The Fresh Pineapple Margarita Cocktail uses fresh fruit instead of juice, good tequila, and real orange liqueur. Using the best ingredients makes a huge difference!
I volunteered to host a committee meeting in my home last week with other women in my neighborhood. We had volunteered to work on events for our community. I also volunteered to make a cocktail and without any objections I started thinking about what that would be.
One thing I do like about margaritas for a crowd is the fact that because tequila is made from the agave plant, it is gluten free. That eliminates a lot of objections that can occur and I don't have to worry about those if I go down that path. Last week was no exception but I ran into one snag.
Do you know how many margaritas I've made for this blog since I started cocktails 6 years ago. Beyond a lot! I went to Sprouts Market in search of a fruit I had not used and at first it was defeating. Strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, peach, jalapeno, well...the list went on and on. I saw some mangoes that I could have used but they were as hard as a rock and so 'no muy bueno!'
Honestly I was looking at bananas (um no), coconut (OK, maybe) and then spied some fresh pineapples. Bingo...my search was over. I've seen recipes using pineapple juice but I've never been inspired to go that route so this was perfect timing. Fresh fruit makes such a difference in my book and I couldn't wait to try this.
A couple of years ago I bought another fresh pineapple like this and rooted the top; you can too! Just slice off the top with about 3/4″ of fruit attached and put it in a shallow saucer, adding just enough water to keep the bottom wet. Roots will sprout and once there are enough you can plant it in dirt. I eventually gave mine to my neighbor Sherry, she of the perfect light in her dining room, and that sucker is HUGE!
To be honest, once you find a really good margarita recipe; little changes from one version to the other; the ratios for tequila, lime and orange liqueur remain pretty much the same. The only real necessity for this recipe was a good blender or food processor; you will be taking fresh fruit and emulsifying it for this Fresh Pineapple Margarita Cocktail.
I know for some of my readers that my reminding you to use good products is beyond redundant. But I'm always thinking of someone reading this that might not have visited my page and is not aware of my margarita obsession so I repeat it often. Use good tequila. Gold is not good; don't let the name fool you.
I was provided with a bottle of Volcan Tequila recently and was anxious to sample it in a cocktail. I have a couple of añejo tequilas that are aged and good enough to drink neat but that's not my preference; give me a great fruity cocktail please. Before even trying it, it fit one prerequisite. I typically only use either a blanco tequila or a reposado tequila when making cocktails.
Blanco is tequila in it's purest form. It's the freshly distilled spirit without any oak aging at all. These tequilas show you the true expertise of the distiller, because there are no oak flavors or aging to hide behind. It's just the flavor of agave, freshly distilled.
Reposado are tequilas that see two months to one year in oak. This is a tequila that's perfect for Margaritas and other mixed drinks, as the slight amount of aging rounds and softens it. My recipe for what I seriously think is THE BEST MARGARITA is stellar and for that one I have to use a reposado; that bit of aging is evident when there is not the additional fruit added that rounds out the cocktail.
I enjoy using a blanco when I'm making a fruit forward margarita and this Volcan was good...even without aging it had a smoothness that I appreciated. Some notes about this brand:
- is grown in the shadow of a volcano. Eruption shaped the terrain and ash created fertile soil.
- An expression of their terroir Tequila Blanco blends its herbal, citrus, and spice notes indicative of the lowlands with fruit notes of cherry, pear, and peach from the highlands - perfect notes for my fruit laden margaritas!
Fresh fruit is a must (although I have cheated a couple of times and used either frozen fruit or jams when fresh is out of season) as is real orange liqueur; please no Triple Sec. It's typically artificially flavored sugar water; find a liqueur with real essence of orange. I usually sweeten mine with simple syrup which really is simple...equal amounts water and sugar are boiled; as soon as the sugar is melted take it off the heat, pour it into a container, and cool it in fridge. Agave Nectar is another option.
I make about a cup at a time (one cup water, one cup sugar) and it lasts for quite a while. Really pretty simple but the results don't have to be. One of my guests told me that this was the best margarita she had ever had...and asked me for the recipe the next day so she and her sister could make a batch; I love that!
If you love this one too or want to try something different, I really do have a lot of them. Here's a couple of favorites or simply search the site for 'margaritas' and you'll find pages of them!
Cheers!
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