Drink Of The Week: The Freshest Margarita

A little history with your buzz...

There are as many margarita recipes as there are bartenders, and there are plenty of people who will tell you their ironclad rules for making the perfect marg. (Jimmy Buffett, for one, believes that Rose's Lime Juice is a crucial ingredient, but considering his Margaritaville restaurants serve what we consider the most chemical-tasting frozen marg ever created, we take Mr. Buffett's recipe suggestions with a heavy dose from that lost shaker of salt.)

We're always on the hunt for a perfectly refreshing margarita, and we are happy to report that they're serving one up at Los Feliz, a taqueria and tequilaria on Ludlow Street in New York City's Lower East Side. Los Feliz has around 150 labels of tequila ready to pour, with sipping glasses ranging from $7 to $135. Its margarita menu has some exotic highlights, but we love the pared-down brilliance of the Freshest Margarita. Made with nothing more than lime juice, agave (a sweetener available at most major grocery stores) and good-quality tequila, this is nothing like those pitchers of slurry sweating in the sun over at Margaritaville. This is a drink that allows the drinker to appreciate the complexity of a good tequila while satisfying the need to quench that summer thirst.

Hair-on-your-chest factor: 90/100

We've heard men say that a margarita is not a man's drink. We respectfully disagree on principle, but when you're faced with the clean, bracing simplicity of the Freshest Margarita, we'd like to think that the debate is settled.

Recipe:
2 oz Milagro Silver Tequila
6 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 or 1 oz of raw organic agave (depending on desired sweetness)

Instructions:
Shake. Strain over ice. Should be sharp, crisp and tart.

Recipe courtesy of Los Feliz, 109 Ludlow St., New York City.

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