Tracy’s Margarita Recipe

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If you want the recipe and no explanation, here goes:

• 2 oz tequila
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 oz triple sec
• 2 tsp agave syrup
• 2 dashes of bitters
• 1 oz water

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This post is for Jacqui in New Zealand, whose husband, Mat, is Tracy’s across-the-planet twin. Mat’s making margaritas these days, so Jacqui wants deets on Tracy’s recipe, for our husband-comparison amusement. Here you go, Jacqui! Let me know what ya think.

What Happens When You Marry a Bartender

Okay, so Tracy’s brief stint at bartending was at a bowling alley, but he approached the job like he does everything: think of it like a skill and learn it well. In fact he’s renowned among my friends for his cocktails.

For example, Mike—a connoisseur of bars, bartenders, interesting people at bars, stories based on bars … in other words, the best (and worst) of bar culture—gives his special compliments to Tracy’s craftsmanship.

And Mary Margaret—who is a pro at all things yummy (here’s her food blog based in France), was so impressed by his ability to mix what’s at hand into a unique, seemingly planned concoction, that she regifted to him a particularly disgusting liquor with a sweet note saying, “If anyone can make this into a good drink, you can.” (MM, we used almost that entire bottle before we moved.)

My point is: Tracy’s good. And he’s been making me margaritas since we met.

He’s so good, in fact, that his mixology helped me overcome my tequila revulsion that I acquired in grad school during a sordid weekend at Glacier National Park with (then-aspiring-actor) Billy Crudup, including me barfing in the tent. Thank goodness that weekend isn’t mentioned in his imdb entry. That weekend was so bad that I used to joke I wanted a tattoo on my forearm that reads, “DO NOT DRINK TEQUILA.”

And I now drink tequila. That’s what happens when you marry a bartender.

Recipe

On with the actual recipe.

Tracy doesn’t measure exactly, but he let me know approximations for the sake of this blog.

Add a couple of ice cubes into the shaker and shake vigorously.

Special Touches

Salt

Oh, you know I love salt so much that my alien twin is the infamous salt monster in the first episode of Star Trek Original Series: the creature who changes shape into McCoy’s old girlfriend so it can corner him, attach its suction cups on his skin, and suck all the salt right out.

So we have a special salt dispenser for margaritas.

Can you tell what this is? Why, it’s an ashtray we bought at South of the Border while on a camping trip in the Frolic. It works splendidly. Except that after years of use, the ceramic is splintering off into the salt, so we’re planning another stop this spring at that wonderful/terrible place. Gotta get a new sombrero ashtray.

Flavoring

I used to enjoy Tracy’s special touch of rose water: a delicate addition that made the drink complex. But that stuff is really hard to find on the road, so I’ve switched to the in-your-face substitute of diced jalapeños. I dice them on a separate cutting board and divide them up for Tracy so he can reduce his contact; he hates peppers of all persuasions.

Ice is another element that adds to the je ne sais quoi.

Unfortunately the freezer in the Airstream isn’t fully reliable, and sometimes the Enterprise ices in my Star Trek ice tray suffer from premature saucer section detachment.

So, mostly Tracy uses regular ice cubes. I consider them Borg Cubes.

Perfection

Uke Segment

Here’s another quick bit from that afternoon I spent playing ukulele by the lagoon here. I cut off the third verse and final chorus to make it a bit more palatable.

You guys stay safe!