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In The Spirit

courtesy of Julio Bermejo of Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco. From Robert Simonson’s book Modern Classic Cocktails, he writes: “The seeds of the drink were planted when Bermejo was not yet of drinking age. Like many teenagers, he experimented with booze. Beer, rum and brandy left him with bad hangovers. But he found that tequila — filched from Tommy’s, his family’s restaurant in the Richmond District — didn’t do as much damage. And Herradura tequila in particular, made from 100 percent agave, left his brain largely unscathed.” Once Bermejo was of age to bartend, he began experimenting with higher quality tequila, fresh juices, and ultimately 86-ing any orange liqueur. By the mid-’90s, his margaritas began to turn heads, including well-known bartenders and newspapers like The Wall Street Journal.

For this margarita, you’ll need to make an agave syrup. A 2:1 ratio (2 parts agave and 1 part water) works great. Add agave and water into a saucepan and put over medium heat, stirring until agave is dissolved — should take less than a minute. A quality tequila is strongly recommended. Don’t even go through the trouble making your own agave syrup if you’re going to end up using inferior tequila. Though blanco tequilas work great in margs, a good reposado tequila really shines through in this one. Herradura reposado is still a great choice. These are addicting — don’t say I didn’t warn you.

2 ounces reposado tequila

1 ounce fresh lime juice

1/2 ounce agave syrup

Take a rocks glass and use a lime wedge to rim 1/4 to 1/2 of glass. Roll that part of the rim into a small plate containing kosher salt (Celtic salt is yum). Add a large ice cube into the glass. In a cocktail shaker, add tequila, lime juice, agave syrup, and ice. Shake hard for 10-15 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass and toast the beach. PS

Tony Cross owns and operates Reverie Cocktails, a cocktail delivery service that delivers kegged cocktails for businesses to pour on tap — but once a bartender, always a bartender.