What Is a 50/50 Margarita and Why Ought to You Be Making It This Summer season

One of the necessary issues to learn about cocktails is that after you have the ratios memorized, there’s infinite room to experiment. Take the margarita as our instance: Whereas precise portions can shift barely to swimsuit preferences, the fundamental ratio is 2 components tequila to 1 half every triple sec and contemporary lime juice. From there, you can begin swapping in a unique spirit for the tequila. 

That’s the considering behind the mezcal margarita, which swaps tequila for its smokier cousin. However right here’s the fascinating half: You don’t at all times should swap one spirit for one more. A primary instance of that is the 50/50 margarita, which has grow to be a favourite of mine recently. Initially created by Natasha Bermudez, bar director at Llama Inn and Llama San in New York, it’s a minimalist riff that retains the traditional margarita’s proportions—tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau—however replaces the tequila with a 50/50 mixture of mezcal and sherry.

Sherry isn’t a spirit—it’s a fortified wine with a decrease alcohol (15–20% ABV)—however it brings unimaginable depth to this drink. The result’s smoky but floral, with the wealthy and nutty flavors of sherry—its advanced, layered, and arguably much more sippable than your common margarita.

The Key Components for a Fabulous 50/50 Margarita

To land on my ideally suited rendition of this drink, I made six totally different variations that mixed numerous kinds of each mezcal and sherry. Here is what I realized after tasting all the outcomes.

Begin with an amazing mezcal. Let’s get this straight: mezcal is just not a kind of tequila—tequila is a kind of mezcal. I made this cocktail for our crew with each Mezcal Verde Amarás, an Espadín-based mezcal that’s extensively out there in US shops, and Ojo de Tigre, a mix of Espadín and wild-harvested Tobalá an agave selection recognized for its fruity, advanced flavors. It doesn’t matter what you select, the bottom line is to make use of mezcal that’s high-quality and ok to sip by itself.

Use a candy sherry. We began with a dry Manzanilla sherry (Valdespino), which created a crisp, citrusy cocktail—however it leaned too sharp. Then we tried a fino sherry (Tio Pepe), which was even drier and extra mineral-forward, however made a margarita that was unbalanced and in want of extra sweetness.

The breakthrough got here with Pedro Ximénez sherry, particularly from Valdespino. It’s a richly candy, syrupy type of sherry with flavors of fig, toffee, and dried fruit. Our colleague and Meals & Wine editorial director, Dylan Garret, put it completely: “It has the same earthy profile to agave nectar, but in addition brings in notes of fig, toffee, raisins, molasses, and dried fruit.”

He added, “Utilizing PX sherry provides you all these refined, nuanced flavors, whereas additionally letting you be lazy—you don’t want so as to add a bunch of additional components or make any syrups.”

The consequence was a wealthy, balanced cocktail that paired superbly with each mezcals, although we leaned barely towards Ojo de Tigre.

Salt your rim—with type. What’s a margarita and not using a salted rim? I take advantage of a 50/50 mixture of kosher salt and Tajín for one thing just a little extra dynamic. I solely salt one aspect of the glass, so it’s solely half salty (kinda like me), becoming for a 50/50—and it retains the salt from overwhelming the previous couple of sips. It’s a small contact that makes your margarita really feel just a little extra particular.

Prepare dinner Mode
(Maintain display screen awake)