Aaron Sanchez pays homage to Jalisco with this margarita pairing

While a margarita is a classic sour cocktail, discovering a flavorful food and beverage pairing is more than just grabbing a taco and glass. As a Tequila Cazadores ambassador, Chef Aaron Sanchez is sharing a margarita pairing that celebrates the region in the most delicious way. Ready to shake up a new flavor combination?

As many people appreciate, tequila celebrates the Mexican terroir. From the slight minerality of the area to vegetal notes from the agave, there is a subtlety to tequila.

When creating a flavorful margarita, the tequila needs to be celebrated with the other flavors. While essentially a sour cocktail, all the flavors need to be in balance. Even if additional fruit flavors join the lime, the harmony is always there.

Although many people enjoy a variety of Mexican flavors with a margarita, Aaron Sanchez is choosing to compliment, not contrast flavors in this food and beverage pairing. By using the sweet charred elote as a depth of flavor, the bright, tart Cazadores Highland Margarita is quite delightful.

Chef Sanchez said, “For this pairing, I chose the Cazadores Highland Margarita, paying homage to the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico where this beautiful 100% Blue Weber Agave tequila is created. If you’re throwing a Margarita Day fiesta or small gathering, this citrus-forward cocktail goes perfectly with my Mexican Street Corn (elote) recipe, which is always a crowd-pleaser.”

For anyone who would like to make Chef Sanchez’s elote recipe, he has shared it below.

Ingredients

• 4 ears corn, husked
• 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• For garnish: crumbled cotija cheese, fresh cilantro leaves, lime wedges

Instructions

• Preheat grill or grill pan on medium high.
• To make the chipotle mayonnaise: mix the chopped chipotles with mayonnaise in a bowl. Set aside.
• Grill the corn on the cob until lightly roasted on each side, approximately 1 minute per side.
• Brush the chipotle mayonnaise onto the grilled corn and then top with cotija cheese and cilantro. Serve immediately.
• Note: If family style serving is preferred, shave the cooked kernels off the cob, and then toss with chipotle mayonnaise and top with cotija cheese and cilantro.

And, why not sip on the Cazadores Highland Margarita. Here’s how to make one.

Cazadores Highland Margarita

Ingredients

• 2 oz. Tequila Cazadores Blanco
• 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice
• 1 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
• 1 oz. Light Agave Nectar
• Salt (for rim)

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a salt-rimmed glass filled with ice
• Garnish with a grapefruit wedge and a lime wheel

While this food and beverage pairing is quite delightful, another way to highlight an elote and margarita pairing could be to use some Nixta liqueur in a margarita. For those unfamiliar, Nixta is an elote liqueur that brings that corn flavor to a cocktail. It is a wonderful umami flavor that will make any margarita more enjoyable.

What margarita pairing would you like to enjoy? Are there some surprising ingredients that have impressed your guests around the table?