Orange: Juice vs Liqueur
What do you get from an orange liqueur that you don't get from the fruit?
There’s a real “terroir” concept about a margarita that’s only Tequila (agave), lime, and orange. Especially living in Phoenix, where most of those things grow in my yard.
Please ignore that limes are famously the only citrus that doesn’t work here, that my own oranges are fit for cocinita pibil and cocinita pibil only without some serious manipulation, and that even if there are some agave spirits made here we can’t call them Tequila.
And, as I’ve noted, I really like the classic marg made with Cointreau because the orange is pronounced. So, why not skip the extra bottle altogether and go straight to the source? At that point, this cocktail is basically a smoothie it’s so healthy…right?
Orange Juice Reposado Margarita
The nose on this cocktail is fantastic; the pure orange gives it so much more zest and punch. Unfortunately, that deep nose gives way to a fairly thin drink. The citrus mélange on the palate is very interesting, almost perfume-y, but it just doesn’t really finish for some reason. I think it’s because there’s not enough sugar here, so even if there’s more “flavor” there’s just not enough body to carry it through. It’s a very delicate drink, and it’s good, but it’s not quite a margarita.
The “Classic” Reposado Margarita
A reminder of the comparison point:
The wood you can smell in the juice jumps right to the front of the palate in this margarita, and this time it brings orange along as well. The initial impression is quite sweet as a result, but then the acid and grass come through on the finish. If you concentrate on each ingredient in turn as you sip, I think you can really taste each one independently.
The Winner: The Classic
This is kind of cheating. Could the OJ version be improved by messing with ratios and adding syrup? Yes, definitely. But, at the end of the day, my house recipes are also designed for simplicity. Adding fresh OJ here would add a whole other fresh juice I need to keep stocked, and it just didn’t blow me away enough to warrant that. Subbing a shelf-stable bottle for a fresh juice is a huge home bar win where it works, and in the margarita, it works.