A Little Daisy Will Do Ya...

Well, it's the time of year where you are bound to see plenty of Cinco de Mayo themed recipes. While it may seem cliched, allow me to toss one more at you - the Tequila Daisy, also known as the Margarita (margarita is Spanish for daisy). At its core, the Daisy is as old school as cocktails get - a combination of spirit, something sour, something sweet, and perhaps a splash of something effervescent. While Daisies are as varied as fingerprints, all share the same end goal - to be cold, refreshing, and dangerously easy to consume.

As for the tequila daisy, there are two critical guidelines - use a tequila distilled from 100% agave (no mixtos allowed at this party) and use fresh-squeezed lime juice. After that, the daisy is at your complete disposal, feel free to add and tweak to your personal preferences. For example, my much better half typically doubles the amount of lime, but adds a half-ounce of a peach liqueur to offset the added sour. I sometimes enjoy integrating orange juice and bitters. Think of the basic daisy recipe below as a jumping off point - delicious on its own and infinitely customizable.

The Tequila Daisy

Ingredients

• 2 ounces 100% agave silver tequila
• 1 ounce Cointreau
• 0.75 fresh lime juice

Composition
Put the tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker along with a good handful of ice. Plop the top on and shake vigorously to give everything a good chill and break up the ice. Dump the contents of the shaker into a glass unstrained (called a dirty dump!) and enjoy.

Speaking of tequila - as you see above, there are three different silver tequilas on the shelf at the moment. A few weeks ago, there was a fourth - Don Julio. Tasting all four neat and side-by-side was pretty interesting. I found all four enjoyable, despite the reputation of un-aged spirits being too harsh to consume outside of mixers. In a very unusual coincidence, my better half and I each rated the four silver tequilas identically in regard to favorite to least favorite:

1. Casa Noble - great agave smell, sensational agave taste, smooth, long finish
2. Patron - great agave smell, good agave taste, just a tad harsh, short finish
3. (Tied with Patron) Herradura - a gentle smokey smell and taste, not like mezcal, but on the road to mezcal. The most unique of the bunch due to the smokey note and I'm likely to keep a bottle around as a result.
4. Don Julio - outstanding agave smell, the best of the bunch, but the alcohol harshness/rough-edges was the most pronounced of the group. Of the four, the only one I'm not likely to purchase again unless it's being offered at an enticing sale price.

Hope everyone is well. ¡Hasta luego amigos!