So maybe Valentine’s isn’t your thing. Or maybe it is. But you know what is everyone’s thing who chooses to imbibe spirits? Margaritas. For an entire decade, the Margarita — basically, a sour combining spirit, citrus and something sweet (typically, a version of an orange liqueur of choice and, in some instances, a slight extra hit of agave or simple syrup) — has been the most popular cocktail nationwide, according to NielsonIQ’s 2024 Global Cocktail Report. Even 100 miles west of here where a certain island even has a cocktail named after it.
So today, maybe fitting in a heart in the calendar square is akin to a square peg in a round hole. Or maybe you really dig the rouge-y romance that marks a day set aside for love. Either way, consider this cocktail from our friends over at Lobos Tequila (which you can pick up at Michael’s Liquors in Riverhead), tariffs be damned. Who loves ya, baby? We do.
(Red)Rita
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz Tequila Lobos 1707 Reposado
- 1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand dry Curaçao
- 1 oz pomegranate juice
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 2-3 dashes Angostura West Indian orange bitters (or the orange bitters of your choice)
- pomegranate seeds
- 2 tsp Tajin spice mix
Directions
- In a shaker with ice, combine the tequila, Curaçao, pomegranate and lime juices and bitters.
- Shake well, for about 10 to 15 seconds.
- Using the discarded lime, rub the rim of a double glass with the inside. Sprinkle the Tajin onto a small saucer and dip the edges of the glass in the spice mix.
- Add ice to the glass and strain the cocktail into it. Garnish with the pomegranate seeds. Cheers!
