Ok I have two parts to this question. Part 1) At all the bars i worked we always made our house margaritas with tequilla, lime juice, sour mix, and triple sec. I was looking online at different drink recipies and none of them showed sour mix in them. which is the right way? Part 2) now for our top shelf ones we used cointreau instead of triple sec. Where does grand marnier come in? Is that just a better version of the cointreau which is a better version of the triple sec? thanks all!!!
2007-01-20 10:31:04 · 9 answers · asked by gm 2 in Food & Drink ➔ Beer, Wine & Spirits
Let us address this first: Don't even worry about it if the margaritas are blended, because blended margaritas are a bartenders enemy. We don't like making them, or ANY blended drink. Now that that is out of the way, on to the answer...
1) Sweet and Sour mix is a pre-made mixture. Most of the recipes you will find on line will give you a "Scratch" version, meaning they won't tell you to use any pre-mixed ingredients when you could use fresh ingredients. Sweet and sour mix is basically lemon (and/or lime juice) mixed with simple syrup (simple syrup is equal parts sugar and water).
Pre-made Sweet and Sour ranges from very good (many high-quality restaurants and bars use fresh juices supplied by local companies, and the sweet and sour mix they make can be really fresh and good), to absolutely disgusting. Bad sour mix is filled with artificial flavors and colors and is just GROSS. The end quality of the margarita depends greatly on the quality of the sweet and sour mix.
2) Cointreau is a top shelf triple sec. They are both light and sweet orange flavored liquors. Grand Marnier is also an orange flavored liquor, but it is a Cognac (a type of brandy) based liquor, so it is much richer and more strongly flavored than Cointreau or triple sec are. Neither type of liquor is better, they are just different.
Typically, Cointreau/triple sec is mixed with tequila IN the drink and Grand Marnier is floated on top of the drink.
A true margarita should have a lot of fresh juice. I like to get the juice of half a lime for a margarita that is served in a sixteen ounce glass. Here is my basic recipe:
Juice of half a lime (squeezed or muddled)
2 oz. Tequila (Suaza Hornitos makes for a fabulous margarita)
3/4 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz simple syrup
3/4 oz soda water
1/2 oz Grand Marnier float
In a pint glass, muddle four slices of lime (half a lime)
Add tequila, Cointreau, simple syrup and soda water.
Cover with pint glass and shake vigorously for 10 seconds
Strain ingredients into a fresh pint glass filled with ice
Top with Grand Marnier float.
there ya go!
2007-01-21 04:50:45 · answer #1 · answered by asnyderman 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is very difficult to get a good margarita in a bar or restaurant. They all use sour mix and triple sec. Triple sec runs well under 10 dollars for a bottle, and sour mix is horrible.
Make your margaritas with Cointreau and lime juice.
Grand Marnier is better enjoyed over ice or chilled in a shot glass for sipping.
2007-01-20 15:12:48 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sour mix is a bar "convenience" to save time and effort. Several flavor and texture elements are "premixed" and used in many drinks for quick and easy preparation. Lemon or Lime juice is mixed with simple syrup (which predissolves sugar in water). Egg white is the "secret" ingredient which makes drinks foamy. It takes one frothy egg white for every quart of mix (2 cups water, one cup sugar, 2 cups juice) which should be used with 3 days.
Since you don't make enough drinks at home to justify having this mix, most home recipes compensate by adjusting the citrus and sugar containing ingredients and dropping the egg white entirely, which explains a lot. My home made margaritas never seem watered but have always seemed a little dense / flat, now I know why.
Triple Sec is an orange liqueur that comes in many generic and budget minded forms. Cointreau and Grand Marnier are two very distinct "top shelf" orange liqueurs with proprietary formulas. Cointreau is more subtle than Grand Marnier. The formula for Grand Marnier contains Cognac. Neither one is a better version of the other.
Most people prefer one over the other straight up, however Cointreau is more commonly used in Margaritas since the additional flavor components of Cognac in Grand Marnier are often considered to detract from the overall taste of final drink. A simple case of "more is less".
Which do I like best ... neither I like Extase ... a blend of XO Cognac and orange Liqueur that is about twice the price of either of them ... but I don't waste it in Margaritas.
2007-01-20 10:48:40 · answer #3 · answered by David E 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Cointreau is top shelf triple sec. Grand Marnier is just a stronger orange flavor to it. I wouldn't bother with Grand Marnier unless I had it neat for sipping. Just make your margaritas however you like them. I have found that adding a little splash of OJ to my margaritas gives it a refreshing taste without the hot sting of grand marnier.
2007-01-20 12:21:03 · answer #4 · answered by zumi 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Grand Marnier is orange flavored cognac. I am not sure, but I think Cointreau is the same thing. And, no...Triple Sec doesn't come close to Grand Marnier. Triple Sec is harsh and cheap tasting. Grand Marnier is sweet and smooth...so yummy you can drink it straight.
2007-01-20 10:44:41 · answer #5 · answered by kturner5265 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
cointreau and grand mariner are both basically top-shelf triple sec. it's arguable as to which is better, but they both provide their own distinctive flavor, so it's best to do a little tasting on your own. Most of the margarita recipies i've seen on the internet are flavored margaritas (hence the lack of sweet n sour), but the recipie for a traditional blended margarita is as follows:
1oz tequila blanco or tequila oro
1/2oz triple sec
fill sour mix (sweet+sour, jero mix, etc...)
splash rose's lime juice
ice (cubed)
blend all ingredients until ice is crushed and serve in a salt-rimmed glass. (recipie serves 1)
2007-01-20 10:40:23 · answer #6 · answered by jhart22182 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
your version is fine. as for the grand marnier, it too is a orange liqueur, so you could use it in place of the cointreau or triple sec. enjoy!
2007-01-20 10:35:56 · answer #7 · answered by lunachick 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sour mix in a margarita is there to reduce cost. use lime for sour, and orange liqueur for your sweet. Grand Marnier in a mixed drink is a waste, IMHO, of liqueur that is better saved for sipping.
2007-01-20 10:39:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
there are many different recipes for margaritas. do a little experimenting and find one you like. i personally like to use fresh lime and orange juices with a little simple syrup and grand marnier, along with a decent tequila.
as for the grand marnier, mmmm!...... in my opinion, it's the best orange liqueur ever!
2007-01-20 10:44:25 · answer #9 · answered by sassy1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋