This is a fun topic, one of my favorites. The article title popped up in my site stats as a search query. The difference is simply the main liquors used. For those not of the mixological persuasion, margaritas start with tequila, martinis with either gin, if you are a purist, or vodka, my personal choice.

A good gin martini recipe would be something like this:

1. Fill your clean martini shaker with ice about halfway.
2. Fill your martini glass with ice and cold water. Set aside.
3. Start with 2 shots of gin. (one shot = 1.5 ounces)
4. Add one-half an ounce of dry vermouth. (Not sweet vermouth!)
5. Stir till well mixed. Resist the urge to shake it. That’s what you do when you are mixing a drink that includes juices.
6. Dump out the ice and water from your martini glass. Shake vigorously to dry as much as possible. Do not dry the glass with a towel!
7. Strain the martini into the martini glass. Garnish with an olive.

That’s the basic dry martini. If you substitute a good clean vodka instead of gin, you have a vodka martini. I prefer a nice potato vodka, as the grain vodkas aren’t as crisp and clean. The exception I’ve found is Austin’s own Tito’s vodka, which, while grain-based, has a nice peppery flavor. If you want to go even simpler, follow Stephen Green’s martini recipe and skip the vermouth. On to the margarita.

1. Fill shaker halfway with ice.
2. Add 2 shots tequila.
3. Add 1 shot of Bauchant (or your orange liqueur of choice)
4. Add fresh-squeezed juice from half a lime.
5. Shake vigorously.
6. Pour into a rocks glass, enjoy.

There are several variants of this, but this is about as original as the drink comes. (Yes, the story goes that the first margarita was made with lemon juice and Cointreau. To each his/her own.) If you want to make a frozen one, I like this mix: one part frozen limeade, one part tequila (perhaps more if necessary), one-half part of Bauchant, ice, blend. Frozen margaritas can be topped with such things as Red Bull or Chambord to further mix things up.

Now let’s bring these two drinks together. In Austin there are several restaurants that serve a drink called a Mexican Martini. This is a Good Thing®. It is simultaneously smooth, tangy and refreshing. Here’s the recipe:

1. Fill your clean martini shaker with ice about halfway.
2. Fill your martini glass with ice and cold water. Set aside.
3. Add two parts tequila.
4. Add four parts sweet and sour mix.
5. Add one part Bauchant.
6. Add one part orange juice.
7. Add one part olive juice.
8. Shake vigorously.
9. Strain into the rinsed, chilled martini glass.
10. Garnish with a jalapeño-stuffed olive.

The martini, the margarita, and the Mexican Martini. All you need to do now is add sunshine, water, and some Buffett. It’s summertime in Texas. See you on the beach!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 13th, 2007 at and is filed under Absolut swank,cocktails,Drinks,margarita,martini,recipe.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.