This is the first time I've ever told anyone other than my close family this story, risking losing my legend status as THE master drinker of pina coladas, but then, it is a story worth telling, so hear me out. A little over ten years ago, only a few weeks after moving to Ireland, I got invited to a hen party. As most Mexicans, I don't drink much (yes, that's another urban legend demystified people: we don't have tequila shots for breakfast); so there I was, with all these Irish women I barely knew, at a night club and I did what I had done most of my life: I went up to the bar and ordered a 'virgin' pina colada (i.e. without the rum); the barman gave me a funny look, but made the cocktail for me with all the other trimmings, including the paper umbrella. When I got back to the table (I hadn't learned the whole concept of a round yet), everybody asked me what it was and the next thing, the whole bunch of ladies ordered the same cocktail.
After a few hours of 'drinking' so much rum, the group was pretty drunk, some had gone vertical; I however, with all my cocktail drinking, was still standing and did not even get a hangover the following day. By morning, I was a legend. No one could understand how I did it; there were comments about the size of Mexican livers, and the effects tequila shots in Mexican baby bottles had on the alcohol tolerance of Mexicans. I was too embarrassed to say anything and since I thought I would never really see those women again, I never clarified anything. A couple of weeks later, at the wedding, one of the women approached our table and nearly chocked laughing when my mother in law told her I did not drink much. The face of her, she probably thought I was a big fat liar and was putting a show for the in laws!
The truth is I don't really like the taste of alcohol on its own; I find it either too bitter or too sour; but, I love sweet stuff, so if you put a Baileys or a glass of Japanese plum wine in front of me, I'll merrily drink it. My all time favourite is of course the Frozen Strawberry Margaritas. I chose to make some of these for my fellow bloggers at the IFBA Mexican Supper Club Evening and believe you me, they were delicious. Enjoy the recipe!
Make your Sour Mix:
Start by making your sour mix. The ingredients here will give you a good litre of sour mix and it's good for a few rounds of margaritas. It's dead simple. Whisk the egg white with a fork or little whisk until frothy. Stir in the sugar; add the water and the lime juice and mix all ingredients well. Store it in a glass bottle with a cap and keep it refrigerated until you need to use it. Shake well before using. It will keep for a couple of days in the fridge max.
Prepping & Freezing the Fruit:
Wash your strawberries well. Cut the stems, leaves and white part off and place them in a container in the freezer. By freezing your fruit you are ensuring the best margarita consistency possible and you avoid using too much ice and diluting the flavours when making the cocktail. You can prep the fruit overnight or a couple of hours in advance.
Prepping your Margarita Glasses:
Take a couple of margarita glasses and rub some lime on their rim. Put the sugar on a plate and dip the glass in it so that the wet rim is covered in sugar. Then proceed to make your frozen margaritas
Making your Margarita:
Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, blitz until it's all liquidized and pour on the prepped margarita glasses. Garnish with a straberry and a paper umbrella.
All you have left to do is to sip them relaxingly preferably on a hot summer's day. These margaritas are delicious and you can change the fruit with the season. I've made peach margaritas, melon margaritas, raspberry margaritas and watermelon margaritas, all delicious and following the same recipe.
