May 5, 2002

9:06 AM

If The Cinco De Mayo Means Anything Nowadays It's...Tequila, Tequila, Tequila!But you can't really appreciate real, natural 100% blue agave tequila until you realize what a rare and complex liquor it is. Thank you for for spelling it out, Ian Chadwick![More inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso (12 comments total)

Fortunately, tequilas' prices have little to do with quality, as The Journal of Beverage Tasting Institute makes amazingly and thoroughly clear in its reviews of 130 brands. If, like me, you're a real addict, you'll also want every single bit of tequila news, straight from Jalisco. Yes, there's a crisis and, yes, it's becoming scarcer and more expensive every day. So what are we waiting for? One way to make it go further, of course, is to succumb to the delicious allure of margaritas - Trader Vic's recipe is the only one I recommend[Please scroll down]. No Rose's Lime Juice! No sugar! No mixers! No slurpee silliness! Just tequila, Cointreau and freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice in the perfect proportion of 2/1/1. Finally, make your Cinco de Mayo celebration complete with Rick Bayless's choice of appropriate food, over on the good old Tabasco site. Or just stick to the traditional Mexican staples, as amply explicated by Bon Appétit's special menu for today. [Hey, is this Memepool or MetaFilter? I need a shot of Don Felipe!]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:07 AM on May 5, 2002

OK...

If the Fourth of July means anything nowadays it's... beer, beer, beer.
posted by DragonBoy at 9:19 AM on May 5, 2002

It is worth noting that Cinco de Mayo isn't even a holiday in Mexico, rarely celebrated. It's also not the day in which Mexico gained independence.
posted by geoff. at 9:45 AM on May 5, 2002

Geoff. : it was noted in the first paragraph of my last link, to wit: "You may have thought of Cinco de Mayo as a celebration of Mexican independence, but think again. Mexican gained independence from Spain on September 16, 1810. But festivities on the fifth of May commemorate a later historic victory: that of a small Mexican army over invading troops from France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. The French ultimately defeated the Mexicans however, and ruled the country until 1867."
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:04 AM on May 5, 2002

What makes winning a battle against the French special enough to celebrate? If everybody did it we'd have 365 days of partying.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:28 AM on May 5, 2002

If everybody did it we'd have 365 days of partying

Better than the usual 365 days of war.
posted by eyeballkid at 10:38 AM on May 5, 2002

OK, If the Fourth of July means anything nowadays it's... beer, beer, beer.

Welcome to the Battle of the Holiday Intoxicants!
New Years Eve = champagne
St. Patrick's Day = green beer/whiskey
Christmas = rum spiked eggnog
Birthday = Flaming Galiano
etc...Choose your weapons.
posted by HTuttle at 10:47 AM on May 5, 2002

"It's not Cinco de Mayo, it's Drinko de Mayo." Sounds like tequila's not the only beverage that sells big on this holiday:

Cinco-related beer sales in the Bay Area now surpass St. Patrick's Day for Groupo Modelo of Mexico, the maker of Corona, Negra Modelo and Pacifico Claro beers, said Gustavo Lucio, a regional manager for the beermaker's U.S. representative.

posted by majick at 11:39 AM on May 5, 2002

My current pet peeve is with Sauza having gone and "up marketed" one of the best tequila bargains out there: Sauza Hornitos. At about $15-$19/bottle, it used to be only a buck or two more than Sauza's commemorativo rotgut (that and Cuervo gold are fine if you're into alcohol and food coloring). Now they've put it in a fancier bottle and are charging close to $30. Bastards.

I'm with you on the margaritas, but I do like to add a little bit of simple syrup if the limes are too sour. After margaritas tonight I'm doing up seared sea scallops with tomatillo sauce and cumin-salted corn chips and a nice salad with lime vinagrette.
posted by dchase at 12:45 PM on May 5, 2002

If you must drink, make it Sustainable Mezcal.
posted by sheauga at 1:03 PM on May 5, 2002

Hey, dchase I'm with you on the sauza thing.
Try el jimador, (made by herradura) casadores, or for a few bucks more herradura silver. More expensive but great stuff, Centenario grand anejo (In mex, around $35. here around $50) Blows everything else out of the water.
posted by keithl at 1:32 PM on May 5, 2002

I may never drink tequila after this past weelend, at work now and there is no cure for a hangover, oh wait, I could slip away for a beer...
posted by bittennails at 5:28 AM on May 6, 2002