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

One of the crucial essential issues to learn about cocktails is that after getting the ratios memorized, there’s limitless room to experiment. Take the margarita as our instance: Whereas precise portions can shift barely to go well with preferences, the fundamental ratio is 2 elements 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 need to swap one spirit for one more. A primary instance of that is the 50/50 margarita, which has develop into a favourite of mine currently. Initially created by Natasha Bermudez, bar director at Llama Inn and Llama San in New York, it’s a minimalist riff that retains the basic 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 unbelievable 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 Elements for a Fabulous 50/50 Margarita

To land on my superb rendition of this drink, I made six completely different variations that mixed varied kinds of each mezcal and sherry. This is what I realized after tasting all the outcomes.

Begin with a terrific mezcal. Let’s get this straight: mezcal isn’t a sort of tequila—tequila is a sort of mezcal. I made this cocktail for our workforce with each Mezcal Verde Amarás, an Espadín-based mezcal that’s broadly accessible in US shops, and Ojo de Tigre, a mix of Espadín and wild-harvested Tobalá an agave selection identified for its fruity, advanced flavors. It doesn’t matter what you select, the secret’s 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 an analogous 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 substances or make any syrups.”

The consequence was a wealthy, balanced cocktail that paired fantastically 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 facet 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.

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