The other night Big Ag and I drove into town to try a new Mexican seafood restaurant we'd heard rave reviews about. Since I'm not doing restaurant reviews anymore, I will just tell you that the food was amazing. But on this particular night, I decided to change things up a bit and instead of getting some beer or wine to go with our meal, I ordered a cocktail, something I almost never do.
I ordered a Tijuana Mule.
A simple drink -- some good Agave tequila, fresh lime juice, agave nectar and some ginger beer all mixed together in a kind of tart, biting deliciousness, with just a touch of "sweet" right on the tip of your tongue.
It was amazing, and it made me remember a relationship I'd had long ago, which I thought was over, but which obviously is not.
That relationship is the one I have with tequila.
Sooo different, the effect that wine has on a person versus tequila. Wine makes me silly, tequila makes me mellow. Wine gives me a hangover, tequila never has. How had I forgotten these things for so long? How had I ever left tequila behind? The truth of the matter was, I actually drank tequila during one long-term romantic relationship, but once it ended, so did my tequila habit. For the last couple of decades, other than the occasional margarita, tequila and I had become strangers again. Until my Tijuana Mule.
When we came home, instead of being tired, my battery was charged. The next morning, in place of sore joints I felt quite spry. It turns out that tequila breaks down differently than many other alcohols do -- it easily turns into a simple sugar inside your body which is easier for your body to digest. It has no sulfites, no tannins and therefore has a completely different effect on you than wine does.
Don't get me wrong; I love wine and as long as I work in a tasting room in wine country, I will always have a passion for it.
But from now on, if I'm out and about, I'm going to consider the tequila option if I'm having a drink with dinner. And I may even attempt to make one of these "Mules" at home sometime.
Because, as most homesteaders understand, you never know when a Mule will come in handy around the farm.
In case you are interested in doing the same, here is the recipe:
Tijuana Mule
One ounce of good, agave tequila
1 tsp of organic agave nectar
one half cup of ginger beer
fresh lime juice
1. Pour your tequila over some ice
2. Add agave nectar, lime juice and stir
3. top with ginger beer and mix everything up
4. Enjoy!
P.S. For you budget conscious, tequila drinkin' homestead types out there, making this at home -- using good tequila -- costs approximately $2.64 per drink. At the restaurant where we dined, it cost $9.50 a pop. Better to have it at home and watch the "chicken show" while you sip away!
