We love the new emphasis in restaurants on “made-up” mixed drinks. They’re fun and, although I haven’t read any statistics, I would think they give a boost to sales of old bar standbys like Grenadine, Angostura Bitters and Triple Sec, that may have been forgotten in the recent Martini madness. We have also invented our own mixed drinks, usually involving rum or tequila, and a number of bright mixers, like orange juice, guava juice, or an infusion of dried hibiscus flowers. Not only are the drinks made with these colorful mixers beautiful to look at (they really dress up a dinner table, too!), but they’re healthy – packed with vitamins and flavenoids.
There are many, many tequilas out there – it’s become a popular spirit (for Margaritas, or taken neat), and Chicago has a huge Mexican population – so good tequila isn’t hard to find in our town. Here’s a link to a site with good information about tequila: http://www.itequila.org/index.htm
If you don’t have a good source for premium tequila (and Mezcal!), here are a few links to online stores: http://www.internetwines.com/ http://www.mountcarmelwines.com/
Now that summer is coming (some day), I’m looking forward to frozen banana daquiris, concoctions of orange juice and Orgeat, Jamaica mixed with tequila, and other stranger combinations (one drink we invented involved buttermilk and Triple Sec). Link to this page to see some of our favorites.
494 total views, 1 views today