Cinco de Mayo, Margaritas and More ...

I love Cinco de Mayo. I’ve always celebrated!  It has meant mixing up margaritas, making tacos and guacamole and having a party or going out to Casa Molina, a great Mexican restaurant in Tucson, Arizona. It was a "big deal" around our house, rivaling St. Patrick's Day. 

When I moved to Mexico I heard that Cinco de Mayo was not celebrated here (except in Puebla where the holiday is called El Día de la Batalla de Puebla) since it is a celebration that originated in the Mexican-American communities in the United States to commemorate Mexican heritage and pride. 

But...it isn't just in Puebla. Our town of Alamos celebrates with parades, cowboys in white hats riding down our cobblestone streets, pretty girls dancing, lots of beer and in the arroyo - dancing horses.  The video shows it way better than words. 

Beer seems to be the drink of the day but I am still going to serve up good old-fashioned margaritas (the Grand Marnier is traditional, right?)  Now these aren't the ones that are made with a lot of sugar and imitation lime juice.  This is a truer Margarita that uses the sweet orange liqueur and orange juice for all the sweetness it needs and fresh limes.  So don't substitute!

Moisten the rim of a martini or margarita glass with the cut lime...
Spread Sal de Mar on a small plate
Dip the moistened rim of the glass into the salt until evenly crusted.

Margarita Mixture:
2 oz. Milagro Silver Tequila (or any blanco tequila)
2 oz. Cointreau (not Triple Sec)
2 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. fresh orange juice

Garnish:
Lime slices
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier

Add margarita mixture to a cocktail shaker.  Add ice and cover. Shake thoroughly to chill the mixture. Strain into into a Sal del Mar crusted glass with or without ice. Garnish with a slice of lime and the splash of Grand Marnier. Makes one cocktail.

Salud!