Ola people of the internet! Today we are celebrating all things Mexican with a couple of cocktails, the Tijuana Sunset and the Buenos Noches both from Cantina. Regular readers would know what I have set myself a task to cook through this book by the end of the year. Readers from the way back would know that this book and I have a troubled past. Too cheffy, too complicated, too many hard to find ingredients have been my complaints of this book in the past.
Let’s kick things off early in the evening with..wait for it…we need some sort of fanfare…ah…here he is…
Da da dadada…TEQUILA!
The Tijuana Sunset
This is billed as “A sophisticated take on the tequila sunrise”.
Okay fine. But IMHO, the only thing that makes a tequila sunrise any good is that gorgeous ombre effect of the grenadine and the orange juice. And if you are going to call that drink a sunset then that ombre effect needs to run the opposite way to the sunrise right?
Well, it is totally missing from the Tijuana Sunset so I guess the way the gradient goes is immaterial right?
Now, bear in mind I made both of these drinks in iso at a time when even generally easy to come by ingredients were scarce on the ground. Blood orange juice was an impossibility. I decided to sub in Blood Orange Soda instead of Blood Orange Juice and Soda. Did this affect the colouring? Possibly. However, as there is no picture in the book I suspect that they also did not get that beautiful colour array.
Looks may be one thing but taste is another. And when it came to taste the Tijuana Sunset was OMG….100% delicious!!! 😍😍😍. Tangy from the lime, a little sweet from the soda, a nice kick from the tequila and the touch of salt was GENIUS. I loved this so much I immediately made another which I garnished with a little slice of jalapeno. This made it even better!
I loved the Tijuana Sunset. I just wish it had a different name so there weren’t those expectations of what it was going to look like!
Wait up. Hold on. Do you think that by making the claim that it is a “sophisticated” take on the Tequila Sunrise that the authors are trying to say that the beautiful orange to deep red shading is somehow unsophisticated? Are they making fun of my love for a drink that looks pretty as well as tasting delish?
OMG…see what this book does? It makes me crazy! Or maybe that’s life after what now…seven weeks in iso?
Buenos Noches
Now this one looked the biz! It is a Mexican take on an Irish Coffee which is a drink I hold dear. And on paper it sounds delicious. Chilli infused tequila, cinnamon infused coffee…sign me up!
Okay, so truth be told. This was one of the worst things I have ever put in my mouth. Particularly because I had to wait 3 days for the tequila to infuse with the chipotle.
I actually cried after tasting this. Which I admit is an extreme reaction. But, at the moment, when our lives are so restricted, something that I was looking forward to for THREE days and which turned out to be a bitter disappointment might actually be worth a tear or two.
I felt this was bitter and flat. It lacked any sweetness to counteract the bitterness of the coffee and the heat of the chilli and had no zestiness to bring the bitter and hot flavours together.
I’m calling Goodnight Irene on the Buenos Noches.
But here’s that recipe. Just in case you have really repressed emotions and need to cry over something dumb instead of the horror that is the world as we know it.
Have a great week! Stay safe!
