Ginger Lime Margarita

I bought a Justin Bieber song.

I was feeling a wee bit tipsy after testing two of these bad boys and made the purchase.

I regretted it in the morning.  It's $1.29 I won't get back!

I'll stop whining about it and tell you the lesson I learned: these are potent!  They are sneakily strong and refreshing, which makes them go down pretty easily on a summer's eve.

 The ginger is pretty subtle but I think it makes the taste a little more sophisticated than your usual margarita.

You've been warned now and I'm not responsible for any teen heart throb music you may purchase after making these.

Ginger Lime Margarita

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz tequila

1 oz Grand Marnier (or similar)

1 oz lime juice, preferably fresh squeezed

1 1/2 oz ginger simple syrup (see recipe below)

Directions

Wet rim of the glass and dip into salt or sugar (I added some lime zest and chili powder to some salt to spice it up - literally).  Mix all of the ingredients and stir well.  Pour over ice.  

Ginger Simple Syrup

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

a good chunk of ginger, peeled and chopped

Directions

Mash the ginger some with a meat tenderizer or the back of a spoon.  Bring the sugar and water to a boil and add the ginger and let it steep.  Once it is cool enough, transfer the mixture to a blender and blend - the ginger will stay whole for the most part, but some will break off to add more flavor to the simple syrup.  Strain the mixture and set aside to cool completely.