Margarita Christina

Here is another recipe that I have thought that I had already posted at least a dozen times, only to find that I hadn't.  Seize the day -- Here is it!

This weekend, my friends and I celebrated a big birthday for our friend Christina down in Newport, RI.  To kick off the evening, I brought margaritas.  My thoughts on margaritas -- there are ok margaritas, there are bad margaritas, there are VERY BAD margaritas, and then there are REALLY GOOD margaritas.  My favorite has long been the ones from Acapulcos -- cadillac margaritas; but I have always wanted to be able to make one for myself.  Most recipes I have seen generally call for the premixed margarita mix or a sweet and sour mix.  To me, those fall somewhere between the bad and the VERY BAD of margaritas.  And then margarita nirvana was bestowed upon me by my friend Stephanie, who contributes articles to the "Miami Examiner", about 18 months ago.  This article marked the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, in the middle of September, and to announce a special margarita created to commemorate the occasion -- the Margarita Francesca.  To commemorate our own special occasion, I renamed it in honor of my friend's birthday -- the Margarita Christina.

Happy Birthday Christina... and THANK YOU STEPHANIE!!!!!!

• 1.5 oz. triple sec(In full disclosure, the recipe originally calls for Grand Marnier, who co-created this recipe; however, I didn't  have any and triple sec is less expensive, so I used what I had)
• 1 oz. silver tequila
• 1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
• ½ oz. orange juice
• ½ oz. simple syrup

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice
2. Strain into a tall glass with ice and garnish with an orange wheel and lime wedge

Adapted from Miami Examiner article