Don’t Judge Me Mondays: The Autumn Sunset
My friend Paul is a fellow lover of all things food and drink. The other day at work we were chatting about citrusy things (Paul has a minor obsession). He told me he makes a version of a Cosmo with Tequila and lots of lime. I definitely like Tequila more than Vodka so I thought I’d try my own spin on Paul’s recipe. I feel like I’ve made so many modifications now that I had to come up with a new name for it. The beautiful color reminds me of the perfect sunset, so we’ve got the Autumn Sunset. 🙂
Let’s get to it!
My husband and I went to Mexico for a vacation a few years ago and were lucky enough to do a tequila tasting at our resort. We learned that there are five basic types of tequila. Silver/Blanco/White tequila is the youngest and is typically bottled soon after being distilled. As you can probably guess it is the clear tequila. This is also the tequila most likely to be used in cocktails because it isn’t too expensive and has an unmasked tequila taste (it’s what I’m using for this drink). Gold tequila is often mixed with sugars, colorants, or may be a mix of several types of tequilas. Reposado tequila is where we move into aged tequilas. This one is aged between 2 to 12 months and has a golden color. Then you move up to the Añejo and Extra Añejo. As you may have guessed, these are aged longer and tend to be the more expensive tequilas. Añejo must be aged at least one year and Extra Añejo must be aged at least 3 years. These are typically the tequilas that you would sip.
Start by filling your cocktail shaker one third with ice. Now add the cranberry juice, tequila and O.J. With this drink it’s worth the extra effort to use freshly squeezed orange juice, but you can use store bought if you want to make a lot in a hurry.
Cover and shake, shake, shake! You’ll be serving this up, so pour into your favorite stemmed glass.
Garnish with a small orange wedge.
Cheers!
What are your favorite flavor combos in a fall cocktail? How about favorite tequila cocktails? Let me know!
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Ingredients
- 2 1/2 ounces cranberry juice
- 1 1/2 ounces silver tequila
- 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
- small orange wedge for garnish
Instructions
- Filling a cocktail shaker one third with ice.
- Add the cranberry juice, tequila and O.J. and shake.
- Pour into your favorite stemmed glass. Garnish with a small orange wedge and enjoy!