Margarita:
THE TAILGATER’S COCKTAIL
1 oz. white tequila
1/2 oz. triple sec
Juice of one lime
Coarse salt
Combine all ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Mix thoroughly and then strain into cocktail glass. For a frozen margarita, mix ingredients with 2 cups of ice and blend until slushy. Decorate glass with coarse salt and lime.
As the Harvard football team gets better and better, fans head across the river on Saturday afternoons to enjoy the festivities: the barbecues, the drinks, and sometimes even the game. Since the University decided to ban kegs at this year’s Harvard-Yale Game, tailgaters will be forced to get more creative. Serving refreshing margaritas is one way to beat the rules and spice up your offerings this season. Margaritas are the perfect accompaniment for burgers, ribs, chicken or anything else hickory-smoked and fresh off the grill. Jeff Broadman, the general manager of RedBones, a Davis Square restaurant specializing in finger-licking-good Southern barbecue food, recommends margaritas as the best cocktail for tailgating. “Margaritas have a great flavor,” Boardman says. “The tequila has a real smokiness. Especially if you put the salt on the rim, you can taste it right through the barbecue of the food. Margaritas are also really festive.” If you are a connoisseur, Broadman suggests using Sauza Hornitos Tequila—“the true good stuff,” he explains—because it is 100 percent tequila. (Many other brands, paradoxically, are only 50 percent tequila and 50 percent vodka.) He also proposes using Cointreau as the triple sec and only fresh lime and lemon. However, if you’re short on preparation time, these ingredients can be replaced with a readymade sour mix. “Margaritas can be made easily at a game,” Broadman says. “Get one of those big jugs and 12 or 14 limes.” Broadman’s barbecue philosophy, inspiring to tailgaters, is all about fun, food, and hanging out. After all, he explains, “All it comes down to is paying attention while you mix the drink; this isn’t rocket science.”
