I have a fondness for tequila, specifically a double Patron on the rocks with three limes. I believe in good quality spirits and leaving well enough alone— no Sex on the Beach, blue Curaçao (what is that stuff??) or Long Island Iced Teas for this girl. But like all my rules, this one can, and should, be broken for a good Sugar Bush Margarita. Charly understands my penchant for tequila and the last time I was at his sugar bush (pictures here), he offered me a margarita. A margarita in the bush? Now that was a stroke of brilliance and one I wanted to expound on when I got home. Of course, I promptly forgot about coming up with a sugar bush margarita...until last Saturday night.
Our Pagan dinner club convened at Dana and Kathy's and over dessert, the talk turned to Charly's syrup. We were coming up with new and exciting ways to use 219 syrup and I remembered my first sugar bush margarita. The idea for my version of a sugar bush margarita began to take shape in my head and I knew what I'd be doing on Sunday— experimenting with my favorite liquor and my favorite syrup. As luck would have it, I had a jar of his syrup (information here), a bunch of blood oranges and fresh limes. After a few quaffable trial and errors, I hit upon the right proportions of sweet syrup, orange and lime juices and good tequila. Here's to a spring full of warm-ish days, cold nights, free-flowing sap and bush margaritas.
Sugar Bush Margarita
2 ounces Reposado tequila ( I used Espolon 100% agave tequila)
1 ounce maple syrup
1 1/2 ounces blood orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 1/2 ounces lime juice, freshly squeezed
2 tablespoons maple sugar
2 tablespoons Tajin Classico Seasoning
Preparation
Mix the maple sugar and Tajin together and place in a shallow bowl. Rim a glass with lime juice and then dip into the maple sugar/Tajin mixture. Fill the glass with ice and set aside. Place the tequila, maple syrup, blood orange juice and lime juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for about 15 seconds and then pour into the glass.
