It's Noon Somewhere...Pink Lemonade Margarita

I love margaritas, but then again, doesn't everyone?  Frozen or on the rocks, traditional lime or strawberry (or even a completely bastardized one I had in Oklahoma City that was served in a martini glass with an olive!).  I love the tartness, sweetness, salt, and that kick of the tequila.  A margarita is a classic cocktail but it is also one of the easiest to f*#$ up.  How many times have you gone to your local Mexican restaurant and had a sugary, syrupy, weak, calorie laden margarita?  I remember when K and I first started making cocktails many moons ago and we bought margarita mix for the first time.  It calls for a mix of 4 oz mix to 1 tequila!?  The fools we were, we drank margaritas like that for a while.  No wonder margaritas have the reputation of being one of the most calorie filled cocktails out there.

Bastardized but still delicious!

Well, it doesn't have to be that way! K and I do make traditional margaritas using Trader Joe's wonderful mix that has no hint of chemical flavor of so many margaritas.  Of course, you can always use lime juice and simple syrup as well.  Today though, I am preparing a margarita with no mix at all, instead I am using pink lemonade in place of it.  I like the extra citrus and the pink color gives it an especially fun, girly vibe. This is a wonderful cocktail to remind you of carefree days and warm nights of a vacation or a sitting on a patio on a summer afternoon.  But I think it can be enjoyed anytime.

Pink Lemonade Margarita:

2 oz Tequila
1.5 oz pink lemonade
1 oz  triple sec
1 lime

Mix all together in a shaker and serve on the rocks.  I usually prefer a salted rim but I tried this with both a salted and a sugar rim and I think either would work beautifully.  Garnish with a lime slice.  I don't love how it looked in our margarita glasses so I chose to use a double old fashioned glass but you could serve it on the rocks in a margarita glass as well.

Julie