The things I do for you people. I took it upon myself to test out two margarita options in honor of this Cinco de Mayo. Usually, I shy away from bottled mixes. Can we all agree that those usually taste like bad cough syrup? But I got an email from Williams-Sonoma focusing in their “All-Natural” Margarita mixes. So, I decided to pit bottled mixer against a recipe using fresh ingredients. For the fresh version, I used a very traditional margarita recipe from the Viva Margarita cookbook in my collection by W. Park Kerr. And for the bottled mix, I made a trip up to Williams-Sonoma and snagged the All-Natural Key Lime Margarita Mixer.
For my Viva Margarita selection, I chose “The Ultimate Margarita, or Uber-rita.” It called for fresh limes, tequila and Cointreau. I substituted Gran Marnier and also added in a splash of fresh orange juice (per the “Tequila Tip”). It was mind-blowingly strong. Instant buzz even…
With the Williams-Sonoma mixer, the one liter bottle professed to being made in small batches for fresher flavor. It contained key lime juice, tangerine juice (both from concentrate) and sweetened with agave syrup. All I had to do was just add tequila. It was sweet and, with half the booze, it was easier to drink. I easily had seconds (and thirds even).
Who knows if Williams-Sonoma will keep this product beyond Cinco de Mayo? If not at the store, I would hope it would always be an available online option. There were two other flavors, Morello Cherry Pomegranate and Mango Passion Fruit, in addition to the more traditional Key Lime flavor. It seemed a little pricey at $14.95 a bottle, but I think you could get more than three generous batches for the cost. For special occasions that call for an easy drink with a sweet margarita, I think I would definitely splurge and grab another bottle. What’s that old saying? It’s always Cinco de Mayo somewhere, right? Wait….that might be the tequila talking!