Two Drink Minimum; The After 5 Cocktail Blog

 

 

While
having dinner with my brother in law Zak last Friday night at the Mexican joint
Palapa above his house, we were looking through the menu and I asked, “Do they
have mixed drinks here?”  He responded, "Beer and wine but they have
a margarita served with 40 proof
tequila… 40 proof tequila, is that strong enough?” He said, “Or is that
like one of those winearitas that some restaurants, lacking a full liquor
license, try pass off as a margarita.” The whole conversation reminded me of my

Tiquila_belt_2

youth living as a ski bum in Aspen and not being old enough to buy anything but 3.2 near beer. What a joke that was. You get a better buzz off a garden hose.

So is 40 proof worthy of
consideration when you’re used to the warm hypnotizing glow of lets say, a
Patron or a Cuervo 1800 margarita. Well…no. Patron tequila margaritas are made
with tequila that is 80 proof. This might explain why they are so good. In beer
and wine the alcohol content is expressed as a simple percentage of the amount
of liquid in the bottle. Beer ranges in alcohol content from 3.2 to 6 percent
with most US beers averaging about 4.5 percent, even less with those flimsy light beers.
Wine can hit as high as 20 percent but its typically in the 9-14 percent range.
With liquor, the number 80 proof basically means the percentage of alcohol
content then multiplied by two. For instance, in the case of the 80 proof
Patron tequila that means it’s 40% alcohol. So our 40 proof margarita at Palapa
is actually only 20% booze. Just a hair above what we get in wine. I love the
creative marketing here. Would I rather drink a 40 proof tequila margarita over
a winearita? If forced to pick than yes but not without dolling it up with my binocular
flask that I forgot.

 

So
there is the proof- wine does equal Tequila, as far as the buzz factor goes.

 

Anyway
my carnitas burrito came with a Dos Equis beer. Decision made. "Waiter, do
you have a Tres Equis?"

 

 

Does the world need another blog?

No.

Great. Okay. So why are we starting an After 5 cocktail blog? Well, it’s a long story – and blog entries are generally not very long, so we’ll have to abbreviate:

About six months ago, one of our customer service reps at After 5 received a phone call from a guy who’d just purchased one of our

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He was calling us on his cell phone, standing in the liquor section of his local grocery store – asking us how to mix a martini!! Now, sure, he could’ve just asked the supermarket sommelier or the closest 16-year-old stockboy, but instead he chose to dial 800# information, request our phone number, and ask us. Why??

“Because I want to know how to make the best martini, not just any martini,” the guy said. “Don’t you guys have a favorite After 5 martini recipe?”

It’s an interesting question. (And the answer is yes, by the way.) But are we some kind of authority on cocktails? Keepers of the Holy Grail of booze? Sauciers of the sauce? Hell, no. We all have our favorite spices and vices, but nothing here is definitive.

But the community of After 5 customers, on the other hand – now that would be a very fun and knowledgeable bunch. We’ve always thought of After 5 as a great big cocktail party
– and our customers as the friends we’d like to have at that party. So let’s throw open the doors and get to know each other. With this blog, let’s start some conversations and exchange some ideas on cocktails, wine, beer, eating, entertaining, relaxing, celebrating, recovering, and celebrating some more.

We’ll keep it topical, seasonal, spontaneous, random and fun – and just like a great party, you’ll never know what to expect. Be sure to share your opinions, knowledge and wild experiences with us – and come back often, because we plan to update regularly.

Written by Trevor Pitchford