Tequila and Margaritas 101

Ordering a margarita in a tequila bar can be a daunting experience to the newbie, especially when the bartender starts asking tough questions. After choosing from about 50 different oddly shaped bottles on the shelves, you have to decide if you want your drink frozen, on the rocks, and with or without salt. And different answers will earn you different amounts of respect in the eyes of your mixologist. Don't sweat it. While there may be a zillion different brands of it on the market, tequila is a highly regulated spirit that is divided into a few categories that make it easy to understand what's available and figure out what you like.

Types of tequila:

All tequila is either mixto or 100 percent agave, depending on the sugars used to make the end product. (Mixto, as you can probably guess, means mixed.) Within each category the tequila can then be defined as blanco (silver/white), joven (young/gold), reposado (rested/aged), añejo (vintage/extra-aged) and extra añejo (ultra-aged).

Most gold tequilas are mixtos, like Jose Cuervo Gold, and are really silver tequilas with added coloring and flavoring to make them smoother. Mixtos are generally consumed in blended drinks -- or as shots that can involve licking salt off someone's neck first.

The 100-percent-agave category makes up most of those fancy bottles you see on the upper shelves behind the bar, and in the liquor store the bottle will say "100% de agave" in big letters. The subcategories refer only to length of aging in barrels.

Blanco (white or silver) tequilas are unaged, or aged for just a couple of months. They're clear because they haven't picked up any color from wood barrels. These spirits taste of agave and are frequently used in mixed drinks as well as consumed on their own.

Reposado (rested or aged) tequilas have had just a short nap in a barrel -- from between two and 12 months. This rest mellows the tequila, adding a touch of wood flavor and sometimes a little pepper spiciness. Reposado tequilas are the first of the tequilas best appreciated on their own rather than in mixed drinks, though many people still like them in margaritas.

Añejo (vintage or extra-aged). Aged tequilas pick up wood flavors fast in the heat of Mexico. Anejo tequilas are barrel-aged between one and three years, taking on a lot of oak and creamy butterscotch-type flavors from the wood.

Extra Añejo (ultra-aged). This new category of tequilas is for products aged more than three years, but don't think older tequilas are necessarily better tequilas. They're certainly more expensive.

Drinking tequila:

While frozen margaritas and salt-and-lime shots are a way to distract from the taste of yucky tequila, most 100-percent-agave tequila is best enjoyed neat (in a sipping glass without ice or mixers). And just because the average tequila glass looks like a shot glass, this doesn't mean you should drink your $15 top-shelf añejo in one gulp. Have a sip -- you might love it.

Margaritas, though often prepared very sweet and with a salty rim, can also enhance the tequila in them rather than hide it. The standard margarita recipe involves only tequila, triple sec (or another orange liqueur) and lime juice. Everyone argues about the proper ratio of sweet to tart (orange to lime), but here is a recipe I like.

A good margarita:

2 parts tequila
1 part triple sec (or Cointreau or Grand Marnier)
1 part fresh lime juice

Add ingredients to an ice-filled tumbler. Stir by passing contents back and forth between two glasses. Salt rim optional.

But here's a little secret: If you leave out the orange liqueur, which can mask the flavor of tequila, and add a touch of agave syrup as a sweetening agent instead, you can taste the good tequila in the margarita without having to drink tequila at full proof. Another secret: Agave nectar is sweeter than orange liqueur or simple syrup, so you need less of it -- and that's fewer calories in your drink.

A better margarita:

1 1/2 parts tequila
1 part fresh lime juice
1/4 part agave nectar

Add ingredients to an ice-filled tumbler. Stir by passing contents back and forth between two glasses. Salt rim discouraged.

Out in public, there's a certain hierarchy of margarita quality -- from a blended margarita with a salt rim, to blended without salt, to on the rocks with salt, to on the rocks without salt, to the drink served up (for advanced students). If the bar isn't using fresh lime juice, the overall quality of the drink is going to be much lower -- so ask. If you're new to tequila, go with an inexpensive blanco or reposado until you get your bearings.

And relax. Tequila's not only meant for studying; it's meant for enjoying, too.

Camper English is a cocktails and spirits writer and the publisher of Alcademics.com.

Photo: Getty Images

Originally posted by Camper English