Cinco De Mayo Trio

Happy Margarita Monday! Of course, as Wednesday is Cinco de Mayo, I have to share a few of my favourite drinks to enjoy the holiday with! We have a large Mexican population in the prairies, and let's be honest, none of us mind going to Mexico for holiday or to a Mexican-themed restaurant when we need a little getaway. So, let's celebrate our Southern neighbours with some amazing food and drinks!

These are just my versions of the classic lime margarita, a blueberry mojito, and a frozen blended mango coconut margarita, so they may not be completely authentic. But, I promise you won't regret making any of them, especially if you're a fan of rum or tequila. If you want to make some virgin drinks, I'll give some pointers as well.

Classic Lime Margarita (On-the-rocks)

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 oz tequila (I used Jose Cuervo Especial Gold Tequila)

1 oz triple sec

2 oz lime juice

2 oz simple syrup (see notes)

3-4 ice cubes

1 lime wedge for garnish

Salt for the rim

Directions

1. Pour some salt on a plate or flat surface. Taking a medium size glass (or margarita glass if you have), take the lime wedge and make a small slice with a knife in the middle of the lime so that it sits on the glass nicely. Rim the glass with the lime wedge and then dip the rim in the salt.

2. In a shaker cup, add the rest of the ingredients and ice for the margarita, put the lid on and give it a good shake. Then, pour into the rimmed glass and garnish with the lime wedge.

Frozen Mango Coconut Margarita

Serves: 1

Ingredients

5-6 ice cubes

1/3 mango, sliced

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp honey (if not using sweetened coconut milk)

1 oz tequila

1 oz triple sec

Toasted coconut, for rimming

1 tsp honey, for rimming

Directions

1. One a plate of flat surface, scoop the honey and smear on the plate about the circumference of the glass. Then, put some toasted coconut on another plate for rimming. Then, taking a medium sized glass or a margarita glass, dip into the honey to cover the rim and then the coconut.

2. In a blender, add the ice, coconut milk, mango, honey, and the tequila and triple sec. Blend until completely blended and there are no ice or mango chunks left.

3. Pour in the glass and garnish with a mango slice (optional).

Virgin Version: Omit the alcohol and add an additional teaspoon of honey.

Blueberry Mojito

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

1 small handful of blueberries

3-4 mint leaves

2 drops of bitters

1 tbsp lime juice

1 1/2 oz white rum

1/2 cup tonic water

1 oz simple syrup

3-4 ice cubes

Directions:

1. Option to use a honey or sugar rim for this one, just do the same as the lime margarita with the lime but dip in sugar instead of salt.

2. In a tall glass, roughly mash together the mint and blueberries. Then, add the bitters and mix together. Add the ice cubes lime juice, rum, tonic water, and simple syrup and mix together. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Virgin Version: omit the rum and replace with 1 more ounce of tonic water and a half ounce of simple syrup.

Notes

• If you're not a huge tequila fan (like my mom) and want more coconut taste in the coconut margarita, you can switch out the tequila and triple sec for 2 oz of coconut Malibu.

• To make simple syrup, bring 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup of sugar/honey/maple syrup and bring a light boil (until they're combined and you're done! Just make sure it cools before using. If you find yourself needing this often, just make a big batch and store in the fridge.

• For toasted coconut, bring a saucepan to medium heat and add the coconut. Stir it often until it browns and is fragrant (about 5-7 minutes). I love to do this in larger batches so I have it on hand for things like these!

If you have any alterations to these recipes, feel free to add them in! The frozen margarita and mojito can be made many way with different fruit so use whatever you like! I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

I can't make this post without giving a shoutout to my old workplace and one of my favourite restaurants in Saskatoon: Las Palapas. Although my recipes are a bit different, I've learned a thing or two about Mexican food and drinks from this place and have utilised that knowledge here without a doubt. I wouldn't have a clue how to make a margarita if I hadn't watched their amazing bartenders mix these things every week. If you're in the area, you can't skip out on this place!

These would be even better enjoyed with a Mexican dish so, if you're wondering what would go well with these, check out my Guacamole, Pulled Pork Tacos, Chicken Fajitas, or Beef & Bean Enchiladas.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know if you try these out at home and how they go! I'd love to see pictures of your adaptations of them as well; it's great to see everyone's creativity.

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!