.
Any recommendations?
On the lower end, we go to Sauza, Herradura and El Jimador.
Mid-level, sometimes we can find El Tesoro or Milagro in that price range.
This is in Michigan; I know we are a bit higher price-wise than other states.
El Jimador Reposado has been our go-to lately. I can get it relatively cheaply, and I like a good Reposado Marg.
You don’t necessarily have to have Cointreau, but I wouldn’t get “El Azteca Triple Sec” at $7 for a 1.75 liter bottle either. Same goes for tequila- don’t get some super-cheap mixto, but there’s no reason to go spend $30 on a bottle either. This is really true of most cocktails; unless they’re particularly spirit-forward like a Martini or Manhattan, most of the stuff that’s mixed in will blur most of the subtleties of a high-end spirit. That’s why there are lists of spirits that are “fine for cocktails” and ones that are considered better on their own.
You can make a perfectly cromulent margarita with Luxardo Triplum or any of the other high grade triple secs, like Giffard, Combier, etc… or possibly even with the value, but not bottom-of-the-barrel triple secs like Bols, Marie Brizard, and dare I say, Hiram Walker. That’s doubly true if they’re frozen margaritas, or if there’s a bunch of other stuff like orange juice or other fruit besides lime juice in there. I made some frozen margaritas (using the recipe I posted upthread) using Espolon silver and Hiram Walker Triple Sec, and they were remarkably good. Not just acceptable, but actually good.
Milagro, Lunazul and Espolon are all three pretty solid tequilas that won’t break your bank.
Gotta disagree with this; I can’t afford to use super-high-end booze for all my cocktails all the time, but I’ve done extensive research (:D) and IMO, in most cases, they do produce better cocktails. This “blur” thing you talk about gets trotted out by a lot of people, but I can’t repro it myself. (caveat: I guess if you were doing super-sweet cocktails like Long Island Ice Tea, it could happen, but I don’t drink those so don’t know.)
I do agree that there are plenty fine mid-range boozes that do the job just fine. And also agree with “stay away from the rotgut.”
I had one last night (bar-Don Julio tequila, triple sec, fresh limes). it was good, but nothing special. i then had a mix-based one-tasted just as good.