Thursday Happy Hour: Cocktail Recipes, Drinks, Music, and Good Times

The Agave Blossom

Tequila Season
Now that spring is here – though, it is alluding some parts of the country – sunshine is on our minds and that bottle of tequila starts to look good again. Seems like it just tastes better when you've got the warm sun on your back.

With all the citrus coming back in season, we've been pairing agave tequila with fresh grapefruit juice and getting some fantastic results. There's something about the tart, bitter and floral notes of grapefruit that marries so well with a good tequila. Just add a little sun, some good friends and swing into spring (weather permitting).

The Mexican Muse

Viva la Revolucion!

Sometimes our bar gets slim on spirits and I'm forced to improvise. This Thursday it's particularly challenging. It's the official Mexican independence day and tequila seems like a natural choice but margaritas are too predictable.

With limited resources and a flash of inspiration I came up this oddly sophisticated and very tasty combination of tequila and absinthe.

As for naming it, we put it out to our Facebook fans and got some good suggestions – most notably "El Chupacabra." A pretty good fit; the drink does have a mysterious bite. Another idea was the "Misunderstood Mexican Muse," a reference to absinthe's nickname. A good place to start. What do you think?

The Inspiration Today is the official Mexican independence day so we thought it only fitting to feature that most Mexican of spirits, tequila. But we're putting a French twist on it. And some other stuff. Have a clever combination of spirits? Let us know on Facebook or find us on Twitter.

"El Chupacabra" or "The Mexican Muse" or ... 2.5 oz. reposado tequila Juice of 1 half lemon 1/2 oz. triple sec (here's how to make your own triple sec) 1 tsp. absinthe (or substitute like Pernod) 1 tsp. amaretto or Disaronno 2 dashes Angostura bitters Combine all ingredients in a shaker of ice, shake well and strain into cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with revolucion.

CAUTION: Careful of the revolution. There's only a few countries that have successfully had one.

Copyright © 2010, Pybop, LLC (for thursdayhappyhour.com). All rights reserved. Questions? Happy hour ideas? Chat with us on Twitter: @thurshappyhour.

Ballast Point Old Grove Martini

Less Is More

Mixing cocktails is arguably an indoor sport, but when the party is on the patio, the last place I want to be is the kitchen. That's when I simplify.

Made outdoors or in, these five drinks are the backbone of summer cocktails. And they have four (or fewer) common ingredients.

Simple, elegant, and guaranteed to refresh, the raw ingredients include lemons, limes, simple syrup, and soda water. That's it. With those ingredients plus a good quality spirit, you can rock the bar.

Gin is a favorite for me, but vodka, rum, Canadian whiskey, or even tequila will make all these recipes sing.

Your Favorite Spirit Five Ways

The Rickey: Spirit of choice + fresh lime juice + soda water.

The Fizz: Spirit of choice + fresh lemon juice + simple syrup + soda water.

The Collins: Spirit of choice + lemon juice + lime juice + simple syrup + soda water.

The Dry Martini: Gin or vodka shaken with lots of ice, twist of lemon or olive garnish. Try it with tequila, rum, whatever, just don't call that version a martini.

The Gimlet: Gin or vodka + fresh lime juice + simple syrup, shaken over ice, served up. Equally good with rum, not bad with tequila. Substitute the lime for lemon, serve on the rocks and you have a Sour.

Scratch Margarita

Best. Margarita. Ever.

Tequila weather is kicking its way in to San Diego -- how do we know? It's not the sunshine (she is a tease these days). It's the citrus: The clementines are like candy, we can't get enough Cuties, and we're being gifted limes and lemons by the paper-bagful.

We may still need a sweater to sit on the patio this evening, but we don't mind. We're mixing Margaritas -- and trying new recipes. One thing that does not change for us is the use of fresh ingredients. If you love mixing drinks with that pre-made neon yellow stuff called sweet & sour or "Margarita Mix," then read no further.

However, if you're a bit of a Margarita connoisseur, we tip our sombrero to you and welcome your input on this most classic of tequila concoctions.

Tequila Mockingbird 3

Pucker Up

Our traveling companion, Virginia, is hooked on magazines. She reads them cover to cover and enjoys the advice they dish up -- especially anything to do with Cooking Light. 

"Do we have Limoncello?" she asked from the backseat on our road trip. "And Champagne?"

"Limoncello? No, but we can get some." We tried the light and lemony cocktail that night, but preferred mixing up French 75s with the rest of the Champagne.

Now that the house is quiet, empty except for a bottle of Limoncello and a thick stack of magazines, we're flipping and sipping something new tonight.

Tequila Sunrise

What's Your Tequila Story? 

Here's mine: I was a 19-year-old cocktail waitress who didn't drink. When guests asked "what's good?" I suggested a Tequila Sunrise. Because it was pretty. And easy to carry on a tray.

I pushed a lot of Tequila Sunrises. I bet I made a lot of tequila stories happen. I don't think I actually tasted a Tequila Sunrise till recently. Surprisingly, they're really perky, happy drinks.

I should have suggested the cocktail for Sunday brunch.

What Does Your Mexican Margarita Taste Like?

Happy Hour at Air Conditioned Lounge, San Diego, CA

We heard rumors of the AC Lounge's 1/2 price everything weekday happy hours from 4pm to 8pm. We've also heard about their off-menu to-die-for margarita, Joe's BurritoRita. We head over to take advantage.

The bartender is called Burrito Joe -- after a cartoon character he used to draw in college -- and he takes his margarita-making seriously. No sweet and sour in sight. Just limes, sugar, salt, a fine reposado, and a lot of elbow grease to bring it together. At 5 bucks, it's seriously the best not-at-home happy hour margarita we've had in San Diego in a long time. Click to see Joe shake it up.

Margarita

En Fuego

It's not the time of year for a margarita ... wait a minute. It's always the right time for a margarita. This Thursday, I met three friends (and smart business people) for happy hour on the patio at En Fuego in Del Mar, California. It sounded good, considering we're still under the deep heat of a false summer down here and it's impossible to think about baking, scarves, or hot beverages. A round of tangy margaritas -- on the rocks, with salt -- later and we momentarily forgot about the workday and talked fast about the future. Good times ahead for sure.

It's fairly easy to find delicious margaritas and foot-tapping latin music in U.S. border states, but not so much in the rest of the country. That's why we keep this playlist -- Limes, Salt, Sand & Spice (from Mexico to Brazil) -- on the iPod and this margarita recipe in a back pocket at all times.