I recently ate at at Cantina 1511 and was astonished at how yummy their margaritas were. They were honestly the best I've ever tasted.
First, there was not a ton of ice. They sell frozen margaritas, but the ones I had came straight out of a pitcher and were served on the rocks.
Second, it was obvious that it was made with fresh juices. Almost all the margaritas you'll ever have -- unless you're at one of my parties -- are made with mixes. The freshness of the stuff just made my day.
So, I set about figuring out how to duplicate this margarita. I wasn't quite able to duplicate the recipe, but what I ended up with was fan-fucking-tastic.
As the owner of Cantina 1511 will tell you, variations in the sweetness of the fruit play a huge part here, so your mileage may vary if you try this recipe.
Also, you can use any kind of tequila you want, but the Cabo Wabo Reposado I used just took the flavors to a completely new level.
Finally, an important note: though you have likely been led to believe that ripe limes are green and overripe limes are yellow. This is NOT TRUE. Ripe limes are yellow. Overripe limes are brown. Always get the ripest limes you can find.
Bryan's Fresh Juice Margaritas
Yield: About 8 margaritas, depending on the size of your glasses.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 cups simple syrup
Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila
Preparation
Strain the juices through a strainer into a pitcher. We don't want pulp in our margaritas. Gently stir in the simple syrup.
Optional: rim the margarita glass with kosher salt by rubbing a lime around the rim and dipping the rim in salt.
Pour the tequila into the bottom of the margarita glass. Margarita glasses have a small well at the bottom that blossoms up into a large mouth. I fill the bottom well in my glasses. Really, it depends on how much tequila you like and how fast you want to get smashed.
Add a handful of ice to the glass and pour juice mixture over the top until the glass is full.
Serve the result to a delighted audience.