Stretch your multicultural muscles and celebrate one of Mexico's favorite holidays, Cinco de Mayo — the day the Mexicans beat the pants off the French — with a batch of refreshing (and potent) margaritas. If you're the type of girl whose only experience with the genesis of the drink is watching the waiter place it on your table, fret not: they're almost as easy to make as they are to consume — the traditional margarita only has three ingredients!
Ingredients:
1 (6 ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate
6 fluid ounces tequila
2 fluid ounces triple sec
Directions
1. Fill blender with crushed ice. Pour in limeade concentrate, tequila, and triple sec. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.
For those of you who are Cinco de Mayo veterans, change up this year's festivities with the Noble Pig's
Honeydew Rita, a cool, melony take on the classic.
Ingredients:
4 cups ice cubes
3 cups honeydew melon, peeled, seeded, cut into chunks
3/4 cup tequila
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 drop of green food coloring (optional)
Honeydew spears
Sprigs of fresh mint
Directions
1. Rub the rims of 4-6 cocktail glasses with limes, then coat in salt or sugar (depending on your taste preference). I like sugar, the Wild Boar likes salt. Go figure.
2. Blend ice, melon, tequila, honey, and lime juice in a blender until smooth. 3. Divide between prepared glasses.
4. Garnish with melon and mint sprigs.
And finally, if you're still nursing the memories of the days of frat boys and late-night benders, here's a compromise — a hint of Latin flavor mixed with a trip down memory lane: the Beer Margarita
Ingredients
1 can (most are 12 ounces) frozen lime concentrate
Tequila (blanco or reposado)
Water
Pale, preferably Mexican, lager (Modelo Especial or, if you can get it, Bohemia. You want a little bitterness in this drink.)
Directions
1. Dump the frozen lime concentrate into a big pitcher.
2. Fill the empty can with tequila and add it to the pitcher.
3. Fill the can with water and add it to the pitcher.
4. Stir until the concentrate is dissolved.
5. Fill the can with beer, add it to the lime-tequila mix, and gently stir.
6. Fill glasses with ice, pour in the margaritas, and serve. Salted rims optional.
Note: You can prep the lime-tequila-water mix hours ahead of time, but only add the beer when you're ready to serve. You want that fizz to be fresh.
So, pick your poison, whip up a pitcher, and serve — ridiculously huge costume sombreros are optional.
